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 — Central Connecticut put up a fight, but it ultimately wasn’t enough to stave off elimination against TCU on Sunday.
The Horned Frogs scored three runs in the sixth inning to break a tie and held on for a 9-5 win over the Blue Devils in an elimination game at Baum-Walker Stadium.
They’ll have only a couple of hours before returning to the field for the Fayetteville Regional final against No. 5 national seed and host Arkansas at 8 p.m. TCU needs to win that game to force a winner-take-all game at 6 p.m. Monday, while the Razorbacks just need one win to advance to the super regionals.
A day after staying alive with their first NCAA Tournament win in school history and endearing themselves to the Arkansas fan base, the Blue Devils gave the Horned Frogs a run for their money for several innings Sunday afternoon.
Central Connecticut struck first with an RBI single by Dave Matthews - the hero in Saturday’s game - but TCU immediately responded with a two-run home run by Jake Guenther in the home half of the first inning.
A two-out, two-run single by Peyton Stephens put the Blue Devils on top 3-2, but once again, the Horned Frogs answered with a two-run homer, this time by Austin Henry.
That lead lasted just an inning, though, as Central Connecticut again battled back and tied it up 4-4 with back-to-back doubles by Matthews and Buddy Dewaine.
TCU finally ended the Blue Devils’ Cinderella run with the aforementioned sixth inning. Hunter Wolfe’s sacrifice fly broke the tie and then Henry added some insurance with a two-run single.
Stephens homered to lead off the eighth and pull Central Connecticut within two, but a two-run homer by Wolfe in the bottom half of the inning sealed the win.
The Horned Frogs used four pitchers, highlighted by freshman right-hander Jake Eissler getting the victory with 5 2/3 innings in relief. Starter Dawson Barr lasted only two innings, Dalton Brown got just one out and Cal Coughlin closed it out with a scoreless inning.
Even though it will be its fourth game of the weekend, TCU still has a solid arm ready to go against Arkansas. Right-hander Jared Janczak (0-3, 5.71 ERA) is expected to get the nod. He has battled injuries throughout his career, but was an All-American in 2017.
The Razorbacks will counter with freshman left-hander Patrick Wicklander (5-2, 4.65 ERA) and have most of their bullpen available.
Because TCU has been the home team twice this weekend, Arkansas will get the “home” designation Sunday night. The game will be streamed on ESPN3.com, meaning it can be watched online or on the WatchESPN app.
