Diamond Hogs sweep doubleheader, win series against SELA

The Arkansas baseball team collected clutch hits in bunches Saturday afternoon, capped off with an emphatic 11-1 win to sweep the Southeastern Louisiana Lions in a doubleheader and win the series two games to one.

The Razorbacks put together a solid victory in the first contest, winning 4-2 on the coattails of freshman left-handed pitcher Hagen Smith’s second quality start in his third career game. In seven innings, he threw 97 pitches, allowed two runs on two hits, walked three batters and struck out nine.

For the second time in nine games, Arkansas recorded multiple hits with two outs and runners in scoring position. The first came in the third inning, when graduate catcher Michael Turner doubled to score senior center fielder Zack Gregory. Graduate designated hitter Chris Lanzilli scored the second run, thanks to a two-out single by freshman first baseman Peyton Stovall.

The Lions erased the Razorback lead in the sixth inning, when first baseman Preston Faulkner took Smith deep to center field for a two-run shot.

Turner put his starting pitcher back in line for the win with a two-run blast of his own in the seventh inning. The homer was his second of the week and made him 2-4 with three RBIs and a run scored on the day.

Senior right-handed pitcher Zebulon Vermillion locked the Lions down in the eighth, before handing the ball to righty Brady Tygart in the ninth. The freshman recorded his first career save, punching out Faulkner before inducing a double play ball to end the game and level the series.

The Hogs struck first once again in the rubber match, courtesy of designated hitter Kendall Diggs. The freshman delivered his first Razorback RBI, scoring junior second baseman Robert Moore, who was 3-5 with a double in the game.

Arkansas doubled the lead in the fourth with a one-out RBI double from Lanzilli, scoring Turner.

The Lions halved the deficit in the sixth inning with a solo shot off the bat of leadoff hitter Evan Keller. It was the lone blemish on sophomore righty Jaxon Wiggins’ stat line, which included career highs in innings pitched and strikeouts. In 6 1/3 innings, he surrendered four walks, two hits and an earned run while racking up seven strikeouts. That was his second consecutive quality start, and the fifth by a Razorback pitcher in the team’s seven wins.

The Hogs reestablished their two-run lead in the bottom of the sixth with an infield single by sophomore left fielder Jace Bohrofen, his first RBI as a Razorback.

The baserunners kept coming in the seventh inning for Arkansas as the Hogs hit around and scored four times. Senior shortstop Jalen Battles doubled and scored on a pinch-hit single by senior Brady Slavens. Turner brought home Slavens with a single, Bohrofen scored sophomore third baseman Cayden Wallace the same way and Diggs drew a walk with the bases loaded to plate Turner.

A single and a pair of walks came back to bite the Lions when Bohrofen picked up his third hit of the game and sixth of the series, a three-run triple to the opposite field. Bohrofen scampered home on a wild pitch, and the fans at Baum-Walker Stadium were pleasantly surprised when a 10-run rule kicked in and the game ended.

The Diamond Hogs are scheduled to return to action at 3 p.m. Thursday when the UIC Flames come to Fayetteville. It will be a four-game set, and each contest can be streamed on the SEC Network+.