Sports

Heartfelt Response From Arkansas Baseball Goes Viral After ‘Cursed’ Program’s 9th Inning Collapse

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Arkansas baseball players after a loss to LSU

© Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images


The Arkansas baseball team fell in heartbreaking fashion to SEC rival LSU at the College World Series on Wednesday. The walk-off loss officially ended their season.

It was a game the Razorbacks believe they should’ve won after taking a two-run lead into the ninth inning. A series of unfortunate events led to a late-game collapse.

Arkansas had already lost once to LSU in its opener in Omaha. They needed to beat the Tigers twice in order to keep national championship hopes alive.

They appeared on their way to forcing a decisive winner-take-all rematch on Thursday. Then, disaster.

LSU got two of its first three hitters on base in the bottom of the ninth frame while trailing 5-3. From there, the game seemingly should’ve ended on multiple occasions, but the ball just didn’t bounce the Razorbacks’ way.

First, Tigers infielder Steven Milam looked to have rolled a game-ending groundball with one out. Rather than turn a 6-4-3 double play, Arkansas shortstop Wehiwa Aloy went to third base to get the lead runner.

The next hitter then drilled a line drive to leftfield that was misplayed by Charles Davalan. It would’ve been the third out. Instead, two runs scored.

After LSU tied the game at 5-5, Jared Jones ended it with a soft liner that grazed off the glove of second baseman Cam Kozeal. Arkansas had three chances to get the third out. Instead, the Tigers won, 6-5.

Arkansas baseball players consoled a teammate after the fact.

No doubt, the loss was heartbreaking. It was one Arkansas probably wins more times than not given the circumstances in the ninth inning. In this instance, it just wasn’t meant to be.

Davalan took the loss hard after misplaying the ball in leftfield. He apologized to teammates and coaches in tears. Rather than blame their sophomore leader, the Razorbacks rallied around him.

The heartfelt moment went viral on social media. It was a painful end to the season, but the Hogs wanted Davalan to know that the loss didn’t fall on him.

Head coach Dave Van Horn reiterated that point in his postgame press conference. He noted that the Razorbacks wouldn’t have gotten to Omaha had it not been for the outfielder.

“We wouldn’t have gotten here (to Omaha) without Charles Davalan. Not even close. You could knock off 10 SEC wins if we didn’t have him.

“That kid (Charles Davalan) doesn’t have to be sorry for anything. Anything. He was our glue. He held everything together.”

-Dave Van Horn

Is Arkansas cursed?

The Hogs are now tied with Clemson and North Carolina in having the second-most College World Series appearances without a national championship.

Arkansas has been to Omaha 12 times. The program is now 0-for-12 in its title pursuit. Some of those losses have come painstaking fashion. Wednesday’s defeat was gut-wrenching, but it still ranks No. 2 on the list of recent Razorback collapses.

In 2018, the program made the national championship series to face Oregon State. Arkansas led 3-2 in the ninth inning with two outs after having already won Game 1. A Beavers batter popped up in foul territory on a play that should’ve ended the game and allowed the Razorbacks to dogpile.

Three defenders converged on the ball. None made the catch. Oregon State used its extra life to take the lead and win Game 2 before going on to take a decisive Game 3 for the national title.

Arkansas baseball couldn’t get the monkey off its back in ’18. It failed to do so again in heartbreaking fashion seven years later.