Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
HRs carry Arkansas
It didn’t take long Wednesday for the Arkansas Razorbacks’ offense to top what it did a day earlier against Alcorn State. The Razorbacks hit three home runs in the first inning and cruised to an 11-3 victory over the Braves in front of a crowd of 1,083 at Baum Stadium in Fayetteville.
FAYETTEVILLE — It didn’t take long Wednesday for the Arkansas Razorbacks’ offense to top what it did a day earlier against Alcorn State.
The Razorbacks hit three home runs in the first inning and cruised to an 11-3 victory over the Braves in front of 1,083 at Baum Stadium.
The Razorbacks (14-4) swept the midweek series against Alcorn State (6-10). The Razorbacks won 3-2 Tuesday with an RBI hit in the ninth inning.
Chad Spanberger and Luke Bonfield hit back-toback home runs Wednesday off Alcorn State starter Daniel Belmont to give the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville a 3-0 lead. Jordan McFarland added a two-run home run to left field later in the first to cap the Razorbacks’ five-run frame.
The Razorbacks’ first seven hitters reached base in the inning. Catcher Grant Koch had a double in the at-bat after Bonfield’s home run, but he was thrown out trying to advance to third base.
It was the eighth game in which the Razorbacks scored at least five runs in an inning.
“When you hit three home runs in an inning, it gives you a lot of confidence,” Razorbacks Coach Dave Van Horn said. “We made a base-running mistake with no outs that may have cost us a few more runs. We kind of had [the pitcher] on the ropes. He was wound up and nervous.”
The Razorbacks scored a run in each of the third and fourth innings, and Dominic Fletcher added a two-run home run to right field in the fifth to extend the lead to 9-1. The home run was Fletcher’s fifth this season, which tied him with Koch for second in the SEC.
The Razorbacks scored 9 runs on 9 hits against Belmont, a senior right-hander who entered the game with a 2.04 ERA in 3 starts. Belmont also walked four and struck out four.
The Razorbacks hit four home runs off Belmont — one off the season-high of five set at Louisiana Tech earlier this month.
The Razorbacks lead the SEC with 25 home runs through 18 games. They hit 49 home runs in 55 games last year.
“I think we have more mature hitters this year than last year,” said Bonfield, whose third home run of the season bounced off the chair-back seats above the bullpen in left field. “The guys have good approaches, and they know good times to pick pitches out.”
Eight of the Razorbacks’ nine starters recorded a hit, and the team finished with 14. Fletcher led the Razorbacks with three hits, while Jake Arledge, Spanberger, Bonfield and Koch all had two apiece.
“I just think we have some pop up and down the lineup,” Van Horn said. “I felt like that in the fall, and I mentioned many a time that I thought we were a team that was going to put together some big innings.”
Razorbacks starter Kacey Murphy allowed 1 run on 6 hits and struck out 6 in 3 innings to record his second victory of the season.