It didn’t come easy, but the Razorbacks found a way.
Arkansas baseball turned a tied ballgame into a blowout with an explosive eighth inning Tuesday night, putting up eight runs in the frame to beat Missouri State 12-4 at home.
The win gave the Hogs their 27th victory of the season, with Cooper Dossett closing things out in the ninth by stranding a runner at third base.
The result wasn’t in doubt for long after the big inning, but getting there took some work. The Razorbacks had to dig out of an early deficit, battle through a tough stretch against Missouri State starter Brock Lucas and find some late-game energy to put this one away.
Colin Fisher’s performance out of the bullpen was a major reason Arkansas stayed in the game long enough to explode offensively.
The right-hander worked 3 1/3 innings of relief and kept the Bears from pulling away during a stretch when the Razorbacks’ bats were quiet. The one run that scored against him in the seventh was unearned.
Missouri State had taken a 4-4 tie into the bottom of the eighth after Curry Sutherland hit a 409-foot blast to left field off Steele Eaves on a first-pitch fastball.
That set up what became the decisive half-inning for Arkansas.
The Eighth Inning Explosion
Reese Robinett got things started with a first-pitch double that traveled 105 mph off his bat and landed in the corner in right field.
That was enough to end left-hander Brody McNiel’s evening.
Missouri State turned to right-hander Owen Slater, who gave up an infield single to Kuhio Aloy before Maika Niu moved the runners with a sacrifice bunt.
The Bears then turned to a position player on the mound.
Third baseman Curry Sutherland came in to pitch and fell behind Carter Rutenbar, who singled between first and second with the infield drawn in. That allowed both runners to score. After Damian Ruiz drew a walk, Camden Kozeal drove a run home with a double down the line against right-hander Charlie Spoonhour.
Then Ryder Helfrick put the game out of reach.
Helfrick launched a three-run home run 361 feet to left field on a breaking ball that caught too much of the plate.
Nolan Souza added an infield single before TJ Pompey capped the inning with a 406-foot home run to left. Just like that, the Hogs had gone from a tie game to an eight-run lead.
Kozeal’s Seventh-Inning Homer Set the Tone
Before the eighth-inning outburst, the moment that shifted momentum for Arkansas came in the seventh. Kozeal stepped in against a 92 mph fastball in a 1-2 count and turned on it, sending the ball 438 feet to right-center field at 110 mph off the bat.
That gave the Hogs a 4-3 lead heading into the eighth.
Missouri State starter Brock Lucas made the Razorbacks work hard for most of the night.
The Missouri transfer who had struggled in both career outings against Arkansas entering Tuesday was efficient and effective, using his off-speed pitches to give the Hogs a lot of trouble.
He struck out seven, including five in a row at one point spanning the fourth and fifth innings.
The Razorbacks didn’t get on the board until the sixth inning, when a pair of Missouri State errors opened the door. Helfrick reached on a throwing error by shortstop Logan Fyffe.
Nolan Souza then hit a grounder to second baseman Bryce Cermenelli, who threw wide of second base on a force attempt.
The ball went to the wall in foul ground down the left-field line and Helfrick scored from first.
After Max Knight came in and walked his former teammate Zack Stewart, Robinett singled to load the bases.
Aloy drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to tie the game, and Stewart later scored on a wild pitch. Arkansas had come all the way back from a 2-0 deficit to lead 3-2, though Missouri State tied it in the top of the seventh on an unearned run.
Rough Start for the Hogs
Arkansas didn’t do itself any favors early.
The Razorbacks stranded four runners through the first three innings, including a painful second-inning sequence when they had runners on the corners with nobody out and couldn’t score.
Stewart was thrown out at the plate in that frame after Cermenelli alertly threw home on a ball hit back up the middle.
Missouri State’s starting pitcher Tate McGuire cruised early before giving way to Fisher in the fourth after giving up consecutive RBI hits to the Bears’ eight and nine hitters.
Arkansas had gone hitless in several key spots before the offense finally woke up in the sixth.
What’s Next for Arkansas
The Razorbacks will head to Columbia, Mo., on Thursday to face Missouri in their next game.
The win was Arkansas’s 27th of the season and gives the Hogs some momentum heading into that road trip after series loss to Georgia last weekend.
