NCAA Baseball Tournament: Bryant 4, Arkansas 1 -- The Momentum Fails as the Bats Fall Silent

Set aside for a moment the controversy over whether Arkansas should have hosted a regional; the one thing that seemed certain coming into the NCAA tournament was that the Razorbacks were a team to be feared. They were riding a wave of momentum from their run in the SEC tournament and could claim a chip on their shoulder from the tournament snub. If any No. 2 seed was going to make it to Omaha, it would be the Hogs.

Then came Friday's game against Bryant. And while it might have seemed to some fans like the game was over even before then, Arkansas all but lost the game when the Bulldogs' fourth run of the game crossed the plate in the eighth inning. The Razorbacks were already 2-13 against opponents who scored four or more runs in a game; they were a perfect 28-0 when an opponent scored two or fewer runs and an even 7-7 when the other team scored three.

The generally anemic Arkansas offense looked completely punchless Friday, with just three hits and four walks against eight strikeouts. Dominic Ficociello's RBI double was the only extra-base hit (which perhaps isn't that surprising when you have just three knocks total). The Razorbacks will now go to an elimination game against a Wichita State team that lost a 20-11 slugfest against Kansas State on Friday. Three hits probably won't cut it in that game, either.