The No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks (29-3, 10-1 SEC) picked up a 14-4 Game 2 win in seven innings Sunday to clinch the series against the Missouri Tigers (11-19, 0-11 SEC) at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville.
Due to bad weather all of Friday and most of Saturday morning, the teams were forced to push back to a seven-inning doubleheader Sunday. Game 1 resulted in a 21-3 run rule win for the Hogs on Saturday evening, and they kept the offense hot in the first half of the doubleheader Sunday despite sub-50 degree temperatures.
Left fielder Charles Davalan hit two home runs, a three-run shot and a grand slam, to take the team lead with 11 longballs on the season. He drove in seven runs overall on the afternoon for the Razorbacks, who tallied 16 hits as a team in the game. The Hogs logged 11 of their hits with runners on base and eight of them came with runners in scoring position.
Arkansas starting pitcher Gabe Gaeckle struck out six batters and walked four across four innings in the start. He surrendered four runs on five hits, although just two of those runs went down as earned. Reliever Aiden Jimenez tossed two scoreless relief frames before freshman Steele Eaves closed things down in the top of the seventh inning.
Before Gaeckle could even record an out, the Tigers pushed a run across home plate courtesy of the first three batters reaching base safely. Gaeckle picked up back-to-back punchouts before giving up his second RBI knock of the frame, this one to Cayden Nicoletto, to make it a 2-0 lead for Missouri. The Hogs' starter finally got out of the inning thanks to catcher Ryder Helfrick throwing Nicoletto out at second base.
Arkansas loaded the bases with one out in the bottom half of the first inning, and the Razorbacks came just short of a grand slam on a sacrifice fly out to centerfield from Cam Kozeal that trimmed the Tigers' lead to 2-1.
Gaeckle posted a perfect top half of the second inning to lead into a strong bottom half for the offense. Helfrick walked and Nolan Souza singled to right field before both were driven home on a three-run home run from Davalan, his 10th of the season, that made the lead 4-2 and chased Missouri starting pitcher Brady Kehlenbrink. Right-hander Brock Lucas got the Tigers out of the frame without allowing anymore scoring.
Missouri tied the game in the top of the third inning by scoring their third run courtesy of a throwing error by Helfrick and a game-tying fourth run on an RBI sacrifice bunt. Arkansas regained the lead with two RBI singles from Kuhio Aloy and Wehiwa Aloy in the bottom half of the third to make it a 6-4 advantage.
Despite having multiple arms moving around in the bullpen, the Razorbacks stuck with Gaeckle in the top of the fourth inning. He faced one more than the minimum in the frame and picked up his sixth strikeout of the game to close the inning.
Arkansas opened the game up in the bottom of the fourth inning, starting with an RBI double to right center from Helfrick to make it 7-4. Justin Thomas Jr. brought another run home with an RBI walk before Davalan hit his second homer of the game 400 feet over the wall for a grand slam that made the lead 12-4 for the Razorbacks.
The Tigers brought in reliever James Vaughn for Lucas, and the Hogs kept the offensive barrage going by putting three more runners on base and scoring one more to extend the lead to nine runs.
Right-hander Aiden Jimenez came on in relief for the Razorbacks and he began his outing with a flawless 1-2-3 top of the fifth inning. Vaughn followed suit with a quick 12-pitch bottom half of the fifth.
Jimenez once again faced the minimum in the top half of the sixth inning. The Tigers brought on right-handed reliever Victor Christal in the bottom of the sixth and he was tagged for an RBI single to left field by Cam Kozeal that made it a 10-run lead for the Hogs entering the final frame.
Freshman right-hander Steele Eaves came on in the top of the seventh inning and worked around a leadoff single to close the game down with little drama.
Up next, No. 2 Arkansas will play Game 3 of the series and the second half of Sunday's doubleheader against Missouri at Baum-Walker Stadium. First pitch for Game 3 is set for approximately 4:30 p.m. CT and it will will stream on SEC Network+.
