Scoring Recap: Arkansas 2, South Carolina 1 (Game 1)

The No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks (31-5, 12-3 SEC) will open their second straight road conference series Friday night against the No. 20 South Carolina Gamecocks (26-11, 8-7 SEC) at Founders Park in Columbia, South Carolina.

South Carolina went on the road to win a series at Florida last weekend, and the Gamecocks will be looking to avenge a series loss to Texas A&M last time they were home.

"They’re really good, tough place to play," Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said Wednesday. "They’re good at home, it’s going to be warm on the first day, really warm. Kind of cool down from there. I’m glad we got to play in some warm weather today and last night.

"Yeah, it’s like all the SEC venues. It’s tough to win on the road. You’ve got to go there and you got to play hard and play smart and when you get a chance to score, you got to score. We know what’s ahead of us."

READ: Arkansas earns 5-4 win over Texas Tech to sweep midweek series

Arkansas ace left-hander Hagen Smith (7-1, 1.53 ERA) will make his 10th start of the season Friday opposite of South Carolina redshirt sophomore right-hander Roman Kimball (2-1, 4.71 ERA).

Smith threw six innings of two-hit, scoreless ball last weekend at Alabama in a 5-3 win for the Razorbacks. He's given up just eight earned runs all season and he has 89 strikeouts compared to just 14 walks.

Kimball made one appearance out of the bullpen last Saturday at Florida, and he gave up three earned runs on five hits in three innings of relief against the Gators. Kimball (28 strikeouts, 22 walks) will be making his fourth start and 11th total appearance on the year Friday.

South Carolina's team batting average of .269 ranks 13th in the SEC, while Arkansas is a bit above the Gamecocks with a .275 team average. In conference play only, the Gamecocks have a better team batting average (.257) than Arkansas (.238), but the Razorbacks have hit two more home runs (26) against SEC opponents than South Carolina (24).

Carolina has drawn 263 walks in 37 games this season, which leads the country in free passes. The Gamecocks lead second place Texas A&M by 11 walks. Ethan Petry leads the Gamecocks with 15 home runs and 38 RBIs on the season, while Cole Messina has 10 homers of his own and Vanderbilt transfer Parker Noland has 40 hits and 12 doubles.

"Obviously we haven’t seen them in person," Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said Wednesday. "Just watching video and watching some live games when they’re playing. And then going off of what we know about them from playing them last year. We’ll revisit all that stuff starting tonight and tomorrow we’ll get out of town and work on them Thursday, as well, and Friday morning before we play."

Arkansas leads the all-time series 45-35 heading into this weekend’s series. The Gamecocks are 17-16 against the Razorbacks in Columbia.

Sunday's game between the Razorbacks and Gamecocks has been rescheduled due to inclement weather. As a result, both teams will play in a doubleheader on Saturday that will consist of two nine-inning game with first pitch set for noon CT. There will be an hour break between both matchups.

Unable to watch Arkansas-South Carolina? HawgBeat has you covered with inning-by-inning updates, highlights and more from the Hogs' 2-1 win over South Carolina.

NOT A SUBSCRIBER? SIGN UP TODAY FOR ACCESS TO ALL OF HAWGBEAT'S PREMIUM CONTENT AND FEATURES

--------------

Who: No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks (31-5, 12-3 SEC) at No. 20 South Carolina Gamecocks (26-11, 8-7 SEC)

When: Friday, April 19 at 6:00 p.m. CT

Where: Founders Park — Columbia, South Carolina

TV/Stream: SEC Network+/Watch ESPN

Radio: Learfield Razorback Sports Network (Phil Elson)

Arkansas season stats: Click here

South Carolina season stats: Click here

--------------

RHP Roman Kimball pitching for South Carolina

- Stovall strikes out swinging on a 2-2 fastball

- Aloy smokes a ball into the left field gap for a double

- McLaughlin strikes out swinging on a 1-2 head-high fastball

- Souza strikes out on a 3-2 fastball

0 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB

LHP Hagen Smith pitching for Arkansas

- Messina singles to left center

- Noland strikes out on a 1-2 slider down and away

- Petry strikes out swinging on a high 0-2 fastball

- Reeves fouls out to Souza at third base

0 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB

Kimball still pitching for South Carolina

- Holt pops up to Noland at second base

- Diggs flies out to Brinling in center field

- Wagner flies out to Jones in left field

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB

Smith still pitching for Arkansas

- Jones flies out to Wilmsmeyer in center field

- Casas strikes out looking on a 3-2 slider

- LeCroy strikes out looking on three pitches

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB

Kimball still pitching for South Carolina

- White struck out swinging on a 2-2 pitch

- Wilmsmeyer takes six pitches and walks

- Stovall walks on four pitches, Wilmsmeyer advances to second

RHP Ty Good relieves Kimball

- Aloy flies out on a 2-2 breaking ball to Jones in left field

- McLaughlin flies out to a diving Petry in right field

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB

Smith still pitching for Arkansas

- Brinling walks on five pitches

- Bringling out by Stovall, caught stealing

- Tippett strikes out swinging on a 1-2 slider

- Messina strikes out swinging on a 0-2 slider

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB

Good still pitching for South Carolina

- Souza grounds out to Noland at second base

- Holt works a good AB and walks in a 3-2 count

- Diggs strikes out looking on an outer-half fastball

- Wagner strikes out swinging on a 2-2 fastball

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB

Smith still pitching for Arkansas

- Noland strikes out looking on a 1-2 fastball

- Petry hit by a 2-2 pitch

- Reeves walks on four pitches, Petry advances to second

- Jones strikes out swinging on a 2-2

- Casas grounds out to Souza at third base

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB

Good still pitching for South Carolina

- White drops a leadoff single into center field

- Wilmsmeyer strikes out swinging on a 0-2 breaking ball

- Stovall flies out to Petry in deep right field

- Aloy hits a 0-2 grounder to LeCroy at third base

0 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB

Smith still pitching for Arkansas

- LeCroy walks on seven pitches

- Brinling grounded out to Souza at third base, SAC, bunt (0-1 F); LeCroy advanced to second on the play

- Tippett takes six pitches and walks

- Messina singled to third base (1-1 BF); Tippett advanced to second; LeCroy advanced to third on the play

- Noland grounded out to Aloy at shortstop, RBI (0-2 FF); Messina advanced to second; Tippett advanced to third; LeCroy scored (1-0)

- Petry gets intentionally walked to load the bases

- Reeves strikes out looking on a 1-2 slider

1 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB

Good still pitching for South Carolina

- McLaughlin walks on five pitches

- McLaughlin advances to second on wild pitch

- Souza takes six pitches and walks in a 3-2 count

- Holt singled to LeCroy at third base, bunt (0-1 K); Souza advanced to second; McLaughlin advanced to third on the play

RHP Chris Veach relieves Good mid-AB

- Diggs strikes out swinging on a 3-2 changeup

- Holt advanced to second on a wild pitch; Souza advanced to third on a wild pitch; McLaughlin scored on a wild pitch (1-1)

- Wagner fles out to Brinling in center field, SF, RBI (3-1 BBKB); Souza scores (2-1)

- White walks on five pitches

Jayson Jones pinch hits for Wilmsmeyer

- Jones flies out to Petry in right field on the first pitch

2 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB

Smith still pitching for Arkansas

- Jones strikes out looking on a 2-2 fastball

- Casas strikes out swinging on a 1-2 slider

- LeCroy grounds out to Aloy at shortstop in a 0-2 count

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB

Veach still pitching for South Carolina

- Stovall singles to LeCroy at third base, bunt

- Aloy grounds out to Veach on the mound, bunt, Stovall advances to second on the play

- McLaughlin grounds out to Noland at second base (2-2 KFBB); Stovall advances to third on the play

- Souza strikes out looking on three pitches

0 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB

RHP Christian Foutch relieves Smith for Arkansas

- Brinling singles through the left side on a 1-2 fastball

- Tippett hit by the first pitch, Brinling advances to second

RHP Gabe Gaeckle relieves Foutch

- Messina flies out to Diggs in right field

- Noland flies out to Holt in center field

- Petry strikes out swinging on a 1-2 fastball

0 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB

Veach still pitching for South Carolina

- Holt takes eight pitches and walks in a 3-2 count

- Holt steals second base

- Diggs hit by a pitch in a 1-2 count

RHP Parker Marlatt relieves Veach

Ross Lovich pinch hits for Wagner

- Lovich fouls out to Messina, bunt

- White flies out to Brinling in deep right center field

- Jones takes six pitches and walks in a 3-2 count to load the bases

LHP Jake McCoy relieves Marlatt

- Stovall hits a sky-high pop-up to Petry in right field for the out

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB

Gaeckle still pitching for Arkansas

- Reeves strikes out looking on three pitches

- Jones strikes out looking on a 2-2 fastball

- Causey flies out to Diggs in right field

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB

McCoy still pitching for South Carolina

- Aloy strikes out swinging on a 1-2

- McLaughlin walks on five pitches

- Souza strikes out swinging on a 1-2 fastball

- Holt hit by a pitch, McLaughlin advances to second

South Carolina HC Mark Kingston gets tossed from the game

- Diggs takes nine pitches and walks in a 3-2 count to load the bases

Ryder Helfrick pinch hits for Lovich

- Helfrick grounds out to LeCroy at third base to strand the bases loaded

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB

Gaeckle still pitching for Arkansas

- LeCroy strikes out swinging on a 2-2

- Brinling strikes out swinging on a 2-2 changeup

Blake Jackson pinch hits for Tippett

- Jackson doubles to left center in a 3-2 count

- Messina intentionally walked

LHP Stone Hewlett relieves Gaeckle

- Noland grounds out to McLaughlin, who tosses it over to Hewlett at first base to win the game

0 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB

--------------

Arkansas:

1. Peyton Stovall, 2B

2. Wehiwa Aloy, SS

3. Ben McLaughlin, 1B

4. Nolan Souza, 3B

5. Peyton Holt, LF

6. Kendall Diggs, RF

7. Jack Wagner, DH

8. Hudson White, C

9. Ty Wilmsmeyer, CF

SP: LHP Hagen Smith (7-0, 1.53 ERA)

South Carolina:

1. Cole Messina, C

2. Parker Noland, 2B

3. Ethan Petry, RF

4. Dalton Reeves, DH

5. Kennedy Jones, LF

6. Gavin Casas, 1B

7. Talmadge LeCroy, 3B

8. Austin Brinling, CF

9. Will Tippett, SS

SP: RHP Roman Kimball (2-1, 4.71 ERA)

**JOIN THE CONVERSATION WITH ARKANSAS FANS ON THE TROUGH, HAWGBEAT'S PREMIUM MESSAGE BOARD**