Scoring Recap: Arkansas 4, LSU 3 (Game 2)

FAYETTEVILLE — The No. 1 Arkansas Razorbacks (21-3, 6-1 SEC) can secure a third straight series win to begin conference play if they manage to earn a victory over the No. 8 LSU Tigers (20-7, 2-5 SEC) on Friday evening at Baum-Walker Stadium.

Led by the pitching duo of Hagen Smith and Will McEntire, the Razorbacks knocked off the Tigers with a 7-4 win Thursday night in Fayetteville. Arkansas had 19 team strikeouts in the contest, plus Kendall Diggs and Jack Wagner both hit homers.

ALSO READ: Top-ranked Arkansas takes Game 1 from LSU

The test will be tougher Friday, though, as the reigning national champions will start ace Luke Holman on the mound for Game 2 after resting him for Game 1 while Smith threw for Arkansas. A transfer from Alabama, Holman owns a 5-1 record and 0.78 ERA, and he tossed six innings of one-run ball while striking out 13 Florida batters last Friday.

"He threw 106 pitches (against Florida)," LSU head coach Jay Johnson said Thursday of Holman. "We're not a very good team if he's not pitching for us. So we need him keep him on full rest being that he threw 106 pitches last week. That's all. That's the only reason."

According to LSU stats, Holman actually threw 104 pitches, but the reasoning from the LSU skipper still makes sense.

The Razorbacks will start left-hander Mason Molina, who has a 2.57 ERA, 15 walks and 47 strikeouts across 28.0 innings pitched this season.

"What I tell our players, we just need to take care of our own business, don’t worry about all the other stuff and do what we can do," Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said Thursday. "Doesn’t surprise me that they gave (Holman) another day because he threw last Friday. You can say they’re pitching off or you could just say they’re giving him his normal rest. Doesn’t really matter. That’s who we gotta try to beat (Friday)."

Arkansas is 10-4 in its last 14 meeting against the Tigers. The 6-1 start to conference play marks the fifth time under Van Horn and the second time in the past three seasons for the Diamond Hogs.

Temperature around first pitch will be around 70 degrees in Fayetteville with mostly cloudy skies and winds are expected to be blowing south at up to 18 miles per hour.

Unable to watch Arkansas-LSU? HawgBeat has you covered with inning-by-inning updates, highlights and more from the Hogs' 4-3 win over LSU.

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LHP Mason Molina pitching for Arkansas

- Bingham singles to left field on the second pitch of the AB

- White grounds into double play on the first pitch, Bingham out on the play

- Jones strikes out looking on four pitches

0 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB

RHP Luke Holman pitching for LSU

- Stovall doubles to left center on the first pitch of the AB

- McLaughlin lines out to Bingham in left field in a 2-0 count

- Aloy strikes out swinging on a nasty slider in the dirt

- Diggs grounds out to Milam at second base to strand Stovall

0 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB

Molina still pitching for Arkansas

- Travinski fouls out to White at catcher in a 2-2 count

- Pearson walks after an eight-pitch AB

- Frey strikes out swinging on four pitches

- Braswell singles to center field, Pearson advances to third on the play

- Kling strikes out swinging on an 82 MPH changeup

0 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB

Holman still pitching for LSU

- Sprague-Lott walks on four pitches

- Lovich strikes out swinging on five pitches

- White rolls over one for a single to Braswell at shortstop, Sprague-Lott advances to second on a close play

- Souza grounds out to Braswell at shortstop, White advances to second, Sprague-Lott advances to third on the play

- Wilmsmeyer strikes out looking to end the threat

0 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB

Molina still pitching for Arkansas

- Milam is first-pitch swinging and singles to left field

- Bingham lines out to Sprague-Lott in the hot corner

- White singles to right center, Milam advances to third on the play

- Jones walks in a 3-2 count to load the bases

- Travinski strikes out swinging on an 81 MPH backfoot slider

- Pearson singles to left field, Jones advances to second, White and Milam score (2-0)

- Frey strikes out swinging on four pitches

2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB

Holman still pitching for LSU

- Stovall leads things off with a left-field single

- McLaughlin walks in a 3-2 count, Stovall advances to second base

- Aloy strikes out looking after a seven-pitch AB

- Diggs lines out to Kling in center field, Stovall advances to third on the play

- Sprague-Lott reaches on a fielder's choice, McLaughlin out at second base

0 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB

Molina still pitching for Arkansas

- Braswell lines out to Wilmsmeyer in center field in a 1-2 count

- Kling lines out to Aloy at shortstop

- Milam grounds out to Stovall at second base to end the inning

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB

Holman still pitching for LSU

- Lovich walks on four pitches

- White smokes a liner straight to Braswell at shortstop

- Souza walks on a 3-2 pitch, Lovich advances to second

- Wilmsmeyer doubles down the right field line, Souza advances to third, Lovich scores on the play (2-1)

- Stovall grounds out to Braswell at shortstop, Wilmsmeyer advances to third, Souza scores on the play (2-2)

- McLaughlin doubles to right field, Wilmsmeyer scores on the play (3-2)

- Aloy flies out to Bingham in left field to end the inning

3 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB

Molina still pitching for Arkansas

- Bingham grounds out to Stovall at second base, who makes a pretty play for the out

- White strikes out swinging on some high cheese

- Jones singles on the first pitch of the AB

- Travinski strikes out looking in a 2-2 count

0 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB

Holman still pitching for LSU

- Diggs walks on five pitches

- Sprague-Lott strikes out looking on a low fastball

LHP Griffin Herring relieves Holman

Will Edmunson pinch hits for Lovich

- Edmunson strikes out swinging on a slider

- White strikes out swinging after six pitches

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB

Molina still pitching for Arkansas

- Pearson gets hit by a pitch

- Frey walks after six pitches, Pearson advances to second

- Braswell singles to Stovall at second base, Frey advances to second, Pearson advances to third to load the bases

RHP Christian Foutch relieves Molina

- Larson lines out to Edmunson in left field, Pearson scores on the play (3-3)

- Milam grounds into an inning-ending double play to Stovall at second

1 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB

Herring still pitching for LSU

- Souza strikes out swinging on five pitches

- Wilmsmeyer strikes out swinging on three pitches

- Stovall strikes out looking on five pitches

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB

Foutch still pitching for Arkansas

- Bingham strikes out swinging on three pitches

- White grounds out to McLaughlin unassisted on the first pitch of the AB

- Jones grounds out to Aloy at shortstop to end the frame

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB

Herring still pitching for LSU

- McLaughlin strikes out swinging on four pitches

- Aloy singles to left field on the first pitch of the AB

- Diggs hits a seeing-eye single up the middle, Aloy advances to third on the play

- Sprague-Lott reaches on a fielder's choice, Diggs advances to second, Aloy out at home on the play

- Edmunson grounds out to Braswell at shortstop for the final out of the inning

0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB

RHP Gabe Gaeckle relieves Foutch for Arkansas

- Travinski strikes out looking on a 79 MPH curveball

- Pearson grounds out to Stovall at second base in a 2-0 count

- Frey grounds out to Stovall at second base, who lays out for the toss to first for the out

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB

Herring still pitching for LSU

- White lines out to Kling in center field

- Souza strikes out looking on four pitches

- Wilmsmeyer strikes out swinging after an eight-pitch AB

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB

Gaeckle still pitching for Arkansas

- Braswell flies out to Wilmsmeyer in center field in a 3-2 count

- Larson strikes out swinging on four pitches

- Milam singles to right field on a high fastball

- Bingham reaches on a fielder's choice, Milam out at second base on the play

0 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB

Herring still pitching for LSU

- Stovall doubles to left field to leadoff the inning

- McLaughlin flies out to Larson in left field

- Aloy smokes a liner to Larson in left field

- Diggs hits a laser past Herring's face and to Braswell at shortstop, he makes the close play at first for the out

0 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB

Gaeckle still pitching for Arkansas

- White grounds out to Aloy at shortstop for the first out

- Jones singles to left field in a 3-2 count

- Travinski strikes out swinging after a nine-pitch AB

LHP Stone Hewlett relieves Gaeckle

- Pearson strikes out swinging on a 78 MPH offspeed

0 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB

RHP Thatcher Hurd relieves Herring for LSU

- Sprague-Lott strikes out on a 95 MPH heater

- Edmunson reaches on a fielding error by Braswell at shortstop

- White doubles down the left field line, Edmunson scores on the play to win the game (4-3)

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB

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Who: No. 1 Arkansas Razorbacks (21-3, 6-1 SEC) vs. No. 8 LSU Tigers (20-7, 2-5 SEC)

When: Friday, March 29 at 7:00 p.m. CT

Where: Baum-Walker Stadium — Fayetteville, Arkansas

TV/Stream: SEC Network/Watch ESPN (Tom Hart and Kyle Peterson)

Radio: Learfield Razorback Sports Network (Phil Elson and Bubba Carpenter)

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Arkansas:

1. Peyton Stovall, 2B

2. Ben McLaughlin, 1B

3. Wehiwa Aloy, SS

4. Kendall Diggs, RF

5. Jared Sprague-Lott, 3B

6. Ross Lovich, LF

7. Hudson White, C

8. Nolan Souza, DH

9. Ty Wilmsmeyer, CF

SP: LHP Mason Molina (3-0, 2.57 ERA)

LSU:

1. Mac Bingham, LF

2. Tommy White, 3B

3. Jared Jones, 1B

4. Hayden Travinski, C

5. Josh Pearson, RF

6. Ethan Frey, DH

7. Michael Braswell III, SS

8. Paxton Kling, CF

9. Steven Milam, 2B

SP: RHP Luke Holman (5-1, 0.78 ERA)

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