OMAHA, Neb. — Arkansas' home field advantage did not end with the super regional round.
Fifteen days after clinching a trip to the College World Series in front of a Baum Stadium crowd of 11,217, the Razorbacks played in front of what was likely even more Arkansas fans Tuesday in Game 1 of the College World Series finals.
An announced crowd of 25,321 was on hand for the game, and a safe estimate was that three-fourths of those in attendance were wearing Razorback red, creating an equalizer for the underdog of this year's championship round.
"I felt like we were playing in Baum Stadium, just a lot bigger, with 25,000 Arkansas fans in it," outfielder Heston Kjerstad said. "You've got to love having support like that when you're playing college baseball."
Omaha is located about 420 miles north of Fayetteville, about a six-hour drive from the University of Arkansas campus. That is a similar distance as Dallas and Memphis, where Arkansas fans have given the Razorbacks a home-crowd feel for past postseason games in football and basketball.
Between Arkansas playing for its first baseball national championship and playing against an opponent from so far away, Razorback fans have overrun Nebraska's largest city this week. It seems everywhere you look here, you're likely to see a familiar face.
"The support is everywhere, at our hotel, everywhere we go," catcher Grant Koch said. "We feed off it for sure because I think it's unlike any other fan base in college baseball."
The fan discrepancy was most visible in the general-admission seats in the outfield of TD Ameritrade Park, where 14 of the 15 sections appeared to be either all or mostly red. Some fans lined up during the morning hours Tuesday to get seats on the first row, and Hog calls were audible inside the stadium nearly two hours before the game began at 6 p.m.
During Oregon State's pregame batting practice, Arkansas fans threw home-run balls back onto the field, which led to cheers and more Hog calls.
"I think it was even crazier than a home game, honestly, because at home you have the Hog Pen and it's just left field, and it's kind of spread out," pitcher Barrett Loseke said. "Here it's tight and close, and it definitely gives us an advantage and puts pressure on Oregon State."
The crowd was vocal throughout the game and generated several loud roars, perhaps none louder than the seventh inning when Kjerstad, the left fielder, threw a strike to second baseman Carson Shaddy for a tag out after an outfield hit by Zak Taylor.
"It was just incredible," Shaddy said. "The fans were so great and so loud. There wasn't a silent moment in the whole night.
"I figured it would be like this. I know how passionate these fans are and how much this means to them. They want a little piece of it if it does come true. They have been such good fans and so loyal...and they helped us out tonight."