Diamond Hogs romp Louisiana Tech, sweep series
FAYETTEVILLE — Faced with a two-run deficit in the third inning, Louisiana Tech head coach Lane Burroughs turned to his most trusty relief option to settle things down as the Bulldogs tried to salvage a win against No. 8 Arkansas.
Right-hander Landon Tomkins entered Sunday's contest with a 0.71 ERA in 12 2/3 innings — the lowest among qualified Bulldog pitchers. When the third inning was over, that number had risen to 3.55 because 20 of his 23 pitches were balls. The Razorbacks took a seven-run lead, and they were well on their way to a 15-6 win to sweep the series.
"Just a good job by our team, really all weekend, just finding a way to win three games," Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said after the game. "Today was more about taking advantage of what they didn't do well."
Despite the large margin of victory, the Diamond Hogs' eighth straight win did occur in come-from-behind fashion. Arkansas fans have grown familiar with starting pitcher Hunter Hollan's first inning struggles, but some questionable baserunning led to an 8-3 double play to help him out of it.
Unfortunately for Hollan and the Razorbacks, those struggles were on a three-out delay. Louisiana Tech took a 3-0 lead in the top of the second when five of six batters reached, including three hit batsmen.
"They had a chance, with one more base hit, to go up 5-0," Van Horn said. "We never really feel like we're out of the game, even if they would have gotten that hit. I feel like we would have climbed back in it."
The Hogs cut into the deficit in the home half, cashing in on right fielder Jace Bohrofen's leadoff double. Designated hitter Kendall Diggs' flyout allowed him to advance to third, and third baseman Peyton Holt, in his second consecutive start, drove him in.
Hollan rebounded with a perfect top of the third, and he enjoyed a nice, long stint in the dugout as 14 Razorbacks batted in the bottom of the frame.
Center fielder Tavian Josenberger got the party started with a leadoff double, and left fielder Jared Wegner went the other way to tie the game at 3-3 with his team-leading seventh longball of the campaign.
After Bulldog starter Reed Smith recorded the second out of the inning, Arkansas staged a Gas House Gorillas-esque parade around the bases. Bohrofen walked and scored the go-ahead run on Diggs' sixth bomb of the season, and Holt prompted the first of two pitching changes with a triple to right-center.
Tomkins' five walks made it an 8-3 Razorback lead, and Bohrofen lined lefty Ryan Harland's first pitch to center field for a two-run single to cap off the nine-run third.
"I was just impressed by the hitters," Van Horn said. "They weren't getting a lot of hits, but they weren't going out of the zone, weren't chasing too much and just kept fighting."
Hollan and Louisiana Tech pitchers traded scoreless fourth and fifth innings before Arkansas opted for a pitching change, ending the left-hander's day with one earned run, two hits, no walks and seven strikeouts.
"First inning was good," Van Horn said. "Second inning, not good. I thought his third, fourth and fifth were really good. We just wanted to get him out of there with a low pitch count today."
Righty Cody Adcock was the first man out of the bullpen, and his ERA continued to climb when second baseman Peyton Stovall bobbled what looked like a tailor-made double play. Catcher Karson Evans went deep against the Crowder College transfer for the second time in three days, cutting the lead to 10-6.
"I thought Cody threw the ball good," Van Horn said. "I mean, it was as good as he’s thrown it. The fastball, he was spotting it. He jammed a couple of guys with his fastball. He threw it away from them. He threw a couple of good breaking balls. That was an inside fastball and the guy hit it foul and it blew back. It blew back 25 feet. It was amazing."
Adcock managed to face the minimum in the seventh, as Stovall made amends for his error with a clean 4-6-3 twin killing to end the top of the inning, and Arkansas stretched its advantage out to eight runs with a four-spot.
Eight Razorbacks batted against three Louisiana Tech pitchers, including former Hog Ethan Bates. The first run crossed home on Stovall's RBI fielder's choice, the second scored on a passed ball and Bohrofen made it 14-6 with a two-run single up the middle.
Stovall collected his third RBI without recording a hit, becoming the first Razorback to do so since Tyler Spoon in 2013, on a long sacrifice fly in the eighth. A few more feet would have resulted in a run-rule victory, but Arkansas settled for the one run and a 15-6 decision.
Freshman right-hander Christian Foutch made his collegiate debut in the ninth, and he worked around a two-out walk to seal it.
"Really liked what I saw from the two freshmen there at the end," Van Horn said of Foutch and righty Gage Wood, who worked a scoreless eighth. "They threw with some conviction, some velocity, had good secondary pitches. We're going to need those guys this week against UNLV and probably the rest of the season."
Next up for the Razorbacks are the UNLV Rebels, with whom they are scheduled to play a two-game set beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Baum-Walker Stadium. The contest will stream live on SEC Network Plus, accessible through the ESPN app.
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