FAYETTEVILLE — A missed call hurt Arkansas' chance of a ninth-inning rally against Missouri State on Saturday at Baum Stadium.
Junior designated hitter Luke Bonfield insisted he was hit on an 0-2 pitch with no outs in the inning, but home plate umpire Brandon Cooper said Bonfield wasn't hit. TV replays appeared to show the pitch from Missouri State's Jake Fromson hit Bonfield in the back leg.
Had Bonfield been granted first, Arkansas would have had two runners on base with no outs in the inning. Bonfield struck out on a check swing on the next pitch.
"I think what you guys all saw was pretty self-explanatory," Bonfield said. "I thought it hit me; he obviously didn't."
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn argued the call with Cooper as fans booed.
"I've really never seen Luke react like that before, so I felt confident that the ball clipped him," Van Horn said. "The umpire said he didn't see it, didn't hear it. I said, 'You should've seen it,' and he said, 'Well, I didn't see it or hear it.' Really, there was nothing we could do. It was his judgement."
Bonfield said the no-call affected him on the next pitch, which he chased outside the zone.
"I definitely let that dictate the rest of the at-bat for me," Bonfield said. "He's a slider guy and I knew he was going to throw a slider to me, and he did. Obviously I offered at it."
Arkansas outfielder Dominic Fletcher hit into a game-ending double play in the at-bat following Bonfield's.