Another big offensive game, strong pitching gives Razorbacks another big win

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Wehiwa Aloy homered and drove in a team-leading four RBI for the second game in a row and Zach Root matched his career high with 10 strikeouts over six scoreless innings to lead No. 3 Arkansas (14-1) to a sure-handed 10-0 shutout win in seven innings against Portland (5-10) Saturday afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium.

With the win, the Hogs clinched their fourth straight run-rule victory as well as their 32nd consecutive non-conference home weekend series. Arkansas’ last non-conference home weekend series loss came against South Alabama in 2014.

Root, making his fourth start as a Razorback, set the tone on the mound, retiring the first eight Portland batters he faced before issuing a two-out walk in the third inning.

The left-hander, who flirted with a no-hitter before an infield single to lead off the fifth inning, logged his first quality start of the year, turning in a season-long six shutout innings of work and racking up 10 strikeouts, which matched both his season high and career high, with only three hits and a walk allowed.

Arkansas and Portland exchanged zeroes across the first two frames before Aloy’s two-run double to left center in the bottom half of the third opened the scoring.

The Hogs broke through for five runs in the fourth, powered by an RBI single from Nolan Souza (1-for-3, RBI) and a pair of homers from Justin Thomas Jr. (1-for-2, HR, 2 RBI) and Aloy.

Thomas Jr.’s two-run blast, his second home run of the season, put Arkansas ahead, 5-0, before Aloy, who finished 2-for-4 with four RBI, socked his third home run in two days a few batters later.

Aloy’s two-run blast extended the Razorbacks’ advantage to 7-0 and gave him four RBI for the second day in a row as he raised his season slash line to .421/.529/.860.

Through 15 contests, Aloy leads the Arkansas offense in base hits (24) and doubles (7) and is tied for the team lead in home runs (6) with younger brother Kuhio, who is slashing a team-leading .512/.596/1.170 with six homers and 29 RBI in 12 games.

Kuhio Aloy was held hitless for the first time this season, snapping his team-leading 11-game hit streak.

Charles Davalan had a team-high three hits, including a solo home run in the sixth, and improved his season slash line to .321/.455/.528 with three homers and 14 RBI in 15 games.

Kendall Diggs, meanwhile, walked it off in the bottom half of the seventh, cranking a two-run shot, his second home run of the season, to seal the Razorbacks’ 10-run rule win.

In relief of Root, lefty Colin Fisher spun a scoreless frame of work with a strikeout to secure the Hogs’ combined seven-inning shutout.

It was Arkansas’ first shutout since doing so in seven innings against Arkansas State on April 2, 2024.

The Razorbacks will aim for their third weekend series sweep of the season in tomorrow’s series finale at Baum-Walker Stadium. First pitch between Arkansas and Portland is scheduled for noon Sunday, March 9, on SEC+ Network.

With a sweep tomorrow, Arkansas can improve to 15-1 overall through its first 16 games of the year and match its best 16-game start to a season in the Dave Van Horn era (2003-present) since the 2005 and 2006 campaigns, when the Hogs also got off to 15-1 overall starts through their first 16 games of the season.