FAYETTEVILLE — The spectators who stuck out the cold, gray Saturday afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium met Arkansas starting pitcher Will McEntire with thunderous applause as he made the trek back to the mound for the ninth inning.
With just 82 pitches to his name, the game was his to finish.
"Three more outs," McEntire thought to himself. "Just three more."
Facing the top of the Louisiana Tech order for the fourth time, McEntire issued his only walk of the afternoon. A flyout, a foulout and a strikeout later, he was pumping his arms as he walked to greet catcher Hudson Polk and celebrate the Razorbacks' first full-length complete game since Dominic Taccolini in 2016.
The big right-hander's nine innings of one-run ball, in which just four Bulldogs reached base, lowered his season ERA from 6.17 to 3.48 as his team defeated Louisiana Tech 6-1 to clinch the series.
"For him to go out and give us nine innings in under 100 pitches, that was big for our bullpen," Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said. "I’m sure it was big for his confidence. Man, his cutter was really good today. It made his fastball look even harder than it was. He was locating pretty much wherever he wanted whenever he wanted and that cutter was really good."
Left fielder Jared Wegner was the first Razorback to cross home plate, scoring all the way from first base on a dying quail of a double off the bat of first baseman Brady Slavens.
To prove it was not a fluke, Arkansas belted back-to-back homers in the second inning for the fourth time this season. Designated hitter Kendall Diggs’ sent the seventh pitch he saw to the opposite field for his fifth blast, and third baseman Peyton Holt announced his first start since Feb. 24 with authority, drilling the next one to dead center for his first NCAA longball.
"I was expecting him to try and blow a fastball by me since Kendall just had a really good at-bat, and then he surprised me with a slider, and he hung it and that was that," Holt said.
Right fielder Jace Bohrofen joined in on the home run parade in the fourth inning, extending his streak to four games and the lead to 4-0.
"He's seeing the ball good," Van Horn said. "He's laying off that early in the count, borderline pitch, and if it's a ball, advantage him. He's hot right now. When I see that, I'm thinking he's going to hit one hard somewhere."
McEntire was one strike away from getting through five clean innings, but Louisiana Tech first baseman Karson Evans continued his hot start to his collegiate career. He made the Hogs pay for an error that turned a close play at first into a runner in scoring position, delivering a two-out RBI single for his third knock in his first six plate appearances.
The Razorbacks moved quickly to get the run back, as shortstop John Bolton’s walk made him the fifth leadoff man to reach base in as many innings. He advanced 90 feet on a wild pitch and scored on second baseman Peyton Stovall’s double to right field.
The fearsome left-handed heart of the order prompted a pitching change for the Bulldogs before the fifth reached its end.
"I really like the way that we went the other way today," Van Horn said. "I mean, think about it — Stovall lines out opposite field the first inning to the shortstop, the second at bat of the game. Bohrofen lines out to left. There are a couple other balls that were hit oppo that were good by our left-handed hitters today, and that was kind of our plan with their starter. You’ve got to see the ball up and left-handers really had to go oppo on him, and they did a great job."
Lefty Ryan Harland took over for Rawley Hector after 4 ⅔ innings, seven hits and five earned runs, and he retired Slavens to prevent further damage.
Harland and righty Isaac Crabb cruised through the Arkansas order in the sixth and seventh, respectively, to keep Louisiana Tech in slam range, but McEntire did not give an inch, settling in after the run to go nine up, nine down on his third time through the order.
The Razorbacks tacked on a sixth run in the eighth inning after Stovall's leadoff triple gave way to a Wegner RBI single, capping the scoring at 6-1.
"Without the wind, that ball might hit the fence in the air or go out of the park," Van Horn said. "He's swinging it really well, seeing it really good."
As McEntire finished off the Bulldogs for the ninth time, it marked the Hogs' seventh straight win, their 12th in 14 games and the fourth straight weekend with at least two victories.
"I just felt like I had most of my pitches today, and we knew they were going to be aggressive, and I’ve got to give credit to Polk behind the dish," McEntire said. "He called a great game, getting a bunch of soft contact, and then defense played really well all day."
Arkansas can sweep Louisiana Tech when the two teams meet for the third time at 1 p.m. Sunday. The series finale will stream live on SEC Network Plus, accessible through the ESPN app.
