When it wasn’t shooting itself in the foot, Arkansas got excellent pitching in a series-opening win against USC.

The Trojans managed only three hits in a 6-3 loss to the Razorbacks and all three runs scored in a single inning without the benefit of a hit.

Making his first career start, Cody Scroggins was excellent on the mound. He cruised through the three innings head coach Dave Van Horn hoped to get out of him allowing only two base runners and striking out seven.

It wasn’t until the fourth that he began to tire, as he hit two batters with pitches and issued a walk to load the bases before being relieved by Patrick Wicklander. His 3 2/3 innings and eight strikeouts were both career highs.

Unfortunately for the Razorbacks’ starter, the freshman left-hander couldn’t replicate his electric debut. Wicklander let all three inherited runners score with a hit by pitch and two walks. The runs were charged to Scroggins and cut Arkansas’ lead in half.

Kole Ramage came out of the bullpen and stopped the bleeding by striking out Chase Bushor. He then didn’t allow a runner past first base over the next three innings, aided by a sensational diving catch by Christian Franklin in left field. It ended up being a double play that erased a leadoff single because Emilio Rosas failed to touch the second base bag on his way back to first.

After getting a couple of outs from Zebulon Vermillion, Van Horn turned it over to preseason All-American closer Matt Cronin for a four-out save opportunity.

In a similar situation against Eastern Illinois, Cronin blew the save before settling in. He looked much more like the 2018 version of Cronin on Thursday, striking out all four batters he faced to finish off the win. It was his 16th career save, breaking a tie with Barrett Astin and Bill Bakewell for the second most in UA history.

Arkansas got all of its offense in the first half of the game, with Casey Martin getting it started with a full-count, two-out double off the wall to clear the bases in the second inning.

A pair of errors by Bushor that allowed Trevor Ezell to reach led to two of the Razorbacks’ other runs. In the third inning, he eventually scored on an RBI single by Matt Goodheart. The error in the following inning pushed Franklin across instead of stranding him on third.

Sandwiched in between those runs was a sacrifice fly by Casey Opitz. Four of the first five runs were earned and charged to USC starter Quintin Longrie, who allowed only one run in 7 1/3 innings in the Trojans’ lone win over the Razorbacks last season.

Although he’ll be credited with a 2-for-4 performance, Ezell reached base all five times he went to the plate thanks to the aforementioned errors, two singles and a walk. The only other Arkansas player with multiple hits was Heston Kjerstad, who went 2 for 5.

The bottom three players in the Razorbacks’ lineup combined to go 0 for 8, but Franklin drew three walks and Jacob Nesbit walked once.

Arkansas will try to win the series Friday, with first pitch scheduled for 8 p.m. CT. Isaiah Campbell will get the start for the Razorbacks and the game will be streamed on Pac-12 Plus Live Stream. It can also be heard on the Razorback Sports Network.

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