Arkansas wins rubber match 9-6 over South Carolina
The No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks (34-6, 14-4 SEC) won their second SEC road series of the season with a 9-6 victory at the No. 20 South Carolina Gamecocks (26-13, 8-9 SEC) in the second half of a doubleheader Saturday at Founders Park in Columbia, South Carolina.
After struggling offensively in a 6-3 loss during the first game of the doubleheader, the Razorbacks flipped their offensive woes on their head in the latter matchup with a three-run frame in the second and a five-run outburst in the seventh.
Arkansas left 27 runners on base in the first two games of the series, but the Razorbacks responded by going 7-for-17 (.412) with runners on and 6-for-16 (.375) with runners in scoring position to cap off the three-game set.
Starting pitcher Brady Tygart kept the South Carolina bats at bay with a six-inning outing that included six strikeouts and two walks. The junior gave up two earned runs on four hits, but that was more than enough to hand the Hogs a victory.
Redshirt senior righty Will McEntire was shaky out of the bullpen, as he allowed three earned runs on three hits with two strikeouts and two walks in two innings pitched. Right-hander Gage Wood came on to close things out in the ninth and he did just that despite South Carolina's best efforts with a strikeout and one earned run.
The top of the first began and finished in a blink of an eye, as Arkansas' top three batters went down in order on only five pitches. Arkansas RHP Brady Tygart started his half of the inning with a flyout and a hit-by-pitch, but he closed things out with back-to-back strikeouts to close the frame.
Kendall Diggs started the second with a strikeout, but a throwing error by South Carolina gave the Hogs some life. Peyton Holt drew a hit-by-pitch, Ross Lovich walked and Jack Wagner gave the Hogs a 1-0 lead thanks to an RBI groundout. The scoring didn't stop there, as a wild pitch and RBI double by Parker Rowland drove in two more runs to hand Arkansas a 3-0 advantage after the top half of the second.
Tygart started his second with a flyout, but then walked the next batter to give the Gamecocks a one-out baserunner. Arkansas got out of the inning with some quality defense on a twin-killing double play.
Much like the first, the third inning went by quickly for the Hogs in another 1-2-3 frame. South Carolina started the bottom half of the third first-pitch swinging but flied out to right field as a result. Tygart followed up with a strikeout, but a walk and double gave the Gamecocks their first run of the game.
Nolan Souza ripped a leadoff double in the top of the fourth, but it was wasted after the Razorbacks went 0fer in their next three at-bats. Tygart continued to cruise with a strikeout, groundout and flyout after a leadoff single in the bottom of the fourth.
Only six pitches were thrown in the top of the fifth to Razorback batters, as Rowland, Stovall and McLaughlin went out quickly and quietly. South Carolina cut Arkansas' lead to one in the bottom half of the frame thanks to back-to-back doubles, but Tygart escaped with a 3-2 lead after striking out Cole Messina and Ethan Petry.
Wehiwa Aloy grounded out to start the sixth, but Kendall Diggs smoked a left-field ground-rule double to get the gears turning for the Hogs. Souza struck out in the next at-bat but Peyton Holt came up big with a single to right field to extend Arkansas' lead to 4-2. Following a walk by Ross Lovich, South Carolina turned to the bullpen and brought in RHP Tyler Pitzer. Pitzer forced a groundout by Wagner to end the inning.
It was a quick inning for Tygart in the sixth, as he threw just seven pitches thanks to three groundouts to get out of the frame. The Arkansas offense finally broke out in the seventh. A leadoff walk and single by Stovall gave the Hogs runners on first and third, and then pinch-runner Will Edmunson scored on a wild pitch.
McLaughlin followed up with a single and South Carolina brought in RHP Michael Polk out of the bullpen. Polk's second pitch was taken to right field for an RBI-single by Aloy and Diggs hit his second double of the day to score two more. A strikeout by Souza didn't slow things down, as a wild pitch moved Diggs to third and he scored after another single by Holt. Lovich walked in the next at-bat and the Gamecocks turned to RHP Parker Marlatt out of the bullpen. The inning finally ended after two flyouts by Wagner and Edmunson.
Tygart's day came to an end in the bottom of the seventh, as RHP Will McEntire entered the game in relief. He forced two quick groundouts before giving up a walk, but finished things off with a strikeout.
Arkansas came back down to Earth in the eighth with a quick 1-2-3 inning, and the Gamecocks made a push in the bottom half against McEntire. A walk, two singles, double and a sac-fly scored three for South Carolina in the frame to cut the lead to 9-5.
A fly out, strikeout and ground out led to another fast frame for the Razorbacks in the top of the ninth, and Dave Van Horn turned to RHP Gage Wood to close things out in the bottom half of the inning. The Gamecocks led things off with a double and a groundout before Aloy's throwing error gave the Gamecocks a run. Wood fought back with a foul out and a strikeout to win the game.
Up next, the Razorbacks will travel to Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock for a midweek matchup against UAPB on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. CT and it will stream on SEC Network+.
Box Score
Coming soon.