Arkansas holds San Jose State to 2 hits in 5-1 win
FAYETTEVILLE — The No. 1 Arkansas Razorbacks (28-3, 11-1 SEC) earned their 22nd straight win at Baum-Walker Stadium with a 5-1 victory over San Jose State (12-20) on Tuesday evening.
Second-year right-hander Ben Bybee threw five innings (tied career-high) of two-hit ball, and he gave up just one earned run on a second inning solo homer. Bybee worked very efficiently on just 55 pitches with four strikeouts and no walks.
"I thought Ben Bybee came out and pitched really well for us," head coach Dave Van Horn said postgame. "He had a good change-up, good breaking ball, fastball was good. Just really got us off to a good start. I know they hit a home run but sometimes that just happens."
Four Razorback relievers combined for three innings of scoreless and hitless ball, as the two hits allowed by Bybee were all the Spartans mustered up Tuesday.
On the flip side, the Hogs saw shortstop Wehiwa Aloy and first baseman Ben McLaughlin homer in the game, while second baseman Peyton Stovall also drove in a run and freshman Nolan Souza had two RBIs.
"It was obviously a quick game," Van Horn said. "Timely hitting and good pitching will win you a lot of games and that’s kind of what you saw tonight."
Bybee led the game off with a strikeout and then gave up a one-out single that was erased by an inning-ending strike 'em out, throw 'em out that featured freshman catcher Ryder Helfrick throwing the runner out at second. San Jose State starting pitcher Keaton Chase allowed a pair of one-out baserunners, but he retired two batters in a row to strand the runners in the bottom half of the first.
The Spartans took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first via a 442-foot solo homer from catcher Matt Spear, but that was all Bybee allowed in the frame.
Arkansas responded, like it has so often this season, this time in the form of back-to-back run-scoring knocks from Stovall (RBI single) and Souza (two-RBI double) that made it a 3-1 lead for the Hogs after two innings.
"He’s earning everything he gets," Van Horn said of Souza, who was playing third base Tuesday. "It was good to get him in the field today. Gave (Jared) Sprague-Lott a night off. Might give him another day off tomorrow.
"Just to have him swing the bat, play a little defense, he hasn’t taken a lot of ground balls at third. He played there in the fall for us, so it was probably a little bit different, but might give him another shot over there tomorrow."
Bybee worked the game's first true 1-2-3 inning in the top of the third, and the Hogs tacked on another run in the bottom half with a 412-foot leadoff solo shot to center from McLaughlin — his fifth homer of the season.
Both Bybee and Chase put together three up, three down frames in the fourth inning. While they had similar results in that inning, Chase was at 90 pitches and Bybee was at 48 on the evening.
Arkansas' sophomore right-hander put together his third straight perfect inning in the fifth, and the Hogs rewarded him with a 407-foot solo homer from Aloy on the first pitch from Chase in the bottom half of the fifth. After picking up two outs and giving up two singles, Chase (98 total pitches) was relieved by Jesse Gutierrez who needed just two pitches to strand the runners.
The Razorbacks turned to sophomore righty Christian Foutch in the top of the sixth inning and he put on a dominant display with a 1-2-3 showing and two punchouts. Arkansas threatened with runners on the corners and two outs in the bottom half, but Gutierrez got out of the jam to keep the deficit at 5-1 for the Spartans.
Sophomore righty Gage Wood relieved Foutch to start the top of the seventh, and he retired all three batters he faced. Gutierrez managed to face one more than the minimum the next half inning after erasing a one-out walk with his second strikeout to send the game to the eighth inning.
Van Horn turned to freshman left-hander Hunter Dietz in the top of the eighth and he issued a walk and strikeout before leaving the game with soreness after 11 pitches.
"They’re going to look at it," Van Horn said postgame. "But he got sore last time too. And it’s kind of in a strange area, a different area than where he had the surgery. So just let them look at it and figure it out."
Lefty Stone Hewlett relieved Dietz and retired the two batters he faced to end the frame.
Arkansas had two on with one out against San Jose State reliever Cade Van Allen in the bottom of the eighth, but Aloy hit in a 6-4-3 double play to help the Spartans get out of it.
The Hogs rolled with Hewlett in the top of the ninth, and the Kansas transfer delivered a 1-2-3 frame with a strikeout to end the game.
Up next, the Razorbacks and Spartans will face off again at 3 p.m. CT Wednesday at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville. The game will be streamed live on SEC Network+.
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