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Arkansas finally ran out of comeback magic Sunday afternoon and suffered its first loss of 2021.

Jarret Whorff stranded the Razorbacks’ potential tying runs on the corners to finish off a brilliant pitching performance in Louisiana Tech’s 2-0 win at J.C. Love Field in Ruston, La.

The right-hander went the distance for a two-hit shutout of No. 1 Arkansas, helping the Bulldogs avoid a sweep and preventing the Razorbacks - which had racked up 17 runs on 21 hits over the first two games of the series - from staying unbeaten.

“If you’d have told me two runs would win this game today, I would have put all my money on that,” Burroughs said. “I wouldn’t have thought in my wildest dreams that if we were going to score two that we’d have beaten them.”

It didn’t take long for Whorff to figure out he could throw all three of his pitches for strikes Sunday. He even cut his warmup session in the bullpen shorter than usual because he had such a good feel for his fastball, changeup and slider.

The Razorbacks mustered just two hits - a two-out double by Matt Goodheart in the first inning and a one-out single by Casey Opitz in the second - and struck out 10 times against the senior, who threw his changeup off his two-seamer to keep them off balance throughout the game.

“To be able to do that to that lineup… If you two-hit shutout those guys, you had some stuff working,” Burroughs said. “You don’t just cut through a lineup like that with 10 Ks and one walk.”

Whorff, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound right-hander from Winnsboro, Texas, sat in the mid- to low-90s with his fastball, but he particularly excelled with his location.

Nearly 70 percent of his pitches were strikes and he really took advantage of home plate umpire Chris Magourik’s large strike zone, which helped him get ahead of hitters.

“He was calling that inner half, that glove side fastball, on both sides,” Burroughs said. “He rung up a couple of our guys and he kind of set the tone for his zone and what it was going to be. He didn’t waver from it and Jarret did a great job pounding that part of the zone.”

Consistently in favorable counts, Whorff worked quickly. He didn’t throw more than 14 pitches in any of the first eight innings and had thrown just 84 total pitches through the eighth.

Even though right-handers Landon Tomkins and Casey Ouellette were ready in the bullpen, Burroughs stuck with his starter for the ninth because of his low pitch count.

That decision almost proved costly against an Arkansas team that had already completed five comebacks in the eighth inning or later this season, including in Friday’s series opener.

Robert Moore led off the ninth with a sinking line drive to the left-center gap, but left fielder Adarius Myers made an incredible diving catch to rob him of a leadoff hit.

“(Myers) made a great play,” Burroughs said. “If that ball gets down it’s gonna get hairy because it’s Arkansas and they’re not going to give in, they’re not going to give up. They’ve come back a lot already this year.”

After that play, Burroughs decided the Bulldogs would “live or die” with Whorff on the mound, as he had earned the right to finish the game.

With the crowd on its feet, though, he seemed to lose his command. He hit Christian Franklin with a 3-0 pitch and then walked Matt Goodheart, putting the tying runs on base.

That prompted a mound visit by pitching coach Mike Silva, whose sole purpose was to calm him down.

“I was nervous in the ninth inning,” Whorff said. “I had jitters. I felt probably the most adrenaline I’ve felt. I mean, if I grabbed a two-seamer and threw it, it would probably be the hardest pitch I threw in the game.

“I wasn’t tired at all. Being the situation, I was nervous, absolutely, but I was able to calm myself down after the first three hitters.”

Even though he never looked at the bullpen, Whorff admitted he knew he was on a short leash and needed to resume pounding the zone.

After falling behind 2-0 to Cayden Wallace, that’s just what he did. The freshman ended up flying out to center, which allowed Franklin to tag up and become Arkansas’ first base runner of the game to reach third.

It was up to Brady Slavens to extend the game, but he took a 1-2 pitch that appeared to be low and inside only for the umpire to call him out on strikes. That was Whorff’s 22nd pitch of the inning and 106th of the game.

“He missed a heater - a two-seamer - earlier in the at-bat, I threw a changeup, and then the last pitch obviously was a split changeup,” Whorff said. “I was trying to get him to swing and miss. It was kind of up and in, kind of tailed back, obviously on the plate and I got him.”

That strikeout ensured the Razorbacks wouldn’t pull off yet another rally, like their three-run eighth inning in Game 1 that led to a thrilling win for Arkansas in extra innings.

“You’d have to check your pulse if you weren’t sped up and your heart rate wasn’t up, but that’s what makes it fun,” Burroughs said. “That’s why we do this. You have those heartbreakers like Friday night, but then you win a game like this today.”

Fifth-Inning Breakthrough

As good and efficient as Whorff was for Louisiana Tech, Lael Lockhart nearly matched him early on.

The left-hander had allowed only one hit and one walk through the first four innings, needing only 41 pitches to do so.

To start the fifth inning, Burroughs made the surprising move to pinch hit for Philip Matulia, who entered the day with a team-high .386 batting average.

“I’d love to sit here and tell you that it was just a great managerial move (and) I was just thinking ahead of the game, but Phil’s got a banged up wrist,” Borroughs said. “He hurt it when he collided with Parker (Bates) yesterday. It’s really swelled up. … So we decided to go with a right-handed hitter.”

It proved to be a brilliant move for the Bulldogs, as Myers delivered a pinch-hit leadoff single into center. That started a string of three straight hits to start the inning, as Manny Garcia and Ben Brantley followed with singles.

The hit by Brantley was an RBI to break the scoreless tie.

Kyle Hasler laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt - and nearly bear the throw to first - before 9-hold hitter Alex Ray was hit by a pitch to load the bases.

Louisiana Tech eventually tacked on an insurance run on an RBI fielder’s choice by Taylor Young, but it could have been worse. Jalen Battles made a tremendous diving stop and flipped the ball to third for a force out.

However, the way Whorff was throwing the ball, that was plenty of run support for the Bulldogs.

Assessing Arkansas

After facing the Razorbacks for 27 innings this weekend, Burroughs was very complimentary of them despite losing two of the three games.

“I think they’re the best team in the country,” Burroughs said after Sunday’s game. “I didn’t see a weakness in Arkansas’ entire team. They defend like maniacs.

“I’ve never seen a team defend the field like them. Franklin runs down everything in center. Battles, he saved more hits and runs this weekend for them. Their lineup’s really good, 1 though 9, and they can pitch. They just keep bringing great arms out.”

Up Next

Arkansas will play its first midweek game of the season Tuesday evening, welcoming Oklahoma to Baum-Walker Stadium for a 5 p.m. first pitch. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.

The Sooners are 7-7 after splitting a doubleheader against Arkansas State on Sunday. They’ll play the Red Wolves again at 1 p.m. Monday, meaning the matchup with Arkansas will be Oklahoma’s fourth game in three days.

It will be the Razorbacks’ final non-conference tuneup before beginning SEC play with a home series against Alabama, which starts Friday.

Other Tidbits

~Arkansas and Louisiana Tech zipped through nine innings in just 1 hour and 58 minutes Sunday. It was the Razorbacks’ shortest game of any length since beating Kentucky 2-0 on April 23, 2016, in a game that lasted only 1 hour and 54 minutes. That was a seven inning game, though. The last time Arkansas finished a nine-inning hame under two hours was in a 7-2 win over Western Illinois in the second game of the 2013 season, on Feb. 16.

~One reason for the quick game was just how efficient both starting pitchers were. That was no more apparent than in the fourth inning, which lasted a whole 11 pitches. Whorff needed six to get through the top half and then Lockhart needed only five to get through the bottom half.

~By notching a single in the second inning, Opitz extended his team-leading hitting streak to 11 games. He’s hit safely in every game he’s started so far.

~Something that made Whorff’s performance even sweeter is that his girlfriend, Bailey Wright, is an Arkansas native from Morrilton. She is a sophomore infielder on Louisiana Tech’s softball team.

~Arkansas turned at least one double play in all three games this weekend. After notching one in each of the first two games, the Razorbacks turned two Sunday afternoon.