FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas could clinch the series with South Carolina in another pitchers duel on Saturday night, 3-1.
The game was delayed about 45 minutes after scheduled start time due to lightning in the area (although none was around the stadium) and a really quick, light rain shower while the field was still covered.
It was a strong seven-inning performance by Gamecocks starting pitcher Jake Mahoney, who threw 90 pitches and scattered five hits, but no runs while the Razorbacks wasted a solid three-inning start by Brady Tygart and Will McEntire struggled early, giving up all the runs in the top of the fourth.
Tygart started fast, retiring the Gamecocks in order after the first pitch was lined into right field that Kendall Diggs made a diving catch to grab. Van Horn said after Friday night’s game he would probably be a regular outfielder next year, but a lot of folks are wondering if he hasn’t played his way there now. Tygart threw just 11 pitches.
Jake Mahoney had a similar start, but he walked Diggs, but no damage when the Razorbacks rang up two quick outs. Mahoney only threw 16 pitches.
The second inning was a carbon copy except Mahoney had a hard-hit liner by Parker Rowland glance off him for a quick single. This is starting to look like another pitcher duel, at least early.
Tygart gave up a leadoff single, then retired the Gamecocks in the third. John Bolton lined a double down the third-base line to lead off the bottom of the third and he advanced to third on a grounder by Tavian Josenberger. Diggs was called out on strikes and Jace Bohrofen popped out to end the innings, still with no score.
McEntire was brought on to start the fourth after Tygart, in his third straight start after missing a big chunk of the year rehabbing an elbow injury, threw 37 pitches, gave up a single hit and didn’t walk anybody.
It probably wasn’t his best start, hitting the first pitcher, then giving up three straight hits that scored a couple of runs. With two outs he gave up another single for the Gamecocks to have a 3-0 lead. The Hogs got a single from Slavens, but nothing else in the bottom of the innings.
McEntire got through the fifth and sixth innings with no further damage. The only thing the Hogs could muster offensively came in the seventh when Slavens and Holt led off the bottom of the inning with consecutive hits, but that ended quickly on a double play and nothing else happened.
In the eighth, the Gamecocks got a runner on after McEntire’s strikeout got away from Rowland behind the plate and he hit the ball with his foot making a slide and the runner reached first. He tried to stretch a two-out slow-rolling ground ball to third baseman Caleb Cali, being thrown out easily.
The Hogs did manage to put up a run in the bottom of the eighth after Josenberger led off and got to second on a wild pitch, then scored on a single by Bohrofen, but couldn’t get anything more
South Carolina got a runner in scoring position, but couldn’t push him across as the Hogs went fairly quietly in the bottom of the ninth.
The Hogs are now 37-13 overall (18-8 in the SEC) and the two teams will close out the series on Sunday afternoon in a scheduled 2 p.m. start with showers in the forecast all around the expected time for the game.
