Arkansas bats come to life in 21-1 run rule win over Grambling
FAYETTEVILLE — The No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks (6-2) heard the noise about their lineup after a 2-1 showing at the Kubota College Baseball Series over the weekend, and the Diamond Hogs responded by recording 20 hits in a 21-1 run rule win in seven innings Grambling (1-7) on Tuesday afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Arkansas pitchers were elite against Oregon State, Oklahoma State and Michigan over the weekend, but the lineup struggled to drive in runs and string together consistent hits. That wasn't the case Tuesday, as every Razorback that had an at bat reached base and all but one of the 13 batters had at least one hit.
"We hit a lot of balls hard, super hard," head coach Dave Van Horn said postgame. "We were patient. Took our walks. We ran the bases extremely well, except in that last inning when my freshman didn’t tag up on that ball into right center. The pitchers, they filled it up. I think we had two walks."
The Diamond Hogs ended a five-game streak without a home run with three home runs on the day. Catcher Hudson Polk hit a first inning grand slam in his first at bat of the year, plus Jayson Jones had a pair of balls hit 400-plus feet, including a fifth inning grand slam of his own.
"The one that Polk hit was just absolutely crushed into the breeze," Van Horn said. "He knew it was going out of the park when he hit it. I thought it was, but that wind didn’t slow it down a whole lot. I always kid with him in practice.
"Hitters always know which way the wind is blowing. I say, when you really have home run power, it doesn’t matter which way the wind blows. You can still drive through it. Whether I believe it or not, it was good to see that swing."
Junior Kendall Diggs had a pair of RBI knocks, senior Peyton Holt reached base in all five at bats with three hits and four runs scored and junior Hudson White drove in a pair of runs on the afternoon. The Razorbacks had eight batters drive in at least one run against the Tigers.
On the mound, six pitchers got the job done for Arkansas across seven innings. The Hogs had 11 team strikeouts, with three coming from sophomore right-hander Cooper Dossett's impressive fourth inning. Razorback pitchers gave up just one run on four hits, with the lone run and three of the hits coming in the seventh inning.
After reigning SEC Co-Freshman of the Week Colin Fisher worked a scoreless top of the first inning, the Razorbacks managed to bat around and plate seven runs in the bottom half. Diggs and Will Edmunson had RBI hits and a run crossed via an RBI fielder's choice from White, while Polk crushed a 421-foot grand slam to dead center in his first at bat of the season.
Sophomore left-hander Parker Coil took the mound in the top of the second for the Hogs after he was sick over the weekend, according to Van Horn. Coil faced the minimum after benefitting from a 5-4-3 inning-ending double-play that erased a one-out single.
The Hogs only saw four go to the plate against Grambling reliever Brett Washington in the bottom of the second, which featured plenty of 59 mile per hour curveballs from the Tigers' righty.
After Coil faced the minimum again in the third, the Razorback lineup was able to get to Washington after Wehiwa Aloy hit a leadoff double and Jones crushed a two-run homer to left to make it a 9-0 lead for the Hogs, who had just six outs compared to nine runs scored at the point.
The Razorbacks had three more hits and scored three more runs in the bottom of the third. Diggs had another RBI, as did White to make it a 12-0 lead for the Hogs after three full innings.
Dossett came on in relief for the Hogs in the top of the fourth and struck out the side in an electric frame of work that saw him sit mid-90s on the fastball.
"I felt like I did good," Dossett said. "My stuff was good. I felt like my cutter could have been better to the righties. But, overall, I felt really good about it.”
The lineup fed off his energy by plating a pair of two-out runs on Grambling reliever Rafael Capistran, and one of the runs came via a pinch-hit RBI from outfielder Ross Lovich.
Against Grambling righty Charles Jackson, Arkansas had its first three batters reach via walk in the bottom of the fifth. Jones then smashed a 425-foot grand slam to left to make it an 18-0 lead for the Hogs.
A pitching change didn't help much for Grambling, as the Hogs piled on two more runs on four hits against righty Courtland Posey to make it a 20-0 lead after five innings.
Sophomore closer Gage Wood threw in the top of the sixth and he struck out two in a 1-2-3 frame on 21 pitches. Arkansas plated its 21st run via Lovich's second RBI single to make it 21-0 after six innings.
Freshman Tate McGuire came on in the top of the seventh to close things down, but he struggled a bit by giving up one run on three hits. He did manage to pick up three strikeouts in the frame and give up just the one run to end it after seven innings.
Next up, the Razorbacks will begin a three-game weekend series with Murray State on Friday at 3 p.m. CT. First pitch Saturday is set for 2 p.m. and Sunday's game will start at 1 p.m., and all three games will be streamed live on the SEC Network+.
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