Gamecocks outduel Arkansas, even series
FAYETTEVILLE — Packed houses at Baum-Walker Stadium the last two nights have borne witness to two masterful pitchers’ duels between No. 3 Arkansas and No. 6 South Carolina.
The first pleased the locals, but the visiting Gamecocks returned the favor Saturday night. They one-upped the Razorbacks’ combination of Brady Tygart and Will McEntire with their own of Jack Mahoney and Chris Veach, limiting their hosts to a solitary run in a 3-1 victory to even the series.
"It's baseball, man," Tygart said. "Sometimes you get it done, sometimes you don't."
Just once did the Diamond Hogs pressure South Carolina hurlers with multiple baserunners, and of the eight who reached scoring position, one came home. The loss snapped a seven-game SEC winning streak, and it was the second time they dropped a conference contest on home turf.
"It was a little disappointing, but it happens," Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said. "Give their pitcher credit. He pitched out of a couple of jams and he deserved to win."
Both starters required 26 pitches to get through two innings with strikeouts aplenty. Tygart fanned three of his first six hitters while Mahoney struck out a pair. Three total runners made their ways aboard, but none made it past first base.
Tygart built on his past two outings of one and two innings with a third frame in his third start back from injury, and he capped his evening off with a fourth strikeout on his 37th pitch.
That, paired with shortstop John Bolton’s leadoff double, gave the Razorbacks some hope in the third. The top of the order could only move the runner to third base, and the scoreless tie carried over into the middle innings.
"That was rough, especially in that type of game, you could kind of see what was going on," Van Horn said. "Teams were kind of feeling each other, trying to figure it out."
McEntire was responsible for preserving the shutout bid Tygart started for the third consecutive week, but the relief outing did not go as well as the previous two. Four straight Gamecocks reached to start the fourth inning, including three consecutive singles to make it 2-0.
Two nonproductive outs and the nine-hole hitter due up made the outlook much brighter, but center fielder Evan Stone poked one through the left side for a third South Carolina run.
"My stuff didn't really have downward movement in the first inning," McEntire said. "I've just got to learn to come into games better. (Parker Rowland) was saying I wasn't in my legs enough, so I started getting in my legs more and had more downward depth in my stuff, and I started getting more soft contact."
After the difficult fourth, McEntire settled down to retire the next eight hitters in order, but it was not enough to spark the dormant Arkansas bats. The home squad stranded a runner in each of the first five innings, and Mahoney secured a quality start with a six-pitch sixth, bringing his count to 78.
As the game wore into the late innings and desperation began to set in for the Hogs, McEntire only seemed to become more effective. The Bryant native took strikeout victims No. 6 and 7 in the seventh, and his offense threatened unsuccessfully once again.
Consecutive singles from first baseman Brady Slavens and second baseman Peyton Holt gave the Razorbacks a pair of baserunners for the first time all night. Pinch hitter Jayson Jones did not live up to the moment, however, erasing the latter on a double play ball to Mahoney, who struck Bolton out to put a bow on his spectacular outing.
"He did a really good job mixing his pitches," Holt said. "I thought we had a good pregame approach, and I just think we didn't execute it that well during the game."
A new arm was a welcome sight for the Razorbacks, who finally cracked the scoreboard in the eighth. Closer Chris Veach walked center fielder Tavian Josenberger to begin the inning, and left fielder Jace Bohrofen drove him in with a one-out single and cut the lead to 3-1.
Two different players represented the tying run in the batter’s box that frame, but neither could complete the comeback. Designated hitter Ben McLaughlin flied out to right, and Veach fooled third baseman Caleb Cali to escape with the two-run advantage intact.
Not even a sixth relief inning from McEntire that featured his ninth strikeout of the game could ignite a rally. Veach retired the Hogs in order to seal the victory and tie the series.
"(McEntire) was really, really good and he gave us an opportunity to win the game," Van Horn said. "I was proud of him for hanging in there. He just kept getting them out, but their pitchers kept getting us out as well."
Despite the loss, Arkansas remains alone atop the SEC thanks to wins by Mississippi State and Florida over LSU and Vanderbilt, respectively. With four games to play, it leads the Tigers by a half-game and the Commodores and the Gators by a full game.
The last regular season game at Baum-Walker Stadium is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. Sunday, as the Razorbacks look to take the series from the Gamecocks. South Carolina will start left-hander Matthew Becker, while fellow southpaw Hunter Hollan will get the ball for Arkansas.
"Didn’t do anything tonight really," Van Horn said. "Just kind of played. Didn’t really mess up, but didn’t do anything. I hope they bounce back and play really well tomorrow."
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