FAYETTEVILLE — TCU got the groundball it wanted with Arkansas catcher Casey Opitz at the plate.
But the outcome was less than ideal for the Horned Frogs.
Opitz's bases-loaded single up the middle, which grazed the mound and skipped past a diving Adam Oviedo at shortstop, broke a scoreless tie in the sixth and plated two runs to give Arkansas an edge entering the late innings. It also provided starter Isaiah Campbell a cushion to work with.
The sophomore's base hit proved to be the difference in Arkansas' 3-1 win, which pushed it into Sunday's Fayetteville Regional final at 8 p.m. against the winner of Central Connecticut State and TCU.
"You give him a lot of credit," Horned Frogs coach Jim Schlossnagle said of Opitz. "It doesn't matter if he's a .240 hitter. He's an experienced player, had competitive at-bats and, you know, when you play high-level Division I baseball and you're an every-day player for a national-seed SEC team you're going to be ready for those moments.
"That ball easily could have been a foot left and a 6-4-3 or 6-3 double play, but it wasn't."
Opitz entered the game with a .240 average, the lowest among the Razorbacks' regulars, and was slotted ninth in the order on Saturday - two slots lower than in the Razorbacks' regional opener on Friday. But he broke through when it mattered just as he'd done a couple of times during the regular season.
Opitz hit a walk-off single against Missouri on March 17 to cap a sweep of the Tigers, and he also drove in the winning run in the 10th inning against Tennessee on April 28 to secure another sweep.
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn credited Opitz's clutch hit to not being afraid of the lights and the postseason stage.
"He plays pretty much every game. He doesn’t let a bad at-bat get to him, and it’s just his makeup," Van Horn said. "He wants to be there whether he’s hitting .240 or .440. He doesn’t care.
"He just wants to have an opportunity to help the team win."
Schlossnagle was the second opposing coach in as many days to rave about Opitz's play as well as his presence behind the plate. Unprompted on Friday, CCSU coach Charlie Hickey added that he admired the catcher's work and the manner in which he controlled games.
Opitz was tested defensively immediately in the bottom of the ninth Saturday, and his sure hands gifted Arkansas a crucial out. TCU designated hitter Hunter Wolfe skied a mid-90s fastball from closer Matt Cronin high above home plate, and Opitz, after removing his helmet and taking a few steps toward the backstop, calmly made a difficult play look routine.
And following perhaps the best outing of his Arkansas career, Campbell praised Opitz and remarked how much he enjoys pitching to him. They work really well together, he added.
"It’s kind of tough to put into words," Campbell said. "You never feel like … You have to worry about the running game, but with Opitz, you can kind of take that away. You know he’s going to throw out runners, so if I do my job, he’s going to do his job.
"It’s been fun all year throwing to Opitz. He frames really well and he calls a really good game. Hopefully we can do it for another week and maybe a couple more."
Van Horn also commented on his catcher's ability to 'present' pitches effectively.
“We've got a different guy back there than you see a lot,” Van Horn said. “He's very quick. He's such a good leader, such a good receiver. He makes average pitches that could go either way look good for the umpire.
“He has a good personality back there and is kind of our quarterback or our shortstop behind the plate.”