FAYETTEVILLE — The No. 3 Arkansas baseball team (21-2, 3-1 SEC) walked off the South Carolina Gamecocks (17-6, 1-3 SEC) in run rule fashion, 12-2, and starting pitcher Zach Root tossed a seven-inning complete game Friday evening at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Root struck out seven batters and gave up two earned runs on six hits across seven innings to bounce back from giving up 10 earned runs in his SEC debut last weekend at Ole Miss.
The Hogs scored seven runs on five hits across the second, third and fourth innings. Four of the runs scored in the bottom of the third inning, though two of those runs were unearned and the other two came across via run-scoring walks.
Arkansas finished things up with a five-run bottom of the seventh inning. Outfielders Justin Thomas Jr. and Charles Davalan tallied back-to-back RBI knocks to make the lead 9-2 before shortstop Wehiwa Aloy drove his 10th home run of the year to right field to score three runs and walk the game off by triggering the run rule.
Root erased a two out double in the top of the first, which was an otherwise quick eight-pitch inning. The Razorbacks were unable to capitalize on back-to-back one out singles from Wehiwa Aloy and Logan Maxwell in the bottom half.
Following a perfect top of the second inning from Root, the Hogs managed to strike first in the bottom half of the second with a two out 102 mile per hour RBI single from Justin Thomas Jr. that made the lead 1-0.
South Carolina picked up a one out single in the top of the third, but Root caught the runner leaning at first and earned a strikeout on the next pitch for a quick two-out sequence to keep the Gamecocks scoreless.
The Razorbacks got to South Carolina starter Brandon Stone in the bottom of the third inning when he issued three straight free passes, the third of which was an RBI walk for Brent Iredale. Hogs' catcher Ryder Helfrick walked in another run before second baseman Nolan Souza made it 5-0 with a swing that scored two runs courtesy of an error by Gamecocks' shortstop Henry Kaczmar.
Root worked his second perfect inning of the game in the top of the fourth, while Logan Maxwell drove a ball 389 feet to right field in the bottom half for a two run home run that gave Arkansas a 7-0 lead after four innings of play.
South Carolina finally got on the board with an RBI groundout in the top of the fifth inning to cut the deficit to six runs. The Gamecocks added another run one inning later via a wild pitch by Root in the top of the sixth, but it was just the lone run again to make the Hogs' lead 7-2.
Root tossed what was going to be his final inning in the top of the seventh and he faced one more than the minimum in the frame.
Cam Kozeal and Helfrick lead the bottom half of the seventh off with back-to-back singles, and they were driven in on back-to-back RBI swings from Thomas and Davalan. Aloy scored the latter two Hogs with his walk off homer to finish things up ahead of schedule.
Up next, Arkansas will host South Carolina again Saturday the second game of the series at Baum-Walker Stadium. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. CT and the game will be streamed on SEC Network+.
