Razorbacks’ hitting comes alive in 17-9 win to open regional

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Led by Ben McLaughlin and Hudson White’s multi-homer games, No. 5 Arkansas (44-14) hit six long balls and outslugged SEMO (34-26), 17-9, in Friday’s NCAA Fayetteville Regional opener at Baum-Walker Stadium.

With the regional-opening win, top-seeded Arkansas advances to play the winner of Friday night’s showdown between second-seeded Louisiana Tech (45-17) and third-seeded Kansas State (32-24) at 8 p.m. Saturday, June 1, on the ESPN family of networks with Derek Jones (play-by-play) and Jay Walker (analyst) on the call.

Ben McLaughlin (Michael Morrison / HitThatLine.com)

The Razorbacks won their 34th game of the season at Baum-Walker Stadium, tying the single-season program record of 34 set in 2018. Excluding 2020, Arkansas has won 28-plus games at Baum-Walker Stadium in seven consecutive seasons.

Arkansas came out swinging and tagged SEMO starter Haden Dow for six runs (three earned) in his 1.2 innings of work. The Hogs opened a commanding 8-0 lead after two innings of play, benefiting from White’s one-out solo shot in the first and McLaughlin’s two-out, three-run blast – his first of two three-run homers on the afternoon – in the second.

Peyton Holt (2-for-4, RBI), Ty Wilmsmeyer (2-for-5, 3 R, 2B, RBI) and Jared Sprague-Lott (1-for-4, 2 RBI) also contributed to the early eight-run outburst, chipping in with RBI of their own during the Razorbacks’ seven-run second inning.

SEMO would not down quietly, however, responding with a four-spot in the top half of the third to cut Arkansas’ lead in half. Starter Mason Molina lasted only 2.2 innings, allowing four runs on two hits and four walks with four strikeouts.

The Redhawks did not stop there, completely erasing their early eight-run deficit and tying the game at eight in the top of the fifth. Veteran right-hander Will McEntire entered in relief of Molina and was chased after 1.2 innings on the mound, allowing four runs on three hits and a walk while punching out one.

McEntire’s lone strikeout was a historic one, however, as it marked the 675th in 58 games by an Arkansas pitcher this season, breaking the Razorbacks’ single-season program record of 674 set over 67 games during the 2022 campaign.

Wehiwa Aloy (Michael Morrison / HitThatLine.com)

Evened up at eight apiece, Arkansas came roaring back. Wehiwa Aloy (2-for-5, 2B, HR, RBI) and Kendall Diggs (2-for-3, 3 R, HR, RBI) connected on back-to-back homers in the bottom of the fifth to put the Hogs back in front, 10-8.

From there, it was all Hogs. SEMO would cut its deficit to one in the seventh, but Arkansas scored four in the bottom half of the frame, including three on McLaughlin’s second three-run homer of the game, to open a 14-9 advantage.

White’s three-run blast in the bottom of the eighth, his second of the afternoon and the Razorbacks’ third three-run blast of the ballgame, extended Arkansas’ lead to 17-9. McLaughlin finished with a team-leading three hits, going 3-for-5 with a double, two home runs and a team-high six RBI, while White went 2-for-5 with his pair of homers and five RBI.

After Molina and McEntire departed the game, Christian Foutch (0.2 IP, 1 SO), Gabe Gaeckle (3.0 IP, 1 R, 6 SO) and Jake Faherty (1.0 IP, 1 SO) worked the final 4.2 innings and combined for eight strikeouts while allowing just one run. Foutch earned his first win of the season, and Gaeckle totaled a career-high six strikeouts over a season-long-tying three frames.

Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.