Arkansas certainly knows how to make baseball games interesting.
Missouri State’s Bryce Cermenelli hit a home run on the second pitch of the game from Arkansas starter Gabe Gaeckle.
Three batters later, Caden Bogenpohl made it 2-0 with an RBI single to center. And with the way the Bears’ Max Knight was throwing, a two-run lead looked like it might hold up. Through three innings, Knight allowed just two hits and struck out six.
Razorback fans can be forgiven for thinking the worst. This is the same fan base that came within a foul‑territory fly ball of a national championship in 2018.
Those feelings didn’t improve when Missouri State pushed the lead to 3-0 on a sacrifice bunt in the fourth. But an RBI single by Maika Niu in the bottom half showed Arkansas wasn’t dead at the plate.
Hogs on the board pic.twitter.com/chmKae3mbn
— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) May 29, 2026
Patience is a Virtue After All
Or maybe it showed Knight was nearing the end of his usefulness, which is what Arkansas would have been waiting on.
The Razorbacks put up six runs in the fifth to take a lead they never gave back. They didn’t do it with home runs. They did it with doubles, singles, groundouts and a fielder’s choice. It was patient, timely hitting, and it arrived the moment Knight left the game.
Have a ballgame, Maika!
↪️ 4-for-4, 2 2B, 4 RBI pic.twitter.com/KkDPFTc9B6
— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) May 30, 2026
Knight, one of Missouri State’s best arms, struck out seven and allowed just four hits in four innings. The four relievers who followed him combined to give up eight hits, six walks and only three strikeouts.
Arkansas’ plan was simple: survive the starter, then go to work on a bullpen that wasn’t likely to match his level of productivity.
A lot of the upsets on Day 1 of the NCAA Tournament came from a dominant starter shutting down a higher seed. The difference here was the bullpen. Missouri State’s couldn’t hold the line, and now the Bears are headed to the loser’s bracket.
Arkansas, meanwhile, moves on to the winner’s bracket, even if it had to burn its best reliever to finish the job.
Ethan McElvain entered in the eighth with the bases loaded and one out. He gave up a two‑run single to the first batter he faced, then retired the next five hitters. He threw 22 pitches, which keeps him in play for Saturday if needed, but Arkansas would’ve preferred not to use him in an 8-3 game.
Still, 1-0 is a lot better than 0-1, and that’s why Dave Van Horn made the move and get Arkansas a 9-5 win.
Held strong pic.twitter.com/W8Fjy5XIIy
— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) May 30, 2026
Next Up
The challenge now is Kansas. The Jayhawks used only two pitchers in their 6-3 win over Northeastern.
The good news for Arkansas is that Kansas burned its ace, Dominic Voegele, who threw 102 pitches and won’t be available Saturday. Reliever Boede Rahe tossed two perfect innings and 32 pitches, putting his availability in the same range as McElvain’s. That leaves the rest of Kansas’ staff fresh for Arkansas.
The Razorbacks may not be able to afford another slow start, but if that happens, they showed they can’t be written off after a couple innings.
First pitch between Arkansas and Kansas is set for 5 p.m. Saturday.
