Brilliant Hagen Smith, clutch Peyton Holt power Arkansas baseball past Oregon State
ARLINGTON, Texas — Arkansas baseball nearly squandered away a historic performance from one of the best pitchers in America Friday night, but a senior leader rose to the occasion in a statement win.
The No. 4 Razorbacks (4-1) topped No. 7 Oregon State 5-4 in their first game of this weekend's Kubota College Baseball Series. Hagen Smith tied a school record with 17 strikeouts, and Peyton Holt delivered the game-winning hit in the bottom of the eighth.
Here are four observations from the Arkansas victory.
Pure dominance from Arkansas baseball's Hagen Smith
One week after failing to pitch more than an inning, Smith showed why he was tabbed the SEC Preseason Pitcher of the Year and a potential top-10 pick in the upcoming MLB Draft Friday night.
In addition to the strikeouts, Smith gave up just three hits and one walk, logging 78 pitches.
"When you strike out 17 guys and you don't even throw 80 pitches, that's incredible," Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said. "Strike out 17 guys, you could be at 110, so it's pretty amazing."
The start was electric, with the first 15 Oregon State outs coming on strikeouts. The run ended with a diving play by Peyton Holt in the top of the sixth.
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Smith's fastball lived in the upper 90s, and his slider felt un-hittable. He punished right-handed hitters with the breaking ball that started in the zone and broke down toward the batters' back foot, and 15 of his strikeouts came off the slider.
"Probably the most locked in I’ve ever been," Smith said. "Just going out there and trusting my stuff and trusting the guys behind me."
Bullpen almost lets go of the rope
Oregon State hit just one ball out of the infield against Smith, but the Beavers erased the four-run deficit in just two innings against the Arkansas bullpen. Will McEntire gave up a pair of runs in the seventh, and Mason Guerra hit a moon-shot home run off Gage Wood in the eighth.
Oregon State also got the tying run to third base in the top of the ninth, but Jake Faherty shut the door with back-to-back strikeouts to earn the first save of his career.
Peyton Holt rises to the occasion
Despite Smith's brilliance, the game was tied 4-4 in the bottom of the eighth, but Arkansas' senior infielder pushed the Hogs back in front with an RBI triple off the wall in dead center.
"It’s one of those where I knew I got it," Holt said. "I’m just running, hopefully it gets out, if it doesn’t, try to get on third."
Holt had just one hit out of the seven-hole, but he did score a run in addition to his game-winning RBI. Arkansas continues to get good production from the bottom of its order early in the season.
Hogs take advantage of Oregon State injury
Aiden May was matching Smith through four scoreless innings, but the Oregon State righty had to abruptly leave the game with an apparent injury in the bottom of the fifth. He departed with runners on first and second and just one out.
Two batters later, Ben McLaughlin stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and drove home all three runs, smoking a double to right-center that gave Arkansas a 3-0 lead.
Hitting in the middle of the order, McLaughlin now has a team-high seven RBIs on the season.
Up Next
Arkansas returns to action Saturday night against Oklahoma State. The Cowboys beat Michigan 9-3 earlier Friday. Brady Tygart (1-0, 1.80 ERA) will be the starting pitcher for the Hogs.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Dominant Hagen Smith leads Arkansas baseball past Oregon State
