2018 In Review: The Top Moments In Arkansas Part 2

If you missed Part 1 of the countdown, check it out here.

5. Baseball Opens College World Series With Win Over Texas

Arkansas opened the 2018 College World Series with one of the sweetest wins possible, beating the Longhorns. Blaine Knight got his 13th win of the season and the Hogs topped the Horns 11-5.

The biggest inning was an eight run sixth inning that blew the game open. The first 10 batters of the inning reached base and there were no extra base hits. It was absolute death by station to station baseball.

And Heston Kjerstad gave us this beauty of a GIF.

4. MBB Upsets No. 14 Auburn

Arkansas looked to be one good win away from securing an NCAA Tournament birth, and they got it with a huge exclamation point win over Auburn. The win put the Hogs at 21-9 and secured another winning season in SEC play for Mike Anderson. Jaylen Barford and Daniel Gafford each had double-doubles leading the way.

The Hogs were on fire from three point range to start, hitting 70% of their outside shots in the first half, igniting a 52-42 halftime lead. Arkansas led by double digits for the majority of the second half before one final Auburn run cut the lead to six with three minutes left. The Hogs were able to counter with a dunk from Gafford and hit their free throws to clinch the game.

3. Women’s Cross Country Wins Sixth Straight SEC Title

The Hogs started the 2018-19 academic year claiming the first conference title awarded. The Hogs dominated the meet, having five runners finish in the top-10 of the race in less than ideal conditions. It’s the sixth consecutive conference title for them and was the best performance in an SEC meet since 2006.

2. Softball Wins First Regional In Program History

Arkansas earned a national seed for the first time in program history, earning the No. 13 seed. They took advantage and beat Wichita State for their first ever trip to the Super Regionals.

It was a huge turnaround for Courtney Deifel, who has turned the program around quicker than anyone anticipated. The Softball team’s run was an unexpected one and a lot of fun to watch.

1. Baseball Beats Florida to Advance to CWS Finals

Ultimately the Hogs fell short in the CWS Finals, but the 5-2 win over Florida was as good a performance in a big stage that the program has had. Isaiah Campbell was called upon to eat up some innings, and gave the Hogs 5.1 innings with a career high eight strikeouts. Casey Martin was a clutch 4/5 from the plate and scored three of the Hogs’ five runs.

Matt Cronin came in for the six out save and breezed through Florida’s best, getting the six outs in just 21 pitches.