Arkansas baseball clinches SEC West with late comeback at Texas A&M
For the fifth time in six seasons, the Arkansas Razorbacks are SEC West division champions.
The Diamond Hogs overcame a fast start from Texas A&M and scored three runs in the eighth inning for a 6-3 come-from-behind victory at Blue Bell Park in College Station Friday night.
It’s the ninth division title in program history for the Razorbacks (43-11 overall, 20-9 SEC).
Getting it was anything but easy.
Texas A&M (43-11, 18-11) got on the board with two first-inning runs against Arkansas starter Gage Wood. Jace LaViolette reached on a throwing error from Peyton Stovall on a groundball to second base, then Braden Montgomery hit a two-run home run for a quick 2-0 Aggies lead.
The Razorbacks answered with single runs in the second and third innings. After singles from Hudson White and Ryder Helfrick, Peyton Holt notched Arkansas’ third hit of the second inning, an RBI single through the left side off Aggies starter Brad Rudis that cut the lead to 2-1.
An inning later, with Rudis already chased after the three hits he allowed in the second, Wehiwa Aloy tied the game with a 400-foot solo home run to left-center off Texas A&M reliever Justin Lamkin.
The Aggies went back ahead in the bottom of the third when LaViette singled home Gavin Grahovec for a 3-2 lead. Wood maintained his composure and would not allow another run to score. He allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits to go with five strikeouts in five innings.
Arkansas tied the game at 3-3 in the sixth on an RBI single from Ben McLaughlin before their big inning in the eighth.
The Razorbacks got four consecutive hits to start the inning. A leadoff single from Stovall was followed by a double from Aloy down the left field line off reliever Josh Stewart.
White then delivered the crushing blow, a three-run homer to left that gave Arkansas the lead for good at 6-3. White’s home run was his fifth of the season and fourth in the past seven games.
McLaughlin followed White with a single for the Razorbacks’ fourth straight hit to open the inning but was stranded when Tanner Jones retired all three batters he faced in relief of Stewart.
A somewhat unexpected name helped the Razorbacks close things out on the mound. Mason Molina, one of the team’s weekend starters, made his first relief appearance of the season in the seventh inning after Parker Coil hit Travis Chestnut with a pitch to open the frame.
Molina (4-2) then proceeded to retire all nine batters he faced over the final three innings to earn the win. The left-hander struck out two and allowed only two balls to leave the infield.
Stewart (1-2) suffered the loss for the Aggies in 1 2/3 innings. Arkansas finished with 11 hits and limited Texas A&M to seven. One night after allowing the winning run to score on a walk-off walk, Razorbacks’ pitching did not allow a base on balls all night Friday.
Stovall (3-for-4) led Arkansas at the plate with three hits. Aloy (2-5), White (2-3) and McLaughlin (2-4) added two hits apiece.
Game 3 of the series is scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m CDT and can be seen on SEC Network and the ESPN app.
