FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas teed off against Mississippi State pitching all night long, using four home runs and some clutch two-out hitting to beat the Bulldogs 12-5 Saturday night at Baum-Walker Stadium.
The victory was the Hogs’ fourth straight, and it clinched their third consecutive Southeastern Conference series win.
It was the Bulldogs who struck first in the high-scoring affair, punishing Razorback starter Hagen Smith for three early walks.
The freshman lefty allowed a sacrifice fly to center field, but he recorded a looking strikeout to avoid any further damage.
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Arkansas did not trail for long, as Bulldog starter Parker Stinnett issued three free passes of his own in the second.
Senior shortstop Jalen Battles drove in the first run on a fielder’s choice, sophomore third baseman Cayden Wallace brought home two more with a bases-loaded single and junior left fielder Zack Gregory scampered home on a wild pitch to make it 4-1.
The Hogs hung another four-spot on the Bulldogs in the third.
After being benched Friday night in favor of sophomore Jace Bohrofen, senior designated hitter Brady Slavens made his return to the lineup in a big way, recording his first SEC hit of the year, a long two-run homer to right field.
Wallace delivered his second two-out, two-run hit — a double to left — in as many innings three batters latter.
The home run festivities continued in the fourth inning, as graduate right fielder Chris Lanzilli and junior second baseman Robert Moore went back-to-back with one out.
The Bulldogs got those two runs back in the fifth, cashing in on a leadoff triple with a two-run homer by first baseman Luke Hancock. Gregory led off the bottom of the fifth with a longball of his own, making it 11-3.
Slavens delivered with two outs once again in the sixth, scoring Moore from first base with a double to the left-center field gap to re-establish a nine-run lead.
Smith finished his day with a quality start, striking out seven hitters over six innings and 87 pitches, with three hits, three walks and three earned runs allowed.
Sophomore right-hander Gabriel Starks was the first Razorback out of the bullpen, and he kept things under control for Arkansas.
Both runs he allowed were unearned, scoring on two-base errors by Lanzilli in the seventh and Wallace in the eighth. Senior righty Elijah Trest shut the door in the ninth, facing the minimum three batters to knock off Mississippi State once again.
The Razorbacks will try to sweep the Bulldogs for the third time in a row at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Sophomore right-hander Jaxon Wiggins is set to start for Arkansas, opposite Mississippi State righty Cade Smith. The game will stream live on the SEC Network+ and you can hear it at HitThatLine.com or on ESPN Arkansas radio stations.
