Molina’s hitting, Souza’s career day, Hogs finish sweep of Racers

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Behind Mason Molina’s 10-strikeout gem and Nolan Souza’s career day, No. 2 Arkansas (9-2) completed its series sweep of Murray State (6-5) with a 5-3 win on Sunday afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium.

The Hogs, who have won 29 consecutive non-conference home weekend series, received another spectacular pitching performance, as Molina spun five innings of one-run ball and matched his season-high with 10 strikeouts. All three Razorback starters, including Hagen Smith (12) and Brady Tygart (10), racked up double-digit strikeouts during the series.

Over the last eight games, Arkansas starting pitchers have allowed just three runs on 15 hits, including three solo homers, and eight walks while combining for a jaw-dropping 0.69 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 39.0 innings of work.

Molina’s lone mistake of the day was a solo home run hit by Murray State’s Taylor Howell in the top half of the second inning. Thanks to Souza, however, the Razorback offense quickly responded with two runs in the bottom of the third before adding two more runs in the bottom of the fourth and opening a 4-1 advantage.

Souza’s solo homer, the first of his career, to start the third inning tied the ballgame at one. After back-to-back singles by Hudson White and Will Edmunson, Kendall Diggs’ sacrifice fly scored White from third and gave the Hogs a one-run lead.

The true freshman from Honolulu, Hawai’i, came up clutch again in the fourth, driving in two more runs on his single to extend Arkansas’ lead to three. Souza finished the game with a team-leading two hits and a career-high three RBI.

Murray State answered with a run in the top of the sixth, but veteran Will McEntire emerged from the bullpen for the second day in a row and was dominant yet again. The Bryant, Ark., native earned his first save of the season with 3.2 innings of one-run ball and five strikeouts on 43 pitches (37 strikes) to secure the Razorbacks’ series-sweeping 5-3 win.

For the weekend, McEntire fired 5.2 innings with seven strikeouts and one save over two relief appearances. The right-hander allowed only one run on three hits, limiting the Racers to a .150 batting average against in the process.

As a whole, the Arkansas pitching staff recorded 50 strikeouts to just four walks over 26.0 innings in the three-game series against Murray State. Razorback pitchers allowed only four runs, good for a 1.73 ERA on the weekend.

Offensively, all nine Razorback starters collected at least one hit in Sunday’s win. Diggs extended his team-leading hitting streak to 11 games, raising his season slash line to .375/.490/.575.

Arkansas’s 12-game homestand continues Tuesday, March 5, against in-state foe UCA. First pitch between the Razorbacks and the Bears is scheduled for 3 p.m. on SEC Network+.