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FAYETTEVILLE — Midweek hero Dylan Leach homered and his teammates added a barrage of doubles as Arkansas finished off a two-game sweep of Arkansas State on Wednesday.
The backup catcher’s two-run long ball was part of a three-RBI performance, giving him 10 over the last three midweeks, and helped the Razorback coast to a 10-3 win over the Red Wolves at Baum-Walker Stadium.
“Just glad that’s over with and we can move on and get to conference, honestly,” head coach Dave Van Horn said. “Good to see some of the younger guys do well. … We just played solid.”
Arkansas scratched across its first run with a sacrifice fly by Kendall Diggs in the second inning, but — unlike in Tuesday night’s game — didn’t wait long to deliver the knockout punch.
In the very next at bat, Leach smacked Jakob Frederick’s 1-0 pitch into the left field bullpen. That gave the Razorbacks a 3-0 lead and they were off and running.
A two-run double by Jace Bohrofen — the fourth of six two-baggers by Arkansas — highlighted a three-run third inning and Leach added an RBI single in a four-run outburst in the seventh.
That gave the Razorbacks a 10-1 lead and put them on the brink of invoking the run-rule, but Arkansas State drew a pair of bases-loaded walks from Gabriel Starks in the seventh to ensure the final two innings would be played.
Here are a few other key takeaways from Arkansas’ win Wednesday…
Leach Feasts on In-State Foes
One player who’s certainly glad Arkansas adjusted its policy against playing in-state opponents is Leach. The Razorbacks’ backup catcher has tormented the likes of UCA, UAPB and now Arkansas State in midweek matchups.
On Wednesday, Leach went 2 for 4 with a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored. The long ball, which came in the second inning, was a 348-foot blast that left the bat with a 95 mph exit velocity and 32.6-degree launch angle.
With that performance, he improved to 9 for 22 (.409) against in-state foes this season. For his career, he has a .359/.432/.821 slash line and 13 RBIs in 39 at bats in those games, compared to a .143/.388/.171 slash line and 3 RBIs in 35 at bats against all other opponents.
However, his recent success at the plate has put him on the brink of potentially getting some playing time on the weekends.
