Murphy baffles Aggies for series-clinching win Saturday

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas got another strong outing from a starting pitcher Saturday as junior lefty Kacey Murphy hurled 7.1 scoreless innings on 108 pitches to help the Hogs to a 3-1 victory over No. 20 Texas A&M.

The win is Arkansas’ (35-15, 16-10 SEC) ninth in a row at home and 14th of the year by two runs or less.

Saturday’s win also clinches the series over the Aggies (34-16, 12-14 SEC) and guarantees that Arkansas will finish the 2018 regular-season undefeated in series played at Baum Stadium.

The Razorbacks are now 29-3 in home games this year, including one game played at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock.

Twenty-eight of those wins, however, have come at Baum Stadium and puts this year’s team just three away from tying the record for most wins at Baum Stadium in a single season.

The Hitting

Senior Carson Shaddy had another strong day at the plate, going 2-for-4 and accounting for driving in all three Razorback runs.

The big hit came in the seventh inning when Shaddy drove in two on a wind-aided double in right field. Today was Shaddy’s sixth game of the season with three or more RBI, and his 13th multi-hit game of the year.

Eric Cole and Heston Kjerstad also turned in multi-hit performances with two hits apiece. Both Cole and Kjerstad contributed a double in the game.

Kjerstad is tied for the team lead with 13 doubles, while Cole is right behind with 12 on the year.

The Pitching

For the second day in a row, the Arkansas starting pitcher handcuffed the Texas A&M offense as Murphy went a career-long 7.1 innings, scattering just four hits with two walks and five strikeouts.

It’s the sixth start in a row that Murphy has worked five or more innings and his fifth in his last six with five or more strikeouts.

He now has a 2.30 ERA on the year, which not only leads the team, but is second-lowest in the SEC behind only Florida’s Brady Singer (2.25).

Junior Barrett Loseke finished off the game’s final 1.2 innings to pick up his third save of the year. He wasn’t able to preserve the shutout as Texas A&M got a sacrifice fly in the ninth to cut the lead the two.

However, Loseke did strike out the final batter with two runners on, giving him 22 strikeouts in his last six outings.

The Defense

Arkansas’ defense wasn’t completely flawless on Saturday, but it did come up with some key plays that kept the game in its favor.

In the first inning, Texas A&M was already threatening as Murphy loaded the bases on a one-out single, a walk, and a hit by pitch.

Fortunately, the next batter, Chris Andritsos, grounded a ball to third base where Casey Martin picked it out of the dirt and got the force out at home. Grant Koch made a good scoop on the play as well to keep the run off the board and allow the Hogs to get out of the inning unscathed.

Up Next

Arkansas and Texas A&M will finish the three-game series on Sunday with first pitch at Noon at Baum Stadium.

The game will be televised on ESPN2 and it will be the final home game of the 2018 regular season.