Sixth-ranked Razorbacks trim No. 24 Texas, 3-2

ARLINGTON, Texas — Multiple times in the week leading up to the season-opener, University of Arkansas baseball coach Dave Van Horn indicated that his team has multiple options at closer.

When his team’s back was against the wall Friday night, the option was simple. Experience made it an easy call for Van Horn.

Sophomore right-hander Brady Tygart was dominant in a five-out save and helped the sixth-ranked Razorbacks to a 3-2 victory over No. 24 Texas in front of an announced crowd of 15,721 at Globe Life Field.

Tygart stranded Texas runners at second and third base after striking out two- and three-hole hitters Dylan Campbell and Porter Brown in the eighth inning. Tygart got a pair of groundouts and struck out Mitchell Daly in the ninth to complete his 20-pitch outing that included 15 strikes.

“It was just a matter of experience and stuff,” Van Horn said. “He’s got great stuff.

“We talked as a staff about how we were going to handle the game, and we kept him for the back of the game. Obviously he did a tremendous job. He came in throwing strikes with everything he threw. I think his reputation is that he’s got a good breaking ball, but he’s got a good fastball. Now he’s got a two-seamer and a changeup, slider — it’s not all about throwing a curveball. You pitch like that, you can finish a lot of games, go three or four innings, or even start a game.”

It was the ninth career save for Tygart, who was the Razorbacks’ primary closer as a Freshman All-american. Tygart was one of 81 pitchers who were named earlier in the week to the watch list for the Stopper of the Year Award as the nation’s best closer.

“I felt really familiar when I got out there under the lights on the mound,” Tygart said. “It felt really good.”

Arkansas (1-0) was dominant on the mound in a game that resembled a 4-0 victory over the Longhorns in the last meeting between the teams two years earlier on the same field.

Texas (0-1) was held to 5 hits, struck out 13 times and was 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position. In addition to the eighth inning, the Longhorns stranded runners at second and third base in the fifth against Arkansas left-handed starter Hagen Smith.

The Razorbacks broke a scoreless tie with three runs in the top of the seventh inning. The first four batters reached base on singles by Brady Slavens and Jared Wegner, a walk by Jace Bohrofen and a two-run single by Kendall Diggs past third baseman Jalin Flores that gave Arkansas a 2-0 lead.

Slavens and Wegner’s hits came against right-handed reliever Lebarron Johnson, who took the loss by allowing 2 runs, 3 hits and 1 walk in 1 innings. Diggs’ hit was against lefthander Chris Stuart.

“There was another situation earlier in the game with a runner in scoring position that didn’t go my way,” said Diggs, who went 1 for 3 and was hit by a pitch as the designated hitter. “He put a fastball over the plate, and I put a good swing on it. It felt great.”

Nine-hole hitter John Bolton added a one-out RBI double against Stuart to put the Razorbacks ahead 3-0, but Arkansas missed on an opportunity to blow the game open when twoand three-hole hitters Peyton Stovall and Caleb Cali struck out against Stuart with the bases loaded.

“It should have been a fiverun inning,” Van Horn said. “That’s what happens in this game — when you leave runners at third with less than two outs, a lot of times it’ll come back and get you.”

Texas answered with two runs in the bottom of the seventh. Brown homered in the 10th pitch of an at-bat against Arkansas right-handed reliever Cody Adcock, a former Arkansas High standout, and Garret Guillemette chased Adcock with a double in the next at-bat.

Right-hander Koty Frank nearly got out of the jam for the Razorbacks, but he threw a wild pitch on a 2-2 count with two outs, which allowed Guilemette to score from third base and cut Arkansas’ lead to 3-2.

Adcock and Frank combined to pitch 2 1/3 innings in their first outings as Razorbacks. Adcock was credited with the victory.

“We got just enough out of our first two, then our closer came in and did a tremendous job,” Van Horn told Flosports.

Both teams missed on scoring chances in the eighth inning. Slavens doubled to lead off for Arkansas but was stranded at third base when Hudson Polk grounded into a fielder’s choice.

Texas’ Peyton Powell and Eric Kennedy singled with one out against Frank in the eighth. They executed a double steal against Tygart with two outs.

Neither starting pitcher allowed a run in five innings. Texas left-hander Lucas Gordon allowed 2 hits, walked 1 and struck out 6, and Smith allowed 1 hit, walked 2 and struck out 8 in a 68-pitch start for the Razorbacks.

“He’s been known to be a little erratic and he was really good around the zone,” Texas coach David Pierce said of Smith. “I think if there’s anything we can grow from facing him, he threw a lot of 3-2 breaking balls that were chase pitches and we have to understand strike-zone discipline.”

Arkansas fouled off several pitches to drive up Gordon’s pitch count in the second, third and fourth innings. He threw 84 pitches, including 52 for strikes.

“If it’s later in the season, I think both starters would have gone the sixth and, who knows, maybe the seventh,” Van Horn said. “But it came down to the bullpens, and it was quite a bullpen battle.”

Both starting pitchers were backed by strong defensive plays. Middle infielders Stovall at second base and Bolton at shortstop teamed for double plays after the Longhorns put their lead-off man aboard in the first and second innings.

Campbell, the Texas right fielder, robbed Arkansas’ Tavian Josenberger of a potential RBI hit with a great running catch in the third.

The Longhorns also turned a double play in the sixth after the Razorbacks put two runners on base with one out.