Oregon State 5, Arkansas 3 - FINAL
Jax Biggers kicks off the home ninth with a solid at-bat resulting in a single through the middle. Oregon State is calling upon left-handed closer Jake Mulholland to face Eric Cole and the top of the Razorbacks' order.
Cole struck out looking for the first out of the top half, and Casey Martin then grounded into a 1-6-3 double play to end it. The teams will meet again on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
We will have much more from tonight's game here at WholeHogSports.com later tonight.
Oregon State 5, Arkansas 3 - Middle 9th Inning
Matt Cronin opens the ninth with a leadoff walk to Zak Taylor, who took a slider down and in on the eighth pitch of his at-bat. Zach Clayton is in to run for Taylor, and Andy Armstrong will hit in place of starting center fielder Preston Jones.
Armstrong laid down a perfect sac bunt down the first base line, moving Clayton to second and bringing Madrigal to the plate. With two outs in the top half, Cronin got Cadyn Grenier to pop up in foul ground, but Shaddy, Cole and Gates failed to communicate and the ball dropped, giving Grenier new life. A few pitches later, he singled home the tying run.
Trevor Larnach then belted a two-run bomb off Cronin into the Beavers' bullpen to give Oregon State a two-run lead.
Arkansas will have Biggers, Cole and Martin due up in the bottom of the ninth.
Arkansas 3, Oregon State 2 - End 8th Inning
Arkansas is heading to the ninth needing only three more outs to claim its first baseball national championship. Matt Cronin will work the ninth for the Razorbacks.
Beavers reliever Kevin Abel struck out Carson Shaddy to open the eighth, Gates went down swinging and Koch did the same.
Arkansas 3, Oregon State 2 - Middle 8th Inning
All Adley Rutschman does it hit. He opens the eighth with a single up the middle for his third hit of the night. He's now hitting .404 on the season. Michael Gretler laid down a sacrifice bunt, moving Rutschman into scoring position.
That brings an end to Loseke's outing. It is officially Matt Cronin's moment. He enters with one out in the eighth.
Cronin works around a runner in scoring position and a ball that escaped Grant Koch's glove that allowed Rutschman to advance to third. The left-hander struck out Tyler Malone and got Steven Kwan to fly out to left and preserve Arkansas' one-run lead.
Arkansas 3, Oregon State 2 - End 7th Inning
Dominic Fletcher struck out with a man on second to end the home seventh. Jack Kenley entered the game to pinch run for Bonfield, who singled, removing him from the game.
Barrett Loseke is back on the mound for Arkansas. He's done nothing but pump strikes since entering in relief of Kole Ramage. He has been a popular pick among media members for the All-CWS team.
Arkansas 3, Oregon State 2 - Middle 7th Inning
Barrett Loseke worked through the top of the Oregon State order in the top half of the seventh, allowing only a two-out single to center. He struck out Preston Jones for the first out and Madrigal again flew out to Fletcher.
Cadyn Grenier singled back through the box, but Loseke got Larnach to ground into a fielder's choice. Biggers fielded cleanly and stepped on second for the force out.
Martin, Kjerstad and Bonfield are due up for the Razorbacks in the home seventh.
Arkansas 3, Oregon State 2 - End 6th Inning
Nothing doing offensively for the Razorbacks in the sixth inning. Barrett Loseke is now on to pitch for Arkansas a day after throwing 22 pitches in a stellar outing.
Ramage went 1 2/3 innings, allowed one hit, struck out one and threw all 13 pitches for strikes. He is the pitcher of record for Arkansas.
Arkansas 3, Oregon State 2 - Middle 6th Inning
The Beavers threatened with runners on the corners with no outs, but a crucial double play ball got Ramage and Arkansas out of danger. Ramage caught Jack Anderson's bunt attempt between home and the mound and fired to Casey Martin, who tagged Michael Gretler at third. Gretler initially reached on Martin's throwing error to begin the inning.
Zak Taylor then grounded out to Martin at third, who threw an absolute dart to Gates at first for the final out. Koch, Biggers and Cole are due up for the Razorbacks in the sixth.
Arkansas 3, Oregon State 2 - End 5th Inning
After an Eric Cole groundout, Casey Martin and Heston Kjerstad tallied singles to put some pressure on Eisert. Kjerstad's hit landed less than a foot inside the line. Luke Bonfield then blooped another ball into left field and Martin scored from second to tie the game.
The umpiring crew went to review to look at Martin's play at the plate, which turned out be pretty close, but the call on the field stood - as it should have. Martin's speed simply changes games. Fletcher is now up with Kjerstad on second and Bonfield at first and one away.
Fletcher reached on a fielder's choice chopped back to second base, bringing Carson Shaddy to the plate with runners on the corners. Shaddy then singled hard to left to plate Kjerstad and give Arkansas a lead. Jared Gates gave a ball a ride to deep left-center, but Preston Jones camped under it for the third out.
Oregon State 2, Arkansas 1 - Middle 5th Inning
Oregon State put two men on with one out against Murphy, and that brought his day to a close after 4 1/3 innings of six-hit ball. He allowed the solo shot to Rutschman and struck out four over 69 pitches. He did not record a single groundball out.
Jake Reindl is on to pitch for Arkansas, and he'll be greeted by Beavers star second baseman Nick Madrigal, who's been on the short end of some very well hit balls the last two games.
Reindl issued a four-pitch walk to Madrigal, bringing Grenier to the plate with the bases loaded. Kole Ramage is up and throwing fast and furiously in the Razorbacks' bullpen. Grenier dropped down a perfect bunt along the third base line and Casey Martin's throw to first was not in time, and everyone was safe. Oregon State leads.
Fantastic work by freshman reliever Kole Ramage, who retired 3-4 hitters Trevor Larnach and Adley Rutschman on seven total pitches with the bases loaded, to prevent further damage. Larnach struck out on a filthy pitch in the first and Rutschman rolled over a ball to Gates at first, who stepped on the bag himself to cap the top half.
The top of the Arkansas' lineup is due up in the home fifth.
Arkansas 1, Oregon State 1 - End 4th Inning
Eisert has struck out five of six Arkansas batters since entering in relief of Fehmel. He fanned Jared Gates and Jax Biggers in the fourth and got Grant Koch to pop out to short.
Murphy is back on the mound for Arkansas. He's at 57 pitches as he begins his work in the fifth.
Arkansas 1, Oregon State 1 - Middle 4th Inning
Adley Rutschman crushed a 1-0 offering from Kacey Murphy to knot the game. His solo shot landed in the Arkansas bullpen, where Jake Reindl, Barrett Loseke and Matt Cronin are now stirring. The home run was Rutschman's ninth of the season.
Murphy rebounded from the home run with a pair of flyball outs to get out of the inning. Gates, Koch and Biggers are due up for the Razorbacks.
Arkansas 1, Oregon State 0 - End 3rd Inning
Brandon Eisert is on to pitch for Oregon State in relief of Bryce Fehmel with a man on after walking Kjerstad. He walked three batters and hit another in two-plus innings and allowed only one hit. Of Fehmel's 55 pitches, he threw just 26 for strikes.
Eisert then sat down Luke Bonfield on five pitches, struck out Fletcher looking and fanned Shaddy on a slider that wound up at his back foot. Arkansas – 14 strikeouts vs. OSU's bullpen this series – continues to struggle against Beavers relievers.
Arkansas 1, Oregon State 0 - Middle 3rd Inning
Kacey Murphy recorded his third strikeout of the night to kick off the third and got out of the inning with a pair of flyball outs. Nick Madrigal hit another ball hard to center, but wasn't rewarded with a base hit.
Those in the press box said Murphy stepped off the mound a bit gingerly as he headed toward the dugout. He's at 42 pitches through three.
Kjerstad, Bonfield and Fletcher are due up for Arkansas in the bottom of the third.
Arkansas 1, Oregon State 0 - End 2nd Inning
Bryce Fehmel worked himself into a bit of trouble in the home second and Arkansas grabbed its first lead on a wild pitch to leadoff man Eric Cole. One batter before Cole, Biggers walked to load the bases. Cole walked to load the bases again, bringing Casey Martin to the plate.
Martin skied out to center to end the threat and leave the bases full for the third time in this series. Fehmel has thrown 50 pitches through two innings – 25 strikes. Murphy sits at 30 entering the third.
Oregon State 0, Arkansas 0 - Middle 2nd Inning
Grant Koch capped the top of the second by gunning down OSU's Kyle Nobach at second base. Murphy and Koch were on the same page, the lefty delivered a pitchout and Koch hit Carson Shaddy with a perfect throw. Zak Taylor will bat when play opens in the third.
Arkansas has Fletcher, Shaddy and Jared Gates due up in the second.
Oregon State 0, Arkansas 0 - End 1st Inning
Heston Kjerstad reached base safely thanks to an error by Beavers shortstop Cadyn Grenier, but that was all for Arkansas in the home first. If there was a good sign for the Razorbacks, it's that OSU starter Bryce Fehmel needed 22 pitches to get out of the inning.
Murphy returns to the mound to face 6-7-8 in the Beavers' lineup.
Oregon State 0, Arkansas 0 - Middle 1st Inning
Oregon State hit Kacey Murphy pretty hard in the top of the first inning, but had nothing to show for it. Nick Madrigal's tough luck against Arkansas continued as he flew out to deep center on the second pitch of the night. Cadyn Grenier flew out to Fletcher on nearly the exact same play three pitches later.
Trevor Larnach and Adley Rutschman then singled to put two men on, but Murphy fanned Michael Gretler to end the threat.
Eric Cole, Casey Martin and Heston Kjerstad are scheduled to hit for the Razorbacks in the home first.
Pregame
Skies are clear and conditions are perfect for Game 2 tonight. Razorbacks fans have again packed out the general admission seats in the outfield. There remains one small patch of Oregon State fans in left-center. Aside from them, it's an Arkansas-heavy crowd beyond the outfield fence.
Left-hander Kacey Murphy will start for Arkansas on the mound tonight. Murphy is 8-5 on the season with a 3.15 ERA in 16 starts. He is holding opponents to a .222 average against him over 97 innings in 2018.
Oregon State is starting right-hander Bryce Fehmel, who enters today with a 10-1 record and 3.16 ERA over 111 innings. We have been brought three different Beavers lineups in the last half hour. Center fielder Michael Kwan, an All-Pac 12 guy, will not start tonight for coach Pat Casey. Preston Jones will start in his place.
Nick Madrigal, who did not record a hit last night for the first time since May 26, moved from third to leadoff, and Adley Rutschman moved from fifth to cleanup. Rutschman is hitting .398 coming into today.
Good news for Arkansas fans is Perry Costello will not be behind the plate for tonight's game. He will be the game's left field line umpire. Jeff Henrichs will serve as the home plate umpire while Chris Coskey, Frank Sylvester and Barry Chambers man first, second and third, respectively.