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 — The Razorbacks got another painful reminder of how last season ended Monday morning.
ESPNU started its NCAA Tournament selection show with a flashback to the 2018 College World Series, something that has been included in every national broadcast of Arkansas games throughout the year.
Watching from their clubhouse at Baum-Walker Stadium, the Razorbacks had to relive the heartbreak of a foul popup falling between three fielders and Oregon State pulling off the dramatic comeback to win the national title.
“It was like, ‘Why do we have to watch this?’” head coach Dave Van Horn said. “But it’s part of what went on in Omaha last year, it’s part of the history.
“If we would have hit a walk-off homer, they’d be showing that, or if we had made the catch, they’d be showing that. It’s old news, in my opinion. It’s a new year.”
Van Horn added that he had long since put the play behind him, as the current season helped him get past it, but the players were more open about their feelings of seeing it again.
“I don’t think many of us really cared to see that,” shortstop Casey Martin said.
“It’s something that’s sore to all of us,” right fielder Heston Kjerstad said. “It leaves a bitter taste in your mouth, but that’s something you’ve got to live with. It’s life and not everything’s going to be all freakin’ rainbows and stuff like that. You’ve just got to keep going.”
A few minutes later, their path to redemption was revealed. After putting together one of the best regular seasons in school history, Arkansas earned the No. 5 national seed and will host California, TCU and Central Connecticut State in the Fayetteville Regional this weekend.
If they advance out of the regional, the Razorbacks would also host the winner of the Oxford Regional - which features Ole Miss, Illinois, Clemson and Jacksonville State - in a super regional.
Two wins in the super regional would send Arkansas to the College World Series for a second consecutive season, something that has never happened in school history.
“I know for guys like Heston, (Dominic), me and some of the guys that were in the dugout - like McFarland, Opitz and Kenley - there’s nothing more we want than to go back,” Martin said. “We’d like to redeem ourselves. It gives us quite a bit of motivation.”
Before they can worry about that, though, the Razorbacks must first get through their first game, which is against No. 4 seed Central Connecticut at 1 p.m. on ESPN3.com. Van Horn said they chose the early time slot to ensure they have the most rest if weather becomes a factor.
“Weather can really put a spin no the whole tournament,” Van Horn said. “(If) the second game gets in a rain delay into the night and you’ve got to play it the next day and then play a couple of games, it can get a little bit rough.”
The Blue Devils (30-21, 16-8) finished second in the Northeast Conference, but knocked off regular-season champ Bryant to receive the league’s automatic bid. It will be their first postseason appearance since 2017 and sixth overall.
Central Connecticut is 0-10 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, losing by an average score of 21.1-3.2. However, Arkansas won’t take its first matchup lightly. The Razorbacks lost to Bryant, also out of the NEC, in their first game in the 2013 Manhattan Regional and dropped games to UALR and Northwestern State this season.
“Four seeds, they’re dangerous,” Van Horn said. “They come in with nothing to lose, no pressure on them… Our job as coaches is to make sure our team shows up and takes care of business and plays well.”
Depending on matchups and the makeup of the Blue Devils’ lineup, Van Horn might not throw ace Isaiah Campbell until Saturday, but that decision won’t be made until Tuesday.
That game would be against either No. 2 seed California or No. 3 seed TCU, which play at 6 p.m. Friday on ESPNU.
The Golden Bears (32-18, 17-11) finished fourth in the Pac-12 behind NCAA Regional hosts UCLA, Stanford and Oregon State, while the Horned Frogs (32-26, 11-13) tied for sixth in the Big 12 and snuck into the tournament with the last at-large bid.
Baseball America and D1Baseball correctly predicted Cal would be sent to Fayetteville as the No. 2 seed, but TCU’s selection caught many experts by surprise. It needed three wins at the Big 12 Tournament - over Oklahoma, Baylor and Oklahoma State - to jump 16 spots to No. 59 in the RPI.
NCAA baseball selection committee chairman Ray Tanner, the former head coach and current athletics director at South Carolina, was asked about the Horned Frogs getting the nod during ESPNU’s selection show.
“Four or five weeks ago, nobody was thinking about TCU,” Tanner said. “They made a run. They can be dangerous with their starting pitching and they have everybody healthy right now. They were one of the last teams in for sure, but we feel like they’re one of the best teams and deserving of being in the 64.”
Friday’s nightcap will also feature a battle of potential top-10 picks in next week’s MLB Draft. Left-hander Nick Lodolo will likely start for TCU and face Cal first baseman Andrew Vaughn, the 2018 Golden Spikes Award winner. They are the No. 8 and No. 3 overall draft prospects, respectively, according to MLB Pipeline.
Between those two players and the Razorbacks, there is plenty of star power in the Fayetteville Regional. However, Van Horn said the focus - as it has been all year - is on Arkansas playing to the best of its ability.
As cliche as it sounds, that’s something they weren’t able to do at the SEC Tournament, as the offense slumped with a combined batting average of .160 over its three games in Hoover. Getting six days off an being back at home could be just what the Razorbacks needed, Van Horn said.
He added that Arkansas’ postseason experience last year, as gut-wrenching as it was at the end, could end up helping this year’s team.
“You learn from the past and that’s how you get better,” Van Horn said. “I think maybe being in Omaha and not winning last year has really helped our younger players try to establish their legacy here and what people are going to remember about the ’19 team, the ’20 team and down the road.”
