Hogs win nail-biter over Texas, 3-2
With a pair of runners on and tensions high in the bottom of the eighth inning, Arkansas sophomore Brady Tygart entered the game and struck out back-to-back Texas batters to eliminate the threat and bring the Diamond Hogs one step closer to a 3-2 Opening Day victory over the Longhorns.
Tygart threw a 1-2-3 frame in the bottom of the ninth to earn the save and send a roar from Arkansas fans at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
The Hogs' win over the Longhorns was powered by a three-run top of the seventh inning that featured a two-run single from designated hitter Kendall Diggs and an RBI double from Austin Peay transfer shortstop John Bolton in his Razorback debut.
Lost in the fold of late game drama was sophomore left-hander Hagen Smith's first start of the 2023 season. The Hogs' ace tossed five innings of one-hit ball, and he had eight strikeouts compared to just two walks.
Texas failed to record a single hit with runners in scoring position on the evening. Four of the Longhorns' five hits came from the top half of the order, and the team struck out a total of 12 times.
After losing arguably the best middle infield in college baseball — Robert Moore and Jalen Battles — the Razorbacks didn't miss a beat. The duo of second baseman Peyton Stovall and shortstop John Bolton helped Smith get out of each of the first two innings with a low pitch count, as the lefty had thrown just 22 pitched through his first two frames.
The third inning featured Smith getting the job done on his own, as he retired the side in order and sat a pair of batters down on nasty sliders. The sophomore lefty faced the minimum through three innings.
After Texas pitcher Lucas Gordon struck out two Arkansas batters in a 1-2-3 top of the fourth, Smith raised him three strikeouts — each coming on a dirty slider — in the bottom of the frame.
Smith's gas seemed to run out in the bottom of the fifth, when he led things off with back-to-back walks. Following a visit from pitching coach Matt Hobbs and a sacrifice bunt that advanced the runners, the Arkansas ace issued two more strikeouts to end the inning.
After Arkansas stranded a pair of runners in the top of the sixth, junior righty Cody Adcock entered the game in relief of Smith. The transfer from Crowder College worked a 1-2-3 frame with two strikeouts, one of which was credited to him after Texas' Dylan Campbell didn't step back into the batters box in time.
The Diamond Hogs led the top of the seventh off with a pair of singles to right from Brady Slavens and Jared Wegner, which forced the Longhorns to turn from relief pitcher Lebarron Johnson to lefty Chris Stuart.
After walking Jace Bohrofen, Stuart's third offering to Diggs was hit 105 miles an hour off the bat through the third baseman's legs for a two-run single that ended the shutout.
One batter later, Bolton drove Bohrofen home with a double down the left field line. Stuart managed to get out of the inning without allowing any more runs, but the damage was done.
Texas' second hit of the evening came on a 393-foot leadoff homer to right from Porter Brown. Adock gave up a double to Garret Guillemette two pitches later and Van Horn had seen enough, as he turned to Nebraska transfer RHP Koty Frank. A wild pitch allowed Guillemette to cross home and make it a 3-2 Arkansas lead, but that was all the Longhorns could muster up in the frame.
Frank ran into trouble in the bottom of the eighth when he surrendered a pair of one-out singles. Van Horn turned to sophomore righty Brady Tygart, who recorded back-to-back strikeouts in impressive fashion.
A goose egg from the Arkansas lineup in the top of the ninth was followed up by a 1-2-3 bottom of the frame with Tygart back on the mound.
The Razorbacks will take on the No. 15 TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday night at Globe Life Field in Arlington. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT and it will be streamed on FloSports.