Arkansas Pitcher Hagen Smith Went Nuts Last Night, Striking Out 17 Of The 22 Batters He Faced In A Crazy Game Against Oregon State

That's one way to put your name on the map. Last night in a matchup between Arkansas and Oregon State, which just happened to be a rematch of the 2018 college World Series final, which Oregon State won, left-handed Arkansas pitcher Hagen Smith went out and shoved it up some Beaver'ss asses (That sounds kind of dirty). Twenty-two batters faced, 17 strikeouts, and a whole lot of "Fuck You" energy. 

I feel like it's such a cliché to say this at this point, but I so wish Major League Baseball had the kind of energy that college baseball had. I'm not trying to rip on the major leagues. It's my favorite sport in the world, and there's very little about it that I would change, but there's an enthusiasm that comes with this game that you see in college but rarely see in Major League Baseball, with the exception of perhaps the playoffs. I think these guys are just aware of the fact that they only have a finite amount of time in college. It's so fucking difficult to get to the big leagues. Most of these guys don't even have their mind set on making it there, they just want to help their program win. You have an opportunity to play in Arlington at the ballpark that's home to the defending world champions. You might as well turn it into a moment like Hagen Smith did.

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This was originally the end of the blog, but I would be remiss If I didn't mention that Smith didn't pick up the win in this game, once again proving how meaningless of a statistic wins and losses are for pitchers. Oregon State hit a two-run shot in the top of the eighth inning to tie it, and Arkansas responded with a game-winning RBI Double to win it in the bottom of the eighth. 

It's worth pointing out that Smith achieved this accomplishment on only 72 pitches. He was pulled after six innings, which I appreciate. In the college ranks, I see coaches over-extend their starters, and then we become surprised when they get injured at the big league level. This guy showed enough. He was out there shoving. The Razorbacks have never won a College World Series championship. It wouldn't surprise me if these two teams faced off again in Omaha.