Heart Attack Hogs complete another rally to beat Murray State

FAYETTEVILLE — Just eight games into the season, the 2021 edition of Arkansas baseball has developed a reputation for being the Heart Attack Hogs.

Robert Moore was the hero Friday afternoon, hitting a pair of two-run home runs - including one in the eighth inning - to help the Razorbacks overcome a three-run deficit and beat Murray State 7-6 at Baum-Walker Stadium.

It was Arkansas’ first game since becoming the consensus No. 1 team in the country and improves it to 8-0, matching its best start over the past 15 seasons. Four of those wins required the Razorbacks rallying in the eighth inning or later.

“I don’t think they ever felt like we were out of it,” head coach Dave Van Horn said. “We still had time. … Obviously as outs were being made and we were running out of outs, I’m sure what was running through their head is what was running through the coaching staff’s - we just have to get some people on and get a hit here or there and maybe we can hit one out of the park.”

That’s exactly what the Razorbacks ended up doing after struggling to get a clutch hit much of the afternoon.

They squandered scoring opportunities in the first, second, fourth and seventh innings, going just 2 for 11 (.182) with runners in scoring position and stranding seven runners on second or third base.

One of those hits was a two-run triple by Casey Opitz in the third, but it could have easily been ruled an error on right fielder Brock Anderson for dropping a fly ball as he lost his footing on the warning track.

Murray State starter Shane Burns is who prevented the Razorbacks from capitalizing on their chances in the first and second. Despite being a left-hander whose fastball didn’t touch 90 mph, he retired three straight batters in the first inning after putting the first two guys on and then struck out back-to-back hitters in the second to strand a runner on second.

“It wasn’t looking great,” Van Horn said. “The left-hander that started, an older kid again, he’s been out there and he’s pitched probably in a lot of Fridays and been through it a little bit. He did a tremendous job of wiggling his way out of jams.”

Meanwhile, the Racers hit a pair of two-run homers of their own - the first by Anderson off of Connor Noland and the second by Trey Woosley off of Zack Morris - to take a 6-3 lead in the fifth.

It lasted an inning and a half. With two outs in the sixth, Moore crushed an 0-1 pitch from Jacob Pennington for the first of his two long balls and that got the Razorbacks within striking distance.

“(Jalen) Battles got a big hit there in the seventh with two outs and then Robert promptly hit a two-run homer,” Van Horn said. “All of a sudden, that three-run lead was only one. They didn’t kind of know what him them there.”

Momentum seemed to swing in Arkansas’ favor, but it couldn’t finish a two-out rally that began with a double by Opitz in the seventh. Side-arm reliever Alec Whaley struck out Battles to strand the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position.

Needing base runners, Van Horn opted to pinch hit Zack Gregory for the struggling Braydon Webb to lead off the eighth inning. The left-hander fouled off an attempt to bunt for a hit before working the count full and laying off a close pitch to draw a walk.

“That’s really hard to do, what Zack did - come off the bench, it was cold all day, it was rainy, he hasn’t taken a swing since batting practice three or four hours ago and he had his A-stuff for his at bat and seeing pitches,” Moore said. “That’s a tough dude to walk against because side-armers usually fill the zone a lot.”

That walk set the stage for Moore’s heroics. Batting from the left side again, he took a couple of pitches before making solid contact on a 1-1 pitch. He got enough of it to get it just over the fence in front of the scoreboard in right field.

Moore skipped in excitement as he rounded first and sprinted around the bases, nearly catching Gregory as he came home to score the go-ahead run.

“Whenever you’re a left-handed hitter against a side armed-pitcher, everything kind of goes into your barrel a little bit, especially when he throws a breaking ball,” Moore said. “He threw a breaking ball the first pitch and I took it, and I remember thinking, ‘That was the one I should have hit.’ Luckily I got another one and was able to stay on it.”

Pallette’s Start

In his first outing as Arkansas’ Game 1 starter, Peyton Pallette wasn’t as sharp or as efficient as he was in his first two appearances.

However, he still gave the Razorbacks four innings, left the game with a lead and struck out a career-high 10 batters Friday afternoon.

Pallette cruised through the first two innings, striking out five of the seven batters he faced while sitting 96-98 mph with his fastball, according to the scoreboard radar gun.

Trouble emerged in the third inning, though, as his velocity dipped some in the cold conditions and Murray State made him pay. Tanner Booth hit a leadoff double and came around to score on a two-out RBI single by Ryan Perkins.

It was a similar story in the fourth, as Pallette gave up a hit to Woosley, moved him to second by walking 9-hole Jordan Holly and then allowed a two-out RBI single to Jake Slunder.