The Razorbacks have owned Kansas in the postseason in nearly every sport in Brecent history. But sadly, Arkansas baseball won't have the chance to take them down in the Fayetteville Regional. North Dakota State stunned the Jayhawks, 4-3.
NDSU sends the Jayhawks back to Kansas
When Arkansas had some trouble putting away the Bison, it made some feel uneasy with the Razorbacks headed into its game against Creighton later Saturday night. However, with the performance it laid out against Kansas, NDSU may just be the real deal.
Kansas never led in Saturday afternoon's matchup. NDSU came out with a pair of two-out runs in the first inning to go ahead early. Three innings later, the Jayhawks tied it up at two a piece in the fourth until NDSU went ahead again in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single by Blake Timmons.
Bison's catcher Evan Gustafson added an insurance run in the fifth inning on an RBI double to go up by two. Kansas managed to score one more run in the sixth, but couldn't break even again.
Questionable ninth-inning call
The game didn't end without some controversy. With the Jayhawks fighting for its postseason like in the top of the ninth, catcher Ian Francis swung at a ball low in the zone that was called a foul tip on the field. It was his third strike and Kansas was down to its last out.
When ESPN replayed the pitch in slow motion, it was clear the ball bounced off the ground before NDSU's catcher caught the ball. Kansas' head coach Dan Fitzgerald wanted to challenge the call at the plate but was told it wasn't something that could be challenged.
The loser of Arkansas' game against Creighton will play the Bison in the loser's bracket tomorrow at 2:00 PM.