STILLWATER, Okla. -- Oklahoma State pitching ace Michael Freeman was large and in charge through seven innings against Arkansas.
Then Freeman, a 6-8 left-hander, and the Cowboys lost control.
Arkansas took advantage of two throwing errors and a wild pitch by OSU pitchers for a five-run inning that led to Arkansas' 7-5 victory Saturday night before a packed house of 3,821 at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium.
Arkansas (37-22) advanced to today's 6 p.m. game, where it will face the winner of the noon elimination game between the Cowboys (38-19) and No. 4 seed St. John's. The Razorbacks would advance to the super regionals with one victory and must be beaten twice to be eliminated.
"It's huge for us," Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. "Just like I told my players, it's a good win. Great job coming back. But we haven't done anything yet. Don't get excited."
Arkansas, trailing 4-2, opened the eighth inning with pinch-hitter Carson Shaddy working a nine-pitch walk against a tiring Freeman (10-3). Van Horn called Shaddy's work, after falling behind 0-2, the at-bat of the game.
Joe Serrano's single moved Shaddy up second, then Bobby Wernes followed with a bunt that turned the momentum. Freeman fielded the ball and looked to third, then wheeled and threw wildly down the right-field line, which allowed Shaddy to score.
"You always want to go get the lead runner," Freeman said. "I looked up and should have thrown the ball to third and made a mistake. Then I made another mistake by throwing the ball away. It's just unacceptable."
The Cowboys acted as if they would give an intentional walk to SEC Player of the Year Andrew Benintendi, but Freeman's first pitch to him was wild, allowing Serrano to score the tying run and Wernes to move to third. Benintendi worked a 3-2 walk, and Oklahoma State called on reliever Remey Reed.
Tyler Spoon stepped in against Reed, who faked to first and threw wild to third base, sending Wernes home with the go-ahead run. Spoon flied out to right field to move Benintendi to third base, and Rick Nomura brought him home with a single to left against a drawn-in infield.
Nomura stole second base and Michael Bernal followed with a two-out RBI single to left field to make it 7-4.
"Credit this team," said Serrano, who went 3 for 4. "We never really feel like we're out of a game."
Freeman, the Big 12 Conference's pitcher of the year, allowed a season-high five runs and tied a season high with four earned runs.
Arkansas closer Zach Jackson allowed a run in the eighth inning on two walks, a passed ball, a wild pitch and a throwing error by Shaddy.
But Jackson, from Berryhill, Okla., escaped the ninth inning, striking out Tim Arakawa with a runner on second base to post his seventh save.
Jackson fired his glove toward the Arkansas dugout, pumped his fists and gave out a yell after closing it out.
"My stuff wasn't as sharp as I would like," Jackson said. "I was a little erratic with a lot of my pitches, but luckily I was able to get it in the zone enough to get out of the jams that I put myself in and we won ourselves a ball game."
James Teague (5-4) got the victory after relieving Keaton McKinney in the fifth inning. Teague allowed 2 runs on 2 hits and 4 walks through 3 innings and struck out 2.
Oklahoma State committed two throwing errors by its pitchers, had a wild pitch, walked two and gave up three hits in the eighth.
"We just got to that eighth inning there and they made a run at us that we weren't quite able to put the brakes on," Oklahoma State Coach Josh Holliday said.
Van Horn, who previously said right-hander Dominic Taccolini was not recovering well from tendinitis under his right arm pit, said he was unsure who might pitch for the Razorbacks tonight.
McKinney was not in top form Saturday, but he gave the Razorbacks 65 pitches in four innings, departing one pitch after walking No. 8 hitter Garrett McCain in the fifth inning and posting a no-decision.
McKinney, pitching with soreness in his right hip, threw six consecutive balls to open the game but recovered after a visit from pitching coach Dave Jorn to get through the first inning without allowing a run.
Arakawa, the Oklahoma State second baseman, hit a home run to left to open the second inning. Former Razorback Conor Costello, the Cowboys' right fielder, followed with a single and stole second base. Costello scored on McCain's double to the left-field corner for a 2-0 lead.
Arkansas opened with aggressive early swings against Freeman, who needed only 16 pitches to get through two innings. The Hogs got to him in the third inning, starting with catcher Tucker Pennell's one-out single up the middle followed by Serrano's walk.
Freeman had a chance to escape the inning when Wernes rapped a grounder to second, but Arakawa bobbled it, allowing Wernes to beat the relay after a forceout at second. Benintendi drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch, and Spoon ripped a 2-0 pitch to shortstop that bounced over the shoulder of Donnie Walton, allowing Pennell and Wernes to score for a 2-2 tie.
Sports on 05/31/2015