The No. 11 Arkansas Razorbacks (38-9, 15-7 SEC) are aiming to build off of a dominant performance and snap a three-weekend skid Friday against the No. 1 Texas Longhorns (38-6, 19-3 SEC) at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Left-handed pitcher Zach Root had a career night in Thursday's series opener, twirling eight innings of scoreless two-hit ball and finished with a career-high 11 strikeouts in the 9-0 rout to snap the Longhorns' 10-game win streak. After outscoring Missouri 51-9 in early April, Arkansas dropped its next three series against Georgia, Texas A&M and Florida. Righty veteran Will McEntire relieved Root in the ninth and struck out three of four batters faced to shut the door.
Root's eight innings were also a career-high and it was his longest outing since March 28 against Vanderbilt in another 9-0 shutout.
"(Pitching coach Matt) Hobbs came up to me yesterday and said that fans don't buy tickets to watch me go four innings," Root said. "I kind of took that to heart and went out there and doubled that."
Root (6-3) also answered the challenge from coach Dave Van Horn, who wanted to see more from his starting pitchers.
"Obviously our bullpen was pitching way too much (in recent weeks)," Van Horn said. "For us to get a good start like that was big mentally for our team."
The Razorbacks also had a breakout evening at the plate as eight of nine batters recorded a hit, including multi-RBI home runs from Carson Boles and Cam Kozeal, along with a two-RBI double by Wehiwa Aloy. Texas right-handed pitcher Ruger Riojas sat down Arkansas in order in the first inning, but the Razorbacks responded by scoring all nine of their runs over the next three innings.
"Our guys did a really nice job of hitting a couple of mistakes when he elevated a couple of those sliders up," Van Horn said. "They popped him twice and then he elevated his fastball a little bit and he tried to get us in."
Along with taking a much-needed series, a win Friday would secure the fourth consecutive victory for Arkansas over the Longhorns since 2021.
Below are details on how to watch, BetSaracen betting lines and links to stream.
GET A FREE MONTH OF HAWGBEAT BY CLICKING HERE
--------------
How to Watch/Listen
Who: No. 11 Arkansas Razorbacks (38-9, 15-7 SEC) vs. No. 1 Texas Longhorns (38-6, 19-3 SEC)
When: Friday, May 2 at 7 p.m. CT
Where: Baum-Walker Stadium — Fayetteville, Arkansas
TV/Stream: SEC Network (Karl Ravech and Kyle Peterson)
Radio: Learfield Razorback Sports Network (Phil Elson and Bubba Carpenter)
--------------
Starting Pitchers
Arkansas – RHP Gage Wood (0-0, 4.35 ERA)
Texas – LHP Luke Harrison (4-0, 2.81 ERA)
--------------
BetSaracen Odds
Below are details on the betting odds for the game and Double R Prop bets. To get in on the action, visit BetSaracen.com and click on the Arkansas Specials tab.
(Lines and odds are subject to change at any point after the publishing of this story. HawgBeat does not guarantee any bet as a winner or loser. You must be at least 21 years of age to use BetSaracen. If you have a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit 1800gambler.net)
*All odds accurate as of the publishing of this story. They are subject to change.*
Moneyline/Spread
- Arkansas: -200
- Texas: +150
Run Line
- Arkansas: -1.5 (-110)
- Texas: +1.5 (-120)
Total Runs
- O/U 11.5 (-110/-120)
Double R Props (More available in the BetSaracen app)
- Gage Wood under 3.5 hits allowed and over 45.5 total pitches (-110)
- Brent Iredale over 0.5 hits and over 0.5 strikeouts (-110)
- Kuhio Aloy over 0.5 hits and over 0.5 strikeouts (-110)
- Wehiwa Aloy over 0.5 home runs (+180)
--------------
