The Arkansas Razorbacks scored all four of their runs in the fifth inning to come from behind against the Oregon State Beavers and win the first game of the College World Series finale.
Arkansas will now need just one more win to clinch the best-of-three series and earn the first College World Series title in school history.
Pitcher’s Duel Breaks Down in Fifth
The game, which had been delayed a day due to rain, was expected to be a pitcher’s duel between undefeated Arkansas ace Blaine Knight (14-0) and Oregon State’s Luke Heimlich (16-3). The Beavers struck first, scoring a run in the second on a Michael Gretler base hit.
Oregon State seemed poised to add to that lead, as they had runners on first and third with nobody out. But a Tyler Malone grounder to first base turned into a double play attempt, and when runner Adley Rutschman ducked rather than slide into second base, he was called for interference. That not only resulted in a double play, but forced Trevor Larnach back to third base. A strikeout then ended the inning with no further damage.
Meanwhile, Heimlich appeared to be cruising through four innings, having surrendered only one hit to that point. But the wheels fell off in the fifth, as the lefty hit two batters, walked another, and gave up two hits. An error by second baseman Nick Madrigal only made things worse.
“He lost command of his fastball a little bit and was out of the zone,” Arkansas outfielder Heston Kjerstad said after the game. “As hitters we’re all just trying to be patient, see him in the zone.”
By the time Heimlich was out of the game and reliever Christian Chamberlain had finished the inning, Arkansas had a 4-1 lead, a margin that would stand as the final score.
Heimlich Continues to Struggle
The collapse continued a poor College World Series for Heimlich, who had failed to get out of the third inning in two previous starts. Heimlich did not participate in last year’s CWS after revelations that he had pleaded guilty to molesting a younger relative when he was 15 years old. He has denied any wrongdoing in interviews since the story surfaced.
For Arkansas (48-19), winning game one was critical, especially considering how dominant Knight has been all year.
“When you’ve got a true ace who just keeps winning,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said after the game, “yeah, you’ve got to get that one.”
But Oregon State (53-12-1) has been in this position before. The Beavers had to win four games in a row in the losers’ bracket just to get to the final, and they only lost consecutive games twice during the Pac-12 regular season.
“We’ve been in this position before,” Madrigal told reporters. “We’re not going to approach it any different. We’ve got to show up or the season’s over. But we’re not going to put any added pressure on ourselves.”
Game 2 of the College World Series takes place on Wednesday night, with Game 3 scheduled for Thursday if necessary.