K-State upsets Arkansas, on the brink of advancing in NCAA Tournament

Kansas State is one win away from advancing to the NCAA Tournament after upsetting the top-seeded Arkansas Razorbacks in the second game of the Fayetteville Regional, 7-6.

The Wildcats were led by their bats, which caught fire in the middle innings to push the Wildcats to a 6-2 lead in the fifth inning. An eighth-inning home run by Nick English gave the Bat Cats extra cushion as Tyson Neighbors shut the door on Arkansas's offense.

The win puts K-State on the brink of progressing to the super regionals of the tournament. The Wildcats will play the winner of Arkansas and SEMO. The loser of that game will get eliminated from the NCAA Tournament. With a 2-0 start in the NCAA Tournament, the Wildcats have built a cushion that allows them to lose two games before being eliminated.

Here are three takeaways from K-State's win over Arkansas.

In the NCAA Tournament, teams need their stars to lead the way.

To this point, the Wildcats have gotten meaningful production from arguably their biggest star, Kaelen Culpepper.

In the bottom of the fifth, Culpepper took a pitch from Arkansas's Hagen Smith to deep right field for a three-run home run. The homer capped off a six-run inning and gave the Wildcats a 6-2 lead.

It might've been Culpepper's only hit, but it was arguably the most important hit of the game. Heck, it might be the most important hit of K-State's season.

While it seemed unlikely, the Wildcats needed to beat Arkansas to gain a stranglehold of the regional. Now, the pressure is on an Arkansas team that's used their best pitcher (Hagen Smith) already.

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As we previously mentioned, Hagen Smith is Arkansas's best pitcher and one of the best pitchers in the nation. The southpaw will be one of the top picks in the MLB Draft next month and is capable of taking over games with his arm.

However, K-State chased him out of the game after just five innings, which saw Smith allow six earned runs and throw 92 pitches. This doesn't guarantee that K-State won't throw Smith again in the regional final, but it does mean he won't be ready for Sunday night's game.

Arkansas's staff is still one of the best in the nation, but it will be easier to hit off them compared to Smith.

Tyson Neighbors has done it again.

And is anyone surprised?

Neighbors has established himself as one of the best relief pitchers in the country, using his right arm to close down most of the teams he'll face. And against an offense that has proven it can be one of the nation's best, he did it again.

Neighbors pitched the final 3.1 innings of the game, allowing four runs on six hits. Although he got himself into trouble, he constantly navigated it and found ways to work his way out of jams. That ability proved crucial for the Cats, as the Razorbacks made things interesting in the late innings.

Neighbors threw 67 pitches tonight, so he might not be available for Sunday's game, but there's a good chance he'd throw in Monday's game, should it become necessary.