Diamond Hogs split doubleheader on final day of Round Rock Classic

ROUND ROCK, Texas — The Razorback baseball team struggled to find offense early Sunday afternoon, but it rallied to beat Louisiana 6-3 in the nightcap to salvage a game and come away from the Round Rock Classic with a winning record.

The No. 2 Hogs ran into a hot-hitting No. 6 Stanford Cardinal, while their own bats fell silent in a 5-0 defeat. The Cardinal tagged Arkansas left-handed pitcher Hagen Smith for three runs and chased the freshman after just 2 1/3 innings.

Senior righty Issac Bracken provided five outs worth of scoreless relief, but it could not get the momentum going in the Razorbacks’ favor. Senior outfielder Zack Gregory broke up Stanford starter Quinn Mathews’ no-hitter with a two-out knock in the third, but it was for naught. Junior second baseman Robert Moore reached on an error in the fourth, but he was quickly erased on a line drive to third that resulted in a double play.

Cardinal designated hitter Brett Barrera, who homered off Smith in the second inning, drove in his third run of the game in the fifth, unearned off sophomore righty Heston Tole.

Trailing 4-0 in the fifth inning, Arkansas loaded the bases with two outs, but freshman first baseman Peyton Stovall struck out and the Hogs came away with nothing once again.

Tole worked another two innings without giving up any runs, but the Razorbacks could not solve Mathews. In six shutout innings, he allowed just two hits, walked four batters and struck out 10. Arkansas continued to struggle against righty Tommy O’Rourke, who fanned four of the five hitters he faced.

After Stanford padded the lead again in the eighth, the Hogs threatened with their backs against the wall in the ninth. After loading the bases with nobody out, Cardinal pitcher Braden Montgomery got a tapper back to the mound, a strikeout and a fly ball to secure the shutout.

As day turned to night, the Razorbacks’ dry spell at the plate continued. Louisiana starter Jeff Wilson struck out six Hogs in his first three innings, and they were only able to score thanks to a fielding error by Ragin’ Cajun second baseman Bobby Lada. That run tied the game, as Louisiana struck in the first inning.

The Ragin’ Cajuns broke the deadlock in the bottom of the third when center fielder Carson Roccaforte roped a double into the right field corner to score two runs.

After that Arkansas starter Jaxon Wiggins settled down to retire 11 of the next 12 Louisiana hitters. He went a career-long six innings, gave up three hits, three runs and two walks, while adding four strikeouts in the quality start.

The Razorbacks cut the deficit in half in the fifth inning, when Gregory doubled to lead off the frame and he scored after three walks by Ragin’ Cajun pitchers.

Senior righty Zebulon Vermillion worked a scoreless seventh inning, giving way to a rally in the eighth and the first Arkansas lead of the day. After consecutive one-out walks, senior shortstop Jalen Battles launched a fastball over the left field fence for a three-run home run and a 5-3 advantage.

Gregory scored again in the ninth, courtesy of an RBI double by Moore. The Ragin’ Cajuns cut the lead to 6-4 in the ninth, but the momentum stopped with a liner to Battles that he caught and flipped to Moore for the final outs.

The Razorbacks are slated to return to action at 3 p.m. Wednesday, when the Omaha Mavericks make the trip to Fayetteville. That game will be streaming live on the SEC Network+, as will each of Arkansas’ games against Southeastern Louisiana at 3 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.