Hagen Smith sets single-season strikeout record in Fayetteville Regional vs. Kansas State
Hagen Smith is unquestionably one of the top pitchers in college baseball history. He’s put up some staggering numbers the past few years for the Hogs and he’s one of the big reasons why they’re one of the top teams in college baseball. On Saturday night in his team’s NCAA Tournament matchup vs. Kansas State, Smith put himself in rarified air, setting the single season record for Arkansas baseball for the most strikeouts.
In the second inning, Smith tossed strikeout number 156 for the 2024 campaign.
He fired 156 strikeouts in just 80 1/3 innings of work.
Smith has continued to carve up the Kansas State lineup on Saturday evening, looking surgical with the baseball. He’s projected as a top 5 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft and it’s easy to see why when watching him.
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In the middle of the fifth inning, Arkansas was leading Kansas State, 2-0. Through four innings, Smith had already struck out six batters.
But things took a turn for the worse in the fifth inning, as Kansas State put six runs on the board in the fifth inning to take a 6-2 lead. One of the plays was a pivotal game-changing three-run blast by KSU’s Kaelen Culpepper. Then Nick English tacked on the insurance run with a solo shot, to give the Wildcats seven runs. And that would be the difference, as KSU would upset the Hogs, 7-6.
Arkansas pitcher Hagen Smith had a rough outing
Arkansas entered the night with a 34-3 record at home this year. And it was certainly an uncharacteristic showing from Hagen Smith. In what could be his final appearance in a Hogs uniform, Smith finished with seven strikeouts, allowing six earned runs, four walks, and four hits in just five innings. After the fifth inning, Hogs head coach Dave Van Horn decided to send Smith to the bench. It was a bad time to have his worst start of the season, but it’s still been an amazing career for the Razorbacks’ great.
The Razorbacks will face an elimination game against SEMO on Sunday at 1:00 PM EST in the Fayetteville Regional. The winner of the Fayetteville Regional will go on to face the winner of the Charlottesville Regional in the Super Regionals. Virginia defeated Mississippi State on Saturday night, winning 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth inning in thrilling fashion.