HawgBeat's coverage of the Razorbacks' Road to Redemption in Omaha is brought to you by Arkansas Oral Surgery, which has offices located in Conway and Russellville.

FAYETTEVILLE — Much like last season, Arkansas’ College World Series hopes rest on a winner-take-all Game 3 in a super regional at Baum-Walker Stadium.

The Razorbacks are in this position after getting blown out by Ole Miss 13-5 on Sunday. They hope to have a similar result as 2018, when they bounced back from a Game 2 loss to beat South Carolina and make it to Omaha.

To do so, Arkansas will need a better showing on the mound and that starts with freshman left-hander Patrick Wicklander (6-2, 4.29 ERA).

It required a whopping 89 pitches, but he threw five scoreless innings in his last start, a regional-clinching win over TCU.

“He’s been great all year,” shortstop Casey Martin said about Wicklander. “We expect him to pound the zone and we’ll definitely have his back.”

Head coach Dave Van Horn actually had Wicklander come out of the bullpen early in the season before he solidified the weekend rotation by becoming a starter.

Taking out his struggles as a reliever, the California native’s numbers are actually pretty good. He’s 6-1 with a 3.20 ERA and 1.12 WHIP in 14 starts.

“I feel good about Patrick,” Van Horn said. “He’s a good pitcher. I think when he’s on, he’s one of the better young pitchers in our league. It’s going to be a tremendous game.”

One problem Wicklander has had all season is going deep into games. His career long is 5 2/3 innings against Tennessee and he’s gone a full five innings just six times.

That means the Razorbacks’ bullpen will likely be a key in Game 3. They burned Kole Ramage (65 pitches in 2 2/3 innings) and Kevin Kopps (53 pitches in 2 1/3 innings) on Sunday, but still have long-reliever Cody Scroggins, set-up man Jacob Kostyshock and closer Matt Cronin fresh.

Marshall Denton and Zebulon Vermillion are also available.

“I feel good about who we have in the bullpen,” Van Horn said. “Obviously we used Kevin today because we kind of jumped back in there… Other than that, we’ve got most everybody left, as does Ole Miss.”

The Rebels will counter with a freshman of their own on the mound, with right-hander Gunnar Hoglund (3-2, 4.64 ERA) getting the nod.

A first-round pick who turned down the Pirates out of high school, he’s had an up-and-down year for Ole Miss, but has been really good in his last three outings.

After posted a 5.21 ERA and 1.43 WHIP in his first 13 appearances, Hoglund has a 3.06 ERA and 0.91 WHIP dating back to his final regular-season start. That includes a no decision he earned against the Razorbacks, when he gave up just two earned runs in 6 1/3 innings at the SEC Tournament.

“He’s become a guy that lives for these moments at this point,” Nikhazy said. “I think he’s really going to rise to the occasion and he’s going to be stellar for us, give us a lot of good innings and get the win.”

As Van Horn mentioned, the Rebels are also in a good spot with their bullpen. Right-hander Austin Miller has yet to pitch and he’s been their top reliever, with a 2.92 ERA, 61 strikeouts and .196 opponents’ batting average in 52 1/3 innings.

Closer Parker Caracci (4.99 ERA, 11 saves) and two-way guy Ryan Olenek (1.50 ERA, 2 saves in 6 innings) haven’t seen any action either. If Hoglund runs into early trouble, the Rebels could call on Zack Phillips, a left-hander who pitched well in a start against Arkansas in Hoover.

Tyler Myers, who threw 38 pitches in two innings Saturday, is also available for the Rebels.

Ole Miss is trying to win its sixth elimination game in seven tries over the last few weeks, as it made a run to the SEC Tournament championship before falling to Vanderbilt.

“One thing that is a big factor is they don't look nervous,” Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco said. “If you were in the dugout, they look like a team who's won four in a row, won five in a row.

“Sometime in the SEC Tournament we kind of found that and maybe in the most pressure-packed parts of the game, they do play loose and with a lot of confidence.”

Although the Razorbacks lost their only elimination game in Hoover, they are 3-2 in rubber matches this season and won the aforementioned super regional against South Carolina in three games last year.

“A lot of us have been here before,” center fielder Dominic Fletcher said. “Game 3 is not something we’re scared of. I think we’re all excited to play in a Game 3. When the pressure’s on, that’s really when we thrive I feel like.”

First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. Monday and the game will be televised on ESPN2. Arkansas will be the home team.