K-State upsets Arkansas, poised to advance in NCAA Tournament

Kansas State is one win away from advancing to the NCAA Tournament after defeating the Arkansas Razorbacks in the second game of the Fayetteville Regional, 7-6.

The Wildcats were led by their bats, which caught fire in the middle of the inning to lead the Wildcats to a 6-2 lead in the fifth inning. An eighth-inning home run by Nick English gave the Bat Cats an extra cushion as Tyson Neighbors closed the door on the Arkansas offense.

The win puts K-State on the brink of advancing to the tournament’s super regionals. The Wildcats will face the winner of Arkansas and SEMO. The loser of that game will be eliminated from the NCAA Tournament. Off to a 2-0 start in the NCAA tournament, the Wildcats have built a cushion that allows them to lose two games before being eliminated.

Here are three takeaways from K-State’s win over Arkansas.

In the NCAA Tournament, teams need their stars to lead.

To this point, the Wildcats have gotten significant production from their biggest star, Kaelen Culpepper.

In the bottom of the fifth, Culpepper threw a pitch from Arkansas’ Hagen Smith to right field for a three-run homer. The home run capped a six-run inning and gave the Wildcats a 6-2 lead.

It may have been Culpepper’s only hit, but it was arguably the most important hit of the game. Heck, it might be K-State’s most important success of the season.

Although it seemed unlikely, the Wildcats needed to beat Arkansas for regional dominance. Now the pressure is on an Arkansas team that has already used its best pitcher (Hagen Smith).

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As we mentioned earlier, Hagen Smith is the best pitcher in Arkansas and one of the best pitchers in the country. The left-hander will be one of the top picks in next month’s MLB Draft and is capable of taking control of games with his arm.

However, K-State kicked him out of the game after just five innings, which saw Smith allow six earned runs and throw 92 pitches. That doesn’t guarantee K-State won’t play Smith again in the regional final, but it does mean he won’t be ready for Sunday night’s game.

The Arkansas team is still one of the best in the country, but it will be easier to get along with them compared to Smith.

Tyson Neighbors has done it again.

And it’s someone astonished?

Neighbors has established himself as one of the best relief pitchers in the country, using his right arm to shut out most of the teams he will face. And against an offense that proved it can be one of the best in the country, he did it again.

Neighbors pitched the final 3.1 innings of the game, allowing four runs on six hits. Although he got into trouble, he constantly navigated and found ways out of jams. That skill proved to be crucial for the Cats, as the Razorbacks made things interesting in the late innings.

Neighbors threw 67 shots tonight, so he may not be available for Sunday’s game, but there’s a good chance he’ll play in Monday’s game if needed.