Knight, Hogs pay back Bulldogs, 9-2

HOOVER, Ala. — Arkansas settled a score with Mississippi State in beating the Bulldogs 9-2 in a Southeastern Conference tournament elimination game Friday night.

Moving to the semifinals against Florida on Saturday, the Razorbacks avenged a 4-3 loss to Mississippi State in a second-round game Thursday. Arkansas, seeded fourth in the tournament as SEC West Division runner-up, won three in a row from the Bulldogs in the teams’ first SEC series.

Arkansas sophomore starter Blaine Knight scattered five hits over 6 2/3 innings and was helped by a six-run sixth inning. Knight picked up his team-leading eighth win of the year and his nine strikeouts were his best performance since fanning 10 Ole Miss batters April 27.

Sophomore Jax Biggers and junior Chad Spanberger combined to go 5 for 8 (.625) with four extra-base hits against the Bulldogs. Biggers tallied his fifth three-hit game of the year, a triple and a double included, and drove home three runs.

One day after hitting three home runs in the same game, Spanberger didn’t get nearly as many hittable pitches — he was walked twice — but still slugged a career-high two doubles.

Dominic Fletcher’s home run in the sixth inning, his 11th of the year, broke a 1-1 tie. Biggers’ third triple of the week, a tournament record, scored Carson Shaddy and made it 3-1.