Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Powering on
Hogs’ bats come alive in push for tourney semifinal berth
ARKANSAS 9, MISSISSIPPI STATE 2 TOM MURPHY
HOOVER, Ala. — The No. 13 Arkansas Razorbacks had another offensive outburst to remember late Friday to take out No. 19 Mississippi State.
The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, erupted for six runs in the sixth inning, hitting for the cycle in reverse order, then adding another single and double to jolt the Bulldogs 9-2 in an SEC Tournament elimination game at the Hoover Met.
The Razorbacks (41-16) improved to 4-1 against the Bulldogs this season and advanced to today’s second semifinal against No. 4 Florida. LSU and South Carolina meet in the first semifinal at noon.
Mississippi State (36-24), which opened the tournament with victories against Georgia and Arkansas, lost a pair of games Friday on its way out of the bracket.
Arkansas starter Blaine Knight (8-4) left with a 7-2 lead with two outs in the seventh after throwing 91 pitches and allowing five hits, two runs and a walk while striking out nine. Jake Reindl got the final seven outs for the Razorbacks.
The Razorbacks broke open a tie game by flexing its power game in the sixth, starting with freshman Dominic Fletcher’s solo home run to right field against Jacob Billingsley (1-3) for a 2-1 lead.
After Carson Shaddy walked, Billingsley was pulled and the Bulldogs’ bullpen, which imploded during Florida’s 11-run eighth inning earlier Friday, did it again.
Jax Biggers worked reliever Trey Jolly for 10 pitches, winning the battle with an RBI triple off the right-field wall. Biggers’ third triple in two games is an SEC Tournament record.
Grant Koch then launched an RBI double over right fielder Hunter Vansau’s head for a 4-1 lead. Jared Gates singled off Parker Ford to move Koch to third, then Jake Arledge’s squeeze bunt brought him in.
Eric Cole followed with an RBI single up the middle, then Chad Spanberger drilled his second double of the game to the wall in center field. Luke Bonfield’s sacrifice fly capped the six-run uprising by plating Cole.
Knight’s final inning included a minor amount of drama after Cody Brown opened the seventh with a towering solo home run over both fences in right-center field to cut the Dogs’ deficit to 7-2. Knight allowed two more runners on a smash by Vansau and Cole Gordon’s pinch-hit single, but also struck out Elijah MacNamee and Josh Lovelady.
Coach Dave Van Horn called on right-hander Jake Reindl with Ryan Gridley at the plate and SEC most valuable player Brent Rooker lurking on deck. Reindl struck out Gridley swinging on an 0-2 pitch.
Rooker, who went 0 for 4 at the plate, came on to pitch with two outs and one runner on in the bottom of the eighth. Rooker walked Shaddy on four pitches before Biggers laced a two-run double inside the third-base bag. Biggers rounded second base with a head of steam, but pulled up as the left fielder MacNamee fired a strike into third. Rooker escaped further damage when Koch ripped a drive to right field for a long out.
The Arkansas first baseman Spanberger, the man of the hour after his SEC Tournament record three home runs and seven RBIs on Thursday night, got things going in the first after he tagged a double to deep center field with one out.
Bonfield’s single to left field brought Spanberger home for the game’s first run.
Mississippi State responded with an unearned run to tie the game in the second. Hunter Stovall singled off Knight and moved to second on Brown’s single. Vansau worked Knight for a ninepitch at-bat that ended with his grounder to first base. Spanberger threw to second to record an out, but the shortstop Biggers’ relay to first was wild, allowing Stovall to score. Spanberger retrieved the loose ball and gunned Vansau out at second for the unusual double play.
The score remained 1-1 until the Razorbacks’ big breakthrough in the sixth.
Gridley, who brought in a 10-game hitting streak, went 0-for-4 in the leadoff spot for the Bulldogs.