STILLWATER, Okla. -- Whether University of Arkansas catcher Michael Turner was at the plate or behind it at the NCAA Stillwater Regional, he made big plays.
The left-handed hitting Turner batted .444 (8 for 18), drove in 11 runs, scored 5 times and even stole his first base of the season playing four games at the regional.
Defensively, Turner threw out two players trying to steal second base and picked off another at first base.
Turner's all-around play earned him most outstanding player of the regional honors voted on by members of the media after the Razorbacks beat Oklahoma State 7-3 on Monday night to advance to a super regional matchup at North Carolina.
Arkansas (41-19) opens the best-of-three series at North Carolina (42-20) at 10 a.m. Central on Saturday with the winner advancing to the College World Series.
"It's unbelievable," Razorbacks Coach Dave Van Horn said of Turner's performance at the regional. "Man, I mean, that's a tough position back there in the heat -- catching, throwing and sweating and grinding and calling pitches.
"It can be a little stressful. And then trying to hit. That takes a tough individual to do what he does.
"I've always said catching is the best position on the field. You're the only one facing the whole field and you're involved in every play. You've got to have special people back there if you're going to have a good team."
Turner, a fifth-year senior, transferred to Arkansas after playing four seasons at Kent State.
The Stillwater Regional was the first time Turner had played in the NCAA Tournament. Now he's two victories away from the College World Series.
"It's cool," Turner said. "I would never have been in this situation a couple years ago. So I'm super excited about it and just trying to do everything I can to help the team win."
Turner's two-out, two-run double pulled down to right field in the eighth inning in Monday night's game off Oklahoma State All-American pitcher Justin Campbell pushed Arkansas' lead to 7-3.
Campbell, the Cowboys' No. 1 starter who threw 5 innings and allowed 5 runs and 7 hits in the Razorbacks' 20-12 victory over Oklahoma State on Saturday night, pitched the final 2 innings Monday night.
Van Horn said Campbell kept throwing change-ups to Arkansas' left-handed hitters, and he struck out Robert Moore and Peyton Stovall in the eighth inning and Zack Gregory and Brady Slavens in the ninth before Turner's double.
"We told them, 'Just sit soft. If he throws a fastball, just hope it doesn't hit you. Look for a breaking ball or a change-up. Soft,' " Van Horn said. "Michael was really the only lefty that stuck with the plan, and finally after the fastball that was in that they complained [was a strike], he was just sitting on something soft, and he got it, and he hooked it down the line."
Turner made it sound simple.
"Just trying to have fun, put a good swing on a hanging change-up," he said. "That was all."
Oklahoma State had two runners on base with one out in the fourth inning when Turner picked Caeden Trenkle off first base.
The pickoff came after a pitching change and meeting on the mound with Kole Ramage replacing starter Zack Morris.
After Ramage's first pitch, Turner fired the ball to first baseman Peyton Stovall, who tagged out Trenkle.
"When I went out to the mound to make a change, that was all Michael," Van Horn said of the pickoff play. "Kole was running in, [Turner] starts talking to Stovall and me. He says, 'He's getting a big lead, I think we can pick him off.'
"And the only thing that I said was what I want Stovall to do is we're going to cheat a little bit, and as the pitch is being delivered you're going to have to start moving that way. He hits it in the hole, then he gets us.
"I mean, that was all Michael Turner. ... He saw that we had a chance to do it. That was a huge play in the game. That was a momentum killer right there. That's what you want behind the plate."
After the pickoff, Ramage struck out Chase Adkinson to end the inning.
"That extra out is huge to get to two outs because you know that you can get a strikeout to get out of it," Ramage said. "You can get a pop up, get a ground ball. You can get anything.
"Just knowing that we've got a guy back there that can make plays and get me an extra out when I'm on the mound is really good to have in the back of my mind.
"Getting that second out is big-time. It calms the situation down a little. It takes the pressure off. Just knowing that I've got to get the guy out at the plate."
Turner said that two pitches before Ramage came into the game, he saw that Trenkle was getting a big lead. The timing of the pitching change worked out well, Turner added, because he wanted to talk to Stovall.
"But I didn't want everyone to know what was going on," Turner said. "We just discussed it right there [on the mound], and I told Kole, 'We're going to go outside fastball right here' because it was a righty up.
"He put it in a perfect spot, and it was a bang-bang play."
Turner has raised his batting average to .310 during the regional. He has hit 9 home runs and 15 doubles with 48 RBI to go with a .994 fielding percentage.
"All I've got to say is I'm really glad he's on our team," Ramage said. "That's all."
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