OMAHA, Neb. – Arkansas was on the verge of seeing its deficit double from one run to two in the fourth inning until it caught a break.

With runners on the corners and no outs, Oregon State’s Tyler Malone hit a sharp ground ball at Jared Gates. The Razorbacks’ first baseman tried to start a double play, but Jax Biggers’ relay throw wasn’t in time and the runner at third – Trevor Larnach seemingly scored.

However, Adley Rutschman was called for interference on the play at second because he didn’t slide. Not only did Arkansas get the double play, but it also forced Larnach to return to third base and took a run off the scoreboard in Game 1 of the College World Series finals, which the Razorbacks eventually won 4-1.

It was an unusual play that actually developed because of some luck. With Gates fielding the ball, pitcher Blaine Knight was supposed to cover the first base. Thinking the throw might go to the plate instead of second, Knight was slow getting to the bag.

That caused Biggers to hesitate and initially fake the relay before finally throwing it to first, where Knight and second baseman Carson Shaddy collided.

“The guy was going to slide and then I think my pump fake might have kept him from going to slide,” Biggers said. “He thought he had more time and then he kind of veered off, but he didn’t veer off enough.”

Oregon State head coach said he did not agree with the explanation the umpires gave him and his frustration was evident in his postgame comments.

“It appeared Rutsh was doing everything he could to get out of the way,” Casey said. “They weren’t near one another, so I don’t agree with the call. … Everybody can look at the tape and decide for themselves what they think.”

Instead of trailing by two runs and still needing two outs, the Razorbacks escaped the first-and-third, no-outs jam unscathed after Blaine Knight struck out Michael Gretler to end the inning.

“That was a crucial moment in the game,” hitting coach Nate Thompson said. “They were up 1-0 already and being down 2-0 wouldn’t have been that big of a deal, but certainly when you can take a run off the board for the other team, that does swing some momentum and energize us.”

Big Inning

The momentum of the interference play and Knight’s strikeout carried over into the top of the fifth inning, as Arkansas put up one of its signature “crooked numbers.”

After a first-pitch pop up by Dominic Fletcher, the Razorbacks started manufacturing their four runs. Shaddy worked a four-pitch walk, Gates hit a chopper by the first baseman for a single and then Grant Koch tied the game with an RBI single.

It was Koch’s second hit of the day, giving him his first multi-hit game since the final day of the regular season against Georgia on May 19.

“I felt like he’s made some hard contact lately, but didn’t get any reward for it,” Thompson said. “I really give him a lot of credit. I think he’s just been sticking with the process. It’s cool to see him get the knocks he needed.”

Koch was part of the bottom five in Arkansas’ lineup, which combined for four of the Razorbacks’ five hits in the game. The 1-4 batters – Eric Cole, Casey Martin, Heston Kjerstad and Luke Bonfield – were just 1 for 16 in the game.

That statistic highlights the Razorbacks’ depth in their lineup, which has carried them throughout the season.

“There’s guys that get hot and guys that have really good games,” Koch said. “That could be seven or eight people out of the lineup or that could be two or three and they carry you one day. Doesn’t matter the guy; there’s no one certain guy. There’s no pressure.”

Despite the lack of hits at the top of the order, they did manage to get on base and drive in runs following Koch’s RBI in the fifth thanks to Oregon State starter Luke Heimlich losing his command.

The Beavers’ ace hit Biggers and Cole with pitches in consecutive at bats, loading the bases and then driving in a run to give Arkansas the lead.

Although he had an overall miserable day at the plate, going 0 for 5 with three strikeouts, Martin hit a slow grounder to second base and reached on an RBI fielder’s choice when All-American Nick Madrigal bobbled it.

Things were unraveling so quickly that Oregon State had a hard time getting someone up and ready in the bullpen. When Heimlich fell behind 1-0 to Kjerstad, the Beavers brought in freshman Christian Chamberlain, but he threw three straight balls to complete the bases-loaded walk and drive in Arkansas’ final run.

“He lost command of his fastball a little bit and was out of the zone, so as a hitter, we’re all just trying to be patient, see him in the zone,” Kjerstad said. “He ended up missing his spots a few times, walking a few guys and also hitting a few guys, and that equaled a few more runs for us.”

Beating Heimlich

Oregon State’s controversial starter has been one of the best pitchers in college baseball the last two years. The left-hander entered the College World Series with a 16-1 record, 2.32 ERA and 151 strikeouts in 120 1/3 innings this season.

Although he struggled through his first two starts in Omaha, allowing eight earned runs on 10 hits in five innings, Heimlich kept the Razorbacks at bay early on. They managed only one hit and struck out five times through four innings.

“Heimlich’s tough, man,” Thompson said. “He’s a fastball, slider guy and the slider’s really late. He did a good job with it, especially early, tunneling that thing. It looked very much like his fastball.”

It was a start that some fans were worried about when the game was postponed from Monday to Tuesday, giving Heimlich an extra day to get his body ready for the game. Instead of pitching on four days’ rest, he had five days.

However, the Razorbacks didn’t put too much stock into that and head coach Dave Van Horn actually spun it into a positive.

“Coach Van Horn just said it was the national championship and we want to beat them at their best anyways,” Shaddy said. “(We were) honestly kind of glad that they had something going for them because we don’t want any excuses. We want to beat them straight up.”

Even though Arkansas wasn’t getting much production at the plate, it was seeing a lot of pitches and driving up Heimlich’s pitch count. He needed 36 pitches to get through the first two innings, despite only one base runner for the Razorbacks, and he was at 66 pitches through the fourth.

“We wanted to hit the ball hard; we wanted to put the ball in play with force,” Thompson said. “If we couldn’t hit a ball hard, the plan was to take that pitch.

“That kind of leads to driving up a pitch count and sometimes that can get you in a position where you strike out some, too, because you’re really deep in counts, but I’ll take it.”

The Razorbacks’ plan worked to perfection, as Heimlich – making his third start in 11 days – completely lost his ability to throw the ball over the plate in the fifth inning.

“Any time you have a big name like that on the mound, that’s your goal, to see pitches and try to get him off the mound,” Shaddy said. “You get him up to 60 pitches in three or four innings, that’s definitely another way you can beat him, regardless of how many hits he gives up and how many runs he gives up.”

When the dust settled, Heimlich was charged with four runs – three earned – on three hits, two walks and two hit by pitches. The outing dropped his ERA to 2.92 and he earned his third loss of the season.

“He started to lose it,” Casey said. “He didn’t throw the ball where he needed to, and it kind of…I don’t have an answer for that. He’d been real good all year long, and certainly really struggled in that inning.”

Stellar Defense

Errors plagued the Razorbacks at various times throughout the season, but their defense has been stellar in the postseason. Eric Cole made a great catch in foul territory at the wall against Florida to help send them to the finals and they added another couple of plays to their Omaha highlight reel Tuesday.

In the fifth inning, Gates laid out to catch a pop up by Zak Taylor in foul territory. Despite landing hard on the warning track dirt, he hung on to the ball and earned the No. 1 spot on SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays for the night.

“He’s not fleet of foot and he’s not the greatest athlete on the field, but he gave you everything he had right there,” Van Horn said. “All of his teammates really appreciate what he did.”

Having already bounced back from a dropped fly ball to rob a home run in the regionals, Kjerstad had another redemption moment Tuesday.

The freshman lost a fly ball by Larnach in the sun in the fourth inning, allowing it to land on the warning track and bounce over the wall for a ground rule double. Three innings later, he made up for it with his arm and Taylor was again the victim.

Fielding a sharp hit that bounced off the wall down the left field line, Kjerstad fired a strike to Shaddy at second base to nail the Beavers’ first baseman trying to stretch a single into a double. It checked in at No. 9 on SportsCenter.

“I think that was the best defensive game we’ve played,” Shaddy said. “It just seemed like every ball that they put in play was sucked up by us.”

Loseke, Cronin Close it Out

Arkansas followed a familiar script on the mound Tuesday. After six strong innings from Knight, the Razorbacks turned to Barrett Loseke.

Coming into the game with a three-run lead, the right-hander said he fed off the massively pro-Arkansas crowd.

“It’s more nerve-racking before the game starts and just leading up to it in the hotel and in the locker room,” Loseke said. “Once you get the ball in your hand and start warming up in the bullpen, you get comfortable with what you’re used to doing.”

With command of all three of his pitches – curveball, changeup and fastball – to both sides of the plate, Loseke threw two scoreless innings with three strikeouts. One of the two hits he gave up was immediately erased by Kjerstad’s aforementioned play.

It was Loseke’s third appearance in Omaha – as he has 10 strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings – but his first with a large scab on the right side of his nose. When asked about it after the game, he gave an embarrassed smile before admitting it was a skin infection or something that he worsened in recent days and wasn’t a big deal.

“It’s just a scab,” Loseke said. “It wasn’t as bad about three or four days ago, but I started picking on it and I think it looks worse than it really is.”

Rutschman led off the ninth inning with a single off Loseke, prompting the Razorbacks to give the ball to their closer, Matt Cronin.

The left-hander was admittedly rusty in his first appearance last week, but settled in against Florida on Friday and kept it going Tuesday against Oregon State.

Touching 95 miles per hour on the radar gun, Cronin struck out the first two batters he faced before getting pinch hitter Andy Anderson to hit a weak line drive at Biggers for the third out. It was his 14th save of the year, breaking the UA single-season record set by Colby Suggs in 2013.

“He’s not intimidated,” Van Horn said. “He doesn’t care if he comes in with the bases loaded with no outs. He just goes out there and lets it go.”

Chamberlain Stifles Hogs

As good as Arkansas’ bullpen was, Oregon State’s was just as effective with Chamberlain throwing the final 4 2/3 innings for the Beavers.

After the bases-loaded walk to Kjerstad, the freshman left-hander completely stifled the Razorbacks’ offense, setting career highs with 11 strikeouts and 94 pitches to keep the score at 4-1.

Chamberlain’s 11 strikeouts matched Texas’ Calvin Schirali against Alabama in 1983 for the most by a reliever at the College World Series in the aluminum bat era (since 1974).

“It’s the same game no matter the stage,” Chamberlain said. “Obviously there’s not going to be a better stage you’re going to throw on, but it’s the same game, doesn’t matter where you’re at.”

In addition to allowing doubles to Fletcher and Kjerstad, he also walked five batters and had a wild pitch. Those base runners never hurt him, though, because he got out of each jam unscathed.

The Razorbacks left the bases loaded in the sixth and stranded a runner on second in the seventh and ninth innings against Chamberlain.

“He was little bit effectively wild at times, too,” Thompson said. “He’d miss the zone and then he’s paint a pitch and then he’d be wild and paint another pitch. He just didn’t miss over the plate a lot, I feel like. He located enough to be tough.”

Next Up

The Razorbacks need only one more win to capture their first national championship in baseball. They can close it out against Oregon State at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Junior left-hander Kacey Murphy (8-5, 3.15 ERA) will make his second start of the College World Series for Arkansas exactly one week after his first, so he is well rested and ready to go.

“I was ready a couple days ago,” Murphy said. “You can’t really not be ready for these kind of starts. … This is probably my last start of the season, unless something crazy happens like last year, so you can’t really not be ready.”

Oregon State has yet to name a starter, but it is presumed to be junior right-hander Bryce Fehmel (10-1, 3.16 ERA). He will be pitching on just four days’ rest, as he threw 57 pitches in the Beavers’ win over Mississippi State on Friday. It will also be his third start in 10 days.

Game 3, if the Beavers were to win Wednesday, would be at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. The entire championship series will be televised on ESPN.

Other Tidbits

-The announced attendance of 25,321 was the largest ever for an Arkansas baseball game. It was definitely a pro-Razorbacks crowd, as well, with many fans making the trip north from the Natural State to Omaha. “It’s amazing to have the fans like we have in Arkansas,” Kjerstad said. “I felt like we were playing in Baum Stadium, just a lot bigger, with 25,000 Arkansas fans in it.”

-Friday was Arkansas’ 48th win of the season, which are the fifth-most in UA history and the most during Van Horn’s tenure. The Razorbacks won 51 games in 1985, 1987 and 1989 and 49 games in 1979, all under legendary head coach Norm DeBriyn and in seasons that ended at the College World Series.

-With a single in the fifth inning, Gates extended his on-base streak to 15 games. That stretch began in the second game against Georgia, the final regular-season series, and has continued throughout the postseason.

-Madrigral, Oregon State’s All-American second baseman and the fourth overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, went 0 for 4 on Tuesday. That lowered his batting average to .386 on the season. Assistant coach Wes Johnson said he compared Madrigal to one of Florida’s stars while scouting the Beavers for his pitchers. “I told our guys that he’s a right-handed hitting Deacon Liput,” Johnson said. “That’s exactly who he is. That’s how we attacked it.”

-Larnach set a College World Series record with his fourth and fifth doubles of the series against Arkansas on Tuesday. He broke a mark previously done 19 times, most recently by Oregon State’s Michael Conforto in 2013.