FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The North Dakota State baseball team scored in each of the first two innings before falling short in the opening round of the NCAA Regional against Arkansas, 6-2, in front of 9,994 fans at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Sam Canton got the Bison (20-33) off to a quick start after he lifted an RBI single into left field to score Jake Schaffner for the early 1-0 lead in the first inning. Arkansas (44-13), who is top the seed in the regional and No. 3 national seed, responded with two runs in the bottom half following a RBI sacrifice fly from Logan Maxwell and a Cam Kozeal RBI single through the right side to steal the lead, 2-1.
Colten Becker added the second run for the Bison after he launched his fifth home run of the season to right center to tie the game, 2-2, in the second inning. However, the Razorbacks then closed the game out with four unanswered runs, including an RBI double from Kozeal in the third along with a two-run home run in the fifth to seal the 6-2 win.
Canton and Becker combined for four of NDSU’s nine total hits. Canton went 2-of-3 at the plate with one RBI, while Becker posted two hits on four appearances with one run and one RBI.
Nolan Johnson (4-6) made the start tossing two strikeouts with two walks over 5.0 innings. Landon Koenig finished out the game providing 3.0 scoreless frames with three strikeouts and one hit.
The Bison, who are making their third NCAA Division I Tournament appearance, will be back in action tomorrow in an elimination game at 2:00 p.m. CT at Baum-Walker Stadium. The Bison will face the loser of the second-seeded Kansas and third-seeded Creighton matchup.
https://gobison.com/news/2025/5/30/ndsu-baseball-falls-against-arkansas-in-ncaa-regional-6-2.aspx