Aloy’s early grand slam jump starts Arkansas to 12-7 win over Missouri State
BY JASON PATTYSON
FAYETTEVILLE – Wehiwa Aloy launched the ninth pitch of the game over the center field wall for his second grand slam and team-leading 11th home run to help propel the No. 2 Razorbacks over the Missouri State Bears to a 12-7 victory Tuesday night at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Gage Wood got the start in place of Ben Bybee, who is projected to see action this weekend at Kentucky. Mason Molina continues to rehab, and Bybee will start for him this weekend.
Wood continued to cruise after solid outings over the last couple of weekends. He pitched three scoreless innings and gave up a hit while striking out four batters and didn’t allow a walk.
“I thought Gage Wood came out and did a great job, gave us three really good innings,” Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said. “We had built up a lead after the first inning. That second inning he came out and got them out quick. That’s big.”
Wood talked about the differences between starting versus coming out of the bullpen after the game.
“Starting you don’t have to be as perfect because it’s a fresh game,” Wood said. “Coming out of the pen when it’s a late game, when it is a one-run game or tied or whatever it is, you have to be that much better with your command and pitches.”
The offensive onslaught through the first three innings for the Razorbacks notching four runs in the first and third innings to keep space on the scoreboard from the Missouri State Bears. Entering Tuesday, the Bears had a winning record against the Hogs, 8-6, since 2015.
Arkansas sent four batters to the plate to start the bottom of the first inning, and all got hits. Peyton Stovall, Peyton Holt, and Jared Spreage-Lott all singled to set up Aloy. He launched the first pitch he saw from Brendan Beaver and sent it flying over the center field wall to give Arkansas a quick 4-0 lead.
“That was a great start. I mean, what more could you want? You got a two-strike base hit by Stovall,” Coach Van Horn said about the fast start. “Holt singles, and then Sprague lays down a great bunt with the third baseman deep.. it was quick. Stovall’s at bat took some time, Holt’s at-bat was quick, the bunt was quick, and then Aloy hit a homer on the first pitch.”
Arkansas pitching fanned 15 Bears, led by starter Gage Wood’s four punch outs. Wood earned his third victory on the season moving his record to 3-1, and Missouri State starter Brendan Beaver was tagged with the loss, his third this season.
The Arkansas bats came alive, but then fell asleep when the Bears pitching retired 10 straight batters, then woke up again in the eighth inning to finish off the Bears.
Sprague-Lott led the way going 2 of 4 at the plate, scoring three times, and drove in an RBI with his home run in the eighth inning.
Aloy had just one hit, but it was the difference in the score Tuesday night. The front half of the order, batters 2-4, carried the Hogs going 5-13 with six RBIs and scored six runs.
“It’s been a grind,” Sprague-Lott said. ” Taking the time off, you get to see a lot of things from the sideline. We’ve just been really trying to simplify, and luckily it’s going pretty well right now.”
Arkansas did strike out 11 times and drew only three walks.
Missouri State head coach Keith Guttin made his final trip of his career to Fayetteville, Guttin announced that he will retire at the end of the 2024 season, after 42 years at the helm for the Bears.
He was presented with fishing poles from Van Horn and an umbrella from Norm DeBriyn, a comical moment reminding fans of the rain-drenched six-hour marathon game in the 2017 regional in Fayetteville with the Hogs winning 11-10 at 3 a.m.
Cooper Dossett and Parker Coil got roughed up Tuesday night and were tagged with all seven runs. Dossett couldn’t work his way out of trouble in the fourth inning, surrendered four runs, and faced just six batters.
Coil gave up a home run to Taeg Gollert in the seventh inning to pull the Bears close to 11-7. Freshman Gabe Gackle and Jake Faherty buttoned up the eighth and ninth innings retiring the side 1-2-3 to secure the victory.
Hogs and Bears finish up this mid-week series Wednesday at 4 p.m. on SEC Network Plus.
Photo by John D. James
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