Kansas State baseball needed two days to get past Louisiana Tech in its NCAA Fayetteville Regional opener after the game was suspended at the end of five innings late Friday night, but the Wildcats still rolled to a 19-4 victory.

The second-seeded Wildcats (33-24) now will take on host Arkansas (44-14), the No. 5 national seed, at 8 p.m. Saturday in a winners bracket matchup at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Arkansas, which opened the tournament Friday afternoon with a 17-9 victory over No. 4 seed Southeast Missouri State, saved pitching ace Hagen Smith for the second game. He is 9-1 with a 1.48 earned run average in 15 starts and has struck out 154 batters in 79 innings.

For K-State, Jackson Wentworth will make his seventh start and 27th overall appearance. He has a 4.18 ERA with 107 strikeouts in 75 innings, plus six saves while splitting time between the rotation and the bullpen.

Hudson White and Ben McLaughlin each hit two home runs and combined to drive in 11 runs to lead Arkansas’ 16-hit attack against SEMO, while Kaelen Culpepper hit for the cycle and Chuck Ingram belted a pair of homers in K-State’s win.

Here is how to follow the Wildcats online and on the air.

Kansas State baseball focused on enjoying first NCAA Tournament bid in 11 years

Kansas State baseball excited and relieved to finally receive NCAA Tournament bid

Kansas State vs. Arkansas channel today in Fayetteville Regional: Time, TV schedule

Time: 8 p.m. CT

TV: ESPNU

Streaming: ESPN+

Radio: K-State Sports Network or KStateSports.com/watch

Live stats: KStateSports.com

NCAA Fayetteville Regional complete schedule

AT BAUM-WALKER STADIUM, FAYETTEVILLE, ARK.

Friday, May 31

Game 1 — No. 1 Arkansas 17, No. 4 Southeast Missouri State 9

Game 2 — No. 3 Kansas State 19, No. 2 Louisiana Tech 4

Saturday, June 1

Game 3 — SEMO (34-26) vs. Louisiana Tech (45-18), 2 p.m.

Game 4 — Arkansas (44-14) vs. Kansas State (33-24), 8 p.m.

Sunday, June 2

Game 5 — Arkansas-Kansas State loser vs. SEMO-Louisiana Tech winner, 1 p.m.

Game 6 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 6 p.m.

Monday, June 3

Game 7 — Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser (if necessary), 6 p.m.

Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.

Kansas State baseball raced to an early lead in its NCAA Fayetteville Regional debut Friday night but could not finish the job when a second weather delay finally forced the game to be suspended just before midnight.

The game started an hour late at 8 p.m. because of lightning in the Fayetteville, Arkansas area, and was delayed again just after 10. A rain deluge eventually forced officials to call it a night with the Wildcats leading Louisiana Tech, 9-4, after five innings at Baum-Walker Stadium. It will resume at 11 a.m. Saturday.

K-State led 7-0 and still was up 9-1 before Louisiana Tech scored three times in the bottom the fifth inning.

The winner will face host and top seed Arkansas at 8 p.m. Saturday, with the loser taking on Southeast Missouri State at around 2 p.m. Arkansas beat SEMO, 17-9, on Friday afternoon.

Here are three takeaways from the first five innings of K-State’s first NCAA Tournament game in 11 years.

Kansas State baseball pitcher Owen Boerema doesn’t shy away from the NCAA spotlight

Kansas State baseball excited and relieved to finally receive NCAA Tournament bid

Wildcats come out swinging after first delay

A one-hour weather delay that pushed the start time from 7 to 8 p.m. did not faze Kansas State’s batters, who teed off on Louisiana Tech starter Luke Nichols, scoring twice in the first inning on a Brady Day RBI single and Nick English sacrifice fly and then adding five in the second, all with two outs.

Chuck Ingram started the second-inning rally with a first-pitch home run to left. After Brendan Jones followed with his second walk and stole second, Jaden Parsons drove him home with a single to left center.

Kaelen Culpepper’s RBI triple and a long two-run homer by Day made it 7-0.

Have a night, Chuck Ingram

Kansas State outfielder Chuck Ingram was mired in a deep slump, but he busted out in a big way against Louisiana Tech, going 2-for-2 with a home run, sacrifice fly and two RBI.

Ingram, the Wichita State transfer had one hit in 14 at bats over the previous five games, but he pulled a home run to left in his first trip to the plate, triggering a five-run second inning, then singled his second time up and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the fifth.

K-State starters Owen Boerema battles control issues

Kansas State ace Owen Boerema, the Wildcats’ No. 1 starter for most of the year, looked sharp in the first inning against Louisiana Tech, needing just nine pitches to get through the first inning before faltering.

Boerema did not make it out of the fifth inning after walking a season-high six batters — three in a one-run second and three more in Louisiana Tech’s three-run fifth. He allowed only two hits and struck out six before giving way to Cole Wisenbaker after 4 2/3 innings.

Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.

Kansas State baseball’s NCAA Tournament opener against Louisiana Tech, which already was delayed an hour at the start because of weather, stalled a second time after five innings and finally was suspended Fjust before midnight Friday in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It will resume at 11 a.m. Saturday.

The second delay came a little after 10 p.m. after Louisiana Tech scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to cut K-State’s lead to 9-4 at Baum-Walker Stadium. A rain deluge made it impossible for the teams to continue the game Friday night.

Kansas State took advantage of the first delay by scoring seven runs over the first two innings, getting two runs in the first and adding five, all with two out, in the second.

Lightning was followed by a heavy rainfall that flooded the Louisiana Tech dugout.

The winner between No. 3 seed K-State and No. 2 Louisiana Tech is scheduled to play No. 1 seed Arkansas at 8 p.m. Saturday, while the loser takes on Southeast Missouri State at 2 p.m., or roughly 45 minutes after the completion of Friday night’s contest. Arkansas held off SEMO, 17-9, in the early Friday game.

Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.