Hogs stay alive with rout of SEC West foe
OMAHA, Neb. — Will McEntire limited Auburn to three hits and a run in seven innings, Peyton Stovall became the first player in 13 years with five hits in a College World Series game, and Arkansas eliminated the Tigers with an 11-1 victory Tuesday night.
The Razorbacks (45-20) moved to the Bracket 2 final against Mississippi. They would have to beat the Rebels on Wednesday night and again Thursday to go to the best-ofthree CWS finals this weekend.
Auburn (43-22) finished with 18 more wins than a year ago and made it to Omaha after being picked last in the SEC West.
McEntire gave the Hogs the quality start they needed after they used seven pitchers in a 13-5 loss to Ole Miss on Monday.
McEntire (2-2) retired the first 11 batters he faced before Sonny DiChiara singled to center with two outs in the fourth. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound righthander struck out a career-high nine, walked one and didn’t give up a run until Bobby Peirce homered leading off the seventh.
“I’d say that’s No. 1,” McEntire said when asked where the performance ranked in his career.
Auburn starter Mason Barnett (3-3) allowed four runs and five hits in 22⁄3 innings.
Last season, McEntire sat out as a redshirt and already had joined his summer team in Minnesota when the Hogs played in the super regionals. He watched those games from his motel room in Duluth.
This season, McEntire continued biding his time and didn’t make the travel roster until April. He made some midweek starts and worked out of the bullpen before earning a more significant role the last month.
McEntire started the super regional-clinching win at North Carolina, throwing 52⁄3 scoreless innings. He was even better on a bigger stage Tuesday.
“He didn’t get many opportunities early, and when he got the opportunity he shined,” catcher Michael Turner said. “He’s taken advantage of every opportunity he gets.”
Braydon Webb doubled into the left-center gap on the first pitch of the game, and Stovall followed with an RBI single to begin his 5-for-6 night. The previous player with five hits in a CWS game was North Carolina’s Dustin Ackley in 2009.
The Razorbacks added three runs in the third inning and four more in the fourth, highlighted by Chris Lanzilli’s 400plus-foot two-run homer down the left-field line.
For the first time in the 75year history of the CWS, each of the first 10 games was decided by four or more runs.