Hagen Smith strikes out 11, Arkansas baseball rallies past Mississippi State in series opener
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Arkansas baseball offense came to life and persevered through an average start by Hagen Smith to grab a series-opening victory over Mississippi State.
The No. 3 Razorbacks (41-9, 18-7 SEC) knocked off the No. 15 Bulldogs (32-17, 14-11) 7-5 Friday night. Arkansas scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth, with Hudson White providing a go-ahead two-run single after Wehiwa Aloy tied the game two batters prior.
"Our pitching has been so good all year," Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. "We’ve talked about this, that this was going to happen and we would have to step up offensively and I thought we did a really good job tonight offensively."
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By his incredible standards, Smith had his worst performance since opening day, which was the last time he gave up three runs in a game. The lefty struggled with control Friday night and gave up four walks, and Arkansas pitchers yielded a season-high nine walks on the night.
Mississippi State scored all three runs off Smith on one swing when Hunter Hines cleared the bases with a double in the top of the fifth. Still, Smith struck out 11 and now has 136 on the season, which is the third most in program history. He's 19 strikeouts behind David Walling's record set in 1999.
Arkansas grabbed a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth when Sprague-Lott scored on a wild pitch. Three pitches later, White hit a two-run homer to left field. The Texas Tech transfer is 8-for-17 with two home runs and six RBIs in the last five games.
"It was just a few adjustments in my swing, something that I’m kinda battling with all year," White said. "I finally felt like I turned that curve and it feels a lot better."
A home run from Sprague-Lott gave Arkansas a one-run lead in the sixth, but the Bulldogs scored two runs off freshman Gabe Gaeckle in the eighth without recording a hit. Gaeckle walked two, hit a batter and had a costly error in the inning.
But those Mississippi State runs just set the stage for Arkansas' rally in the bottom of the eighth.
The drama extended to the ninth, where Mississippi State loaded the bases with no outs. Dave Van Horn called upon sophomore Gage Wood out of the bullpen, and the righty recorded three straight outs to finish the game and secure the victory.
Arkansas will go for the series win Saturday at 6 p.m. with Brady Tygart on the mound.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Arkansas baseball rallies past Mississippi State in series opener
