SEMO defeats Arkansas 6-3, advances to Fayetteville Regional Final

One of the best teams in college baseball during the 2024 campaign is officially going home early in the NCAA Baseball Tournament. The No. 5 overall seed Arkansas Razorbacks saw their postseason dreams go up in the smoke the past two days, and they were officially eliminated by the SEMO Redhawks, falling 6-3 on Sunday evening in the Fayetteville Regional.

With Arkansas being eliminated, that officially means Virginia will be the host for next weekend’s Super Regional matchup vs. Kansas State. Arkansas going down early is definitely the biggest upset so far in the 2024 NCAA Baseball Tournament. While it doesn’t take away from the impressive regular season they accomplished, the sting is likely still fresh in everyone’s minds.

Try Fubo for FREE today and don’t miss any of the action!

SEMO got home runs from Ty Stauss and Brooks Kettering in the upset victory. And the Redhawks advanced to face off against the KSU Wildcats on Sunday night in the Fayetteville Regional Final, but lost 7-2.

Arkansas pitcher Hagen Smith had his college baseball career officially come to an end. He’s cemented himself as one of the greats in the sports’ history, but his performance on Saturday will be one that Hog fans would like to forget. He was benched against Kansas State after he allowed six runs.

Coming into the NCAA Tournament, Smith had a 1.48 ERA. He also set the program single-season record for the most strikeouts. Smith wrapped up the 2024 campaign with 161 strikeouts, a 2.04 ERA, and a 9-2 overall record. He’s projected to be a top 5 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, and it’ll be fascinating to watch his career at the next level.

Arkansas finished the season with a 44-16 overall record. In their first game of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, they dominated SEMO, coming away with a 17-9 victory. But they lost a heartbreaker on Saturday, as the Kansas State Wildcats squeaked past them with a 7-6 victory.

One of the game-changing plays was when Kaelen Culpepper blasted a three-run home run, giving KSU a 6-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. It was one of the stranger home runs you’ll ever see, as Arkansas outfielder Ty Wilmsmeyer caught the ball at the wall in his glove, but then lost his glove over the wall with the ball in it. Hogs slugger Peyton Holt delivered a two-run home run in the ninth inning to cut the Wildcats lead to 7-6, but that would be the final score.