FAYETTEVILLE — You had to see it to believe it.
On a night with as many twists as the Arkansas spring could deliver, the Razorbacks played one of their most memorable baseball games ever - a rain-wrapped marathon that ended at 3:10 a.m., exactly six hours after it began.
When it was over, Arkansas had emptied the bullpen to gut out an 11-10 win over Missouri State, the regional foe from two hours up the road that was ready to punch its ticket to college baseball's equivalent to the sweet 16. The Razorbacks forced the Fayetteville Regional to a decisive Game 7, which will begin at 6 p.m., less than 15 hours after the sixth game ended.
We are prone to hyperbole, but it's safe to say we've never seen the likes of Game 6 and probably never will again.
"It'll be one that I never forget," Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. "I told the players I haven't been up this late in years."
For as long as they play baseball at Baum Stadium, they will talk about the early-morning rally that kept Arkansas alive at the NCAA Tournament.
You've got company, Brady Toops. So do you, James McCann.
Those two delivered the most memorable individual moments in the stadium's 21-year history, but not even they delivered the amount of unpredictability that unfolded throughout the wee hours Monday. Mother Nature set a memorable backdrop with pockets of heavy rain that affected play in the third, eighth and ninth innings.
With the season on the line, Arkansas fans sat through the elements and bed times, ups and downs to will their Razorbacks to one more night in the postseason. Business owners and teachers who have to open their doors at 8 a.m. were there until the end, and when it was over they didn't want to leave, ready to soak in every last memory.
In the first sign that this night wouldn't be like any other, the game resumed at 12:35 a.m. after play had halted in the third inning because of rain.
"Welcome to breakfast at Baum Stadium," declared Jon Williams, the public address voice of the stadium, as play resumed.
The game already had been delayed by more than an hour as a result of storms that pushed back the start of the Razorbacks' 4-3 win over Oral Roberts earlier in the day.
When Arkansas players took the field after midnight, they were taken aback to see fans numbering in the thousands still on-hand.
"When you see that as a player, you're kind of just, 'Wow,'" said Evan Lee, whose ninth-inning strikeout of Justin Paulsen ended the craziness. "That the fans care so much about us and our success, it's a boost in our energy wanting to win for those people that stayed around.
"The quantity of fans there was unbelievable."
Those watching on TV were quick to point out the uniqueness of the crowd.
"I love my trips to Baum," tweeted Kyle Peterson, the face of college baseball for ESPN. "I have even more respect for you now."
The seats emptied out a little more as the game progressed through the 1 and 2 o'clock hours, but not much. More than a few neighbors along 15th St. were awoken when Jared Gates hit a home run deep into the rainy darkness at 2:50 a.m. It was as loud as anyone had heard Baum in years.
"The fans made it awesome, just hanging in there until 3 in the morning," Gates said. "It was awesome."
The home run was part of a four-run inning that gave Arkansas an 11-8 lead. The inning included a run scoring on a fielder's choice and another after consecutive wild pitches from Missouri State's ace closer, Jake Fromson.
The inning began when Van Horn nearly went nose-to-nose with home plate umpire Ramon Admendariz, who was about to call for the tarp to be pulled back on the field. Van Horn's argument was that Arkansas had to pitch in the rain in the top of the inning, so Missouri State should have to do it in the bottom half.
Bears coach Keith Guttin's icy glare from the end of the Missouri State dugout preceded his sharp comments afterward.
"I don't think games should be decided in the rain at 3 a.m.," Guttin said during a terse postgame news conference.
"I think you probably need to ask the umpire what was said because I'd probably be suspended if I say the truth."
Missouri State showed moxie in the ninth when Hunter Steinmetz drilled a two-run home run over the right field bullpen with two outs. That brought up the most dangerous part of the Bears' lineup, but Lee - the Hogs' seventh reliever - retired Paulsen when he offered at a high fastball.
Arkansas players - weary from a day that started more than 14 hours earlier at the ballpark - celebrated on the field between home plate and the mound, while Missouri State players dejectedly walked to their bus still in uniform as one final Hog Call rang out.
You had to see it to believe it.