WACO, Texas — Arkansas scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning on hit batters with the bases loaded and the Razorbacks beat Baylor 5-4 on Sunday to force a decisive third game in the super regional.
Arkansas (43-20) entered the ninth inning trailing 4-3 with Baylor closer Max Garner (3-3) on the mound. After loading the bases he hit pinch-hitter Jimmy Bosco with a 2-2 fastball to tie the game. Crayton Bare came on and hit John Clay Reeves with his first pitch.
Baylor (49-16) will host the Razorbacks Monday with the winner advancing to the College World Series.
Trent Daniel (2-0), who got one out in the top of ninth, got the win for Arkansas.
Garner walked Matt Reynolds to open the ninth and gave up a one-out single to Brian Anderson before Bo Bigham hit a potential game-ending double-play ball to shortstop Jake Miller.
Miller, who had handled several tough plays flawlessly, dropped the ball, grabbed at it twice and couldn't get either runner, leaving the bases loaded. Garner then hit Bosco and was relieved by Bare, who threw one pitch.
The Bears, who hit three home runs in Saturday's 8-1 win to open the series, took a 4-3 lead in the top of the fifth despite hitting only one ball out of the infield. After a walk and an infield single, Logan Vick drove in one run with a liner to center, and Josh Ludy and Max Muncy followed with RBI groundouts.
Arkansas scored in the first inning thanks to a misplay by Baylor. Designated hitter Joe Serrano's drive to left-center eluded a diving Dan Evatt and rolled to the wall when Vick overran the play. Serrano went in with a standup triple and scored on Reynolds' sacrifice fly.
The Bears tied it on Muncy's RBI single in the third, but centerfielder Matt Vinson prevented a bigger inning by throwing out Nathan Orf at the plate on Ludy's fly to shallow center.
Dominic Ficociello, who was 3-for-4 with an RBI in the opener, put the Razorbacks back on top in the third with a two-run double after two-out singles by Serrano and Reynolds.