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Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Hogs fall short in shootout at Rupp Arena, BSB sweeps Murray State
Tye, Tommy & Chuck talk Arkansas BKB, BSB, the passing of Chris Mortensen and more.
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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+.
Hogs’ Tygart, strong relief pitching dominates Racers with big hitting
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Brady Tygart’s career-high 10 strikeouts, and Kendall Diggs’ first home run of the season powered No. 2 Arkansas (8-2) to a 11-1 run-rule win against Murray State (6-4) on Saturday afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium.
With Saturday’s win, the Razorbacks clinched their 29th consecutive non-conference home weekend series. Arkansas has not lost or tied a non-conference regular season weekend series at Baum-Walker Stadium since dropping two-of-three games against South Alabama in 2014.
For the second consecutive game, an Arkansas pitcher racked up double-digit strikeouts on the mound, as Tygart finished with 10 strikeouts over five innings of one-run ball while allowing just three hits and one walk on 76 pitches (51 pitches). Over the last seven games, Razorback starting pitchers have allowed only two runs (both earned) on 13 hits and seven walks while combining for a jaw-dropping 0.26 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 34.0 innings of work.
Tygart fired four scoreless on the mound before the Arkansas offense shined in the bottom of the fourth. Jayson Jones’ bases-loaded walk, Nolan Souza’s two-RBI single and Ryder Helfrick’s run-scoring double play put the Hogs up, 4-0.
Murray State broke through against Tygart with a leadoff home run in the top half of the fifth, but that was all the Racers would get. The Razorback right-hander collected his ninth and 10th strikeouts of the ballgame before inducing an inning-ending groundout to complete his strong five innings of work on the mound.
Ahead 4-1 in the fifth, Arkansas tacked on five more runs in the bottom half of the frame to blow the game wide open. Diggs’ leadoff home run, his first of the year, jumpstarted the Razorbacks’ big inning, which included Ross Lovich’s RBI double, Jared Sprague-Lott’s RBI single, Hudson Polk’s run-scoring sacrifice fly and Will Edmunson’s RBI single.
Right-handers Will McEntire and Cooper Dossett worked the final three innings after Tygart’s departure, combining for four strikeouts in relief. McEntire twirled two scoreless with a pair of punchouts on 16 pitches (12 strikes), while Dossett followed him with a shutout frame and two strikeouts on 10 pitches (seven strikes).
With the 10-run rule in effect, the Razorbacks closed out the game in the bottom of the eighth. Sprague-Lott’s two-out RBI single set the table for Lovich’s game-winning RBI double to right center, as Arkansas walked off Murray State, 11-1.
Four Hog batters finished the game with multiple hits, including Will Edmunson (2-for-4), Ben McLaughlin (2-for-4), Sprague-Lott (2-for-4) and Lovich (2-for-4). Lovich, Jones and Souza each contributed two RBI in the Razorbacks’ win.
Arkansas goes for its first series sweep of the season in tomorrow’s finale against Murray State. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday, March 3, on SEC Network+, with left-hander Mason Molina set to toe the rubber for the Hogs.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
Razorbacks top 100 points, but still can’t beat Kentucky
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Arkansas scored a season-high 102 points and Khalif Battle, who had 34 points, became just the second Razorback to score at least 30 points in three straight game. However, No. 16/15 scored 111 points and, like the previous meeting, had a late run to get the win.
Arkansas had an 8-0 run midway through the second half to lead 74-72. The Razorbacks pushed the lead to nine twice, the second being 86-77 with 8:42 left after a Tramon Mark layup. Kentucky worked the deficit down and led by one, 91-90, with 5:23 left. Jeremiah Davenport answered with two free throws to give Arkansas a 93=92 advantage. From that point, Kentucky went on a 7-0 run and never surrendered the lead.
Both teams made 34 field goals but Kentucky was 34-of-42 at the line compared to Arkansas being 27-of-28.
Battle was 17-of-18 at the line in scoring his 34 points. The 17 makes ties Mark and two others for fifth-most in school history and second-most in an SEC game. The 18 attempts ties for 10th-most all-time and fifth-most in an SEC game. Battle also had a season-high eight rebounds. Mark pumped in 23 points with three assists and four steals.
Makhi Mitchell was 5-of-5 at the line and scored 13 points while Jeremiah Davenport scored 14 points with five rebounds.
Kentucky used a 15-3 run inside the final 3:30, including a 10-0 spurt, that led to a 53-48 halftime lead. Mark scored 15 in the first half and Battle, who had six rebounds, added 13. Antonio Reeves had 14 points to lead Kentucky.
Reeves led UK with 22 points and D.J. Wagner had 19 as a total of seven Wildcats scored in double figures.
The Razorbacks return home to host LSU on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
Hogs’ Postgame Notes
• Arkansas starters were El Ellis, Khalif Battle, Tramon Mark, Trevon Brazile and Chandler Lawson.
• Arkansas controlled the opening tip.
• El Ellis scored the game’s first points with a layup at 19:43.
• Makhi Mitchell was the first Razorback sub.
• Battle scored 30-plus in the last three games, including 42 vs. Missouri, 36 vs Vanderbilt and 34 today at Kentucky. The only other Hog to accomplish the feat was Mason Jones, who had 34 vs. South Carolina (01/29/20), 30 at Alabama (02/01/20) and 40 vs Auburn (02/04/20).
• Arkansas falls to 139-6 all-time when scoring at least 100 points. The last loss for Arkansas when scoring at least 100 points was a 112-105 loss to UNLV. The Rebels were ranked No. 1 and Arkansas was ranked No. 2.
Is space real? Find out in Friday’s Ruscin & Zach podcast
Is space real? One prospect at the NFL Combine says no. We discuss.
Then we wonder about the strangest theories on the world coming in via texts from the 417 area code.
Hagen Smith still striking folks out in Hogs’ 5-1 win Friday
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Hagen Smith, the reigning national pitcher of the week, struck out 12 over six innings of one-run ball to lead No. 2 Arkansas (7-2) to a 5-1 win against Murray State (6-3) on Friday afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Smith, who raised his career strikeout total to 230, moved into seventh all-time in the Arkansas record book for career strikeouts. The left-hander is two strikeouts shy of tying Kevin Kopps’ 232 strikeouts for sixth all-time in program history.
Led by Smith’s second consecutive double-digit strikeout performance, the Razorback pitching staff twirled a combined two-hitter in Friday afternoon’s win over the Racers. Right-handers Koty Frank and Gabe Gaeckle combined for three scoreless innings and eight strikeouts in relief, as Arkansas pitchers finished with 20 total strikeouts on the afternoon.
After allowing a leadoff homer to start the ballgame, Smith settled down to retire the next 18 of 19 batters faced. The lefty finished with 12 strikeouts on 81 pitches (54 strikes) in six innings, allowing just one run on one hit and one walk.
Smith is the first Arkansas pitcher with consecutive double-digit strikeout games since Isaiah Campbell did so in three consecutive games against Stony Brook (March 1), Louisiana Tech (March 8) and Missouri (March 15) in 2019.
Smith’s run support came in the bottom half of the second inning, when the Razorback offense broke through for three runs against Racer starter Cade Vernon. Jayson Jones’ two-run double with the bases loaded gave Arkansas its first lead of the afternoon, and Peyton Holt’s RBI fielder’s choice extended the Razorbacks’ advantage to 3-1.
Arkansas put the game away with two more runs in the bottom of the eighth, opening a 5-1 lead when Kendall Diggs scored on Ben McLaughlin’s groundout before Jared Sprague-Lott scampered home on a passed ball. Offensively, Wehiwa Aloy led the Razorback offense with two base knocks, his third multi-hit game of the season.
Frank and Gaeckle, who earned his first career save in the win, locked down the final three frames after Smith, who logged his second consecutive quality start and improved to 1-0 on the year, departed the ballgame. For the season, Arkansas pitchers have posted a 2.51 ERA and totaled 133 strikeouts in 82.1 innings of work through nine games.
Game two between the Hogs and Racers is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, March 2, on SEC Network+. Righty Brady Tygart, who is 1-0 with a 0.82 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 11.0 innings this season, will start on the mound for Arkansas.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
Former Hogs pitcher Scott Tabor on settling on catching spot
At times, there was just one catcher because that’s all that emerged plus Hagen Smith, pitching staff this year.
Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: BSB hosting Murray St, BKB at Kentucky tomorrow
Scott Tabor and Tom Leach (Kentucky PxP) joins the show!
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