ARLINGTON, Texas — Arkansas junior right-handed pitcher Jake Faherty has been a part of the Razorback program since 2022, and the statement he made on Friday night by closing the door on No. 7 Oregon State at Globe Life Field was easily the biggest moment of his Diamond Hog career.
The Razorbacks won a thriller in the 2018 College World Series rematch, scoring a go-ahead run on a Peyton Holt RBI triple in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Razorbacks a 5-4 lead heading into the final inning.
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After fellow righty Gage Wood exited the game in the top of the ninth with one out and a runner on second, Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn turned to Faherty to stifle a Beavers comeback attempt with the Hogs up by just one run.
Faherty did just that, but it wasn't without a few nervous moments for fans. A wild pitch to Beavers catcher Tanner Smith advanced Trent Caraway to third, putting the game-tying run just 90 feet from home plate.
The Georgetown, Kentucky, native settled down, though, and struck out Smith on a 3-2 fastball to put the Hogs one out away from the win.
Three pitches later, Faherty found himself ahead of pinch-hitter Levi Jones in the count, 1-2, and he sent a fastball right by him to seal the win.
After the game, Van Horn said he didn't see anything out of the ordinary from Faherty and was unbothered by the game-tying run on third.
"I thought he did an incredible job," Van Horn said. "He didn’t seem sped up. He looked normal to me. The runner on third was working him a little bit and he didn’t let it bother him. He threw the ball 96 mph with some serious sink and run on it. He’s got an outstanding slider that’s 90 mph or more. We said, ‘To heck with that, we’re going with that fastball. That thing is dipping and diving.’ And he got them out."
A junior this season, Faherty has only made four total appearances as a Razorback. His most recent outing was on Feb. 19 against James Madison, when he pitched one inning and allowed one hit and one run on a sacrifice fly.
Faherty picked up the save Friday in a contest that for most of the game was a pitchers duel. Starting pitcher Hagen Smith threw 17 strikeouts in six innings of work, tying a program record set by Jess Todd in 2007.
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"That was huge, especially for him and for the team," Smith said of Faherty. "It was awesome to see him go out there and compete. We all saw him the whole fall, spring scrimmages that he can do it. It was good to see that he did it."
After an exhilarating win, the Arkansas Razorbacks will prepare for a contest against Oklahoma State on Saturday at Globe Life Field. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. and will stream only on FloSports.
