OMAHA, Neb. — After returning to the Arkansas clubhouse from the main press conference room, Razorbacks second baseman Carson Shaddy looked at his phone then threw it face down on the carpeted floor as he leaned back in his chair.
The senior from Fayetteville was far from the only dejected and frustrated player in the room Wednesday night. Right fielder Eric Cole’s eyes welled with tears. First baseman Jared Gates solemnly recalled the game’s defining play as best he could.
Arkansas was one out away from claiming its first national championship. Oregon State two-hole hitter Cadyn Grenier was gifted new life after Shaddy, Cole and Gates converged in foul ground on what could have been the title-clinching out. Shaddy overran the ball that bounced in the dirt mere feet in front of Cole’s cleats. Gates gave way to Shaddy and Cole.
“I don’t know” whose ball it was, Cole said after the game. “We all could have gotten to the ball. It’s baseball. It happens.”
“Going back on it, had a good read on it,” Gates said. “It was up in the air long enough that usually Cole or Shaddy comes to get that ball. We all had a chance at it and we all let it fall, so I guess we’re all to blame.”
When Grenier’s foul ball touched down, Arkansas was one strike away from a championship. But he kept battling, taking a ball then fouling off another Matt Cronin fastball before lacing a single to left to tie the game 3-3.
Three pitches later, Oregon State led 5-3 – the game's final score – on Trevor Larnach’s 19th home run of the season, a laser he said he top spun over the fence and into the Beavers’ bullpen. The three earned runs allowed by Cronin matched a career-high over 25 collegiate outings.
Cronin was one night removed from setting the program’s single-season saves record, and Wednesday night marked the first time this season the Razorbacks lost when they carried a lead into the ninth inning.
Arkansas was previously 42-0 in such games. Entering Wednesday, teams leading after eight innings had won 126 of the last 128 College World Series games.
“I was going to get that guy out and win a championship,” Cronin said of his mentality after watching the potential final out fall to the ground between three teammates, “but it didn’t happen the way we wanted it to.”
Shaddy said he didn’t hear anyone call for the ball. Gates said he thought he heard something, but could have misunderstood amid noise from 25,580 fans in TD Ameritrade Park. Cole couldn’t hear anything.
Shaddy told a reporter who approached his locker in the clubhouse that he is “not worried” about the misplay.
“You know, it's a tough play,” Shaddy said. “I just kept running trying to make the play and overran it. It's a tough break; just have to get back out tomorrow.”
The message to the team from Dave Van Horn following the loss was short and sweet. In his mind, and in the mind of many of his players, not a whole lot needed to be said. And for the first time during their stay in Omaha, the Razorbacks have their backs against the wall.
“It's a tough loss,” Van Horn said. “What do you do? You got a chance to play for a national championship. You fight through it.”
Heston Kjerstad called the top of the ninth a “roller coaster” of emotion and said he felt as if his heart had been ripped out. Luke Bonfield added he would be lying if he said he was only a little bit disappointed.
As a show of support for Arkansas players and coaches, former Razorbacks pitching coach Dave Jorn - a man not known for many words - took to Twitter.
“Tough loss tonight,” Jorn wrote. “Nobody said it would be easy. Gotta bounce back tomorrow. Our program is built on grinders and toughness. Winners overcome adversity and I have no doubt we are winners.”
Bonfield, the Razorbacks’ clean-up hitter and one of the team’s veteran voices, said he remains optimistic about Thursday’s winner-take-all meeting with the Beavers. He was adamant the loss was not a gut-punch and the series is a long way from over.
Gates echoed Bonfield and said he and his teammates will handle this challenge well.
“We know what to do. We’ve faced adversity all year long,” he said. “We’ll be fine. We played in the SEC and had tough road weekends. We’ll be fine. I’m not worried about it.”