Arkansas Pitchers Can’t Silence Missouri State Bats
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Missouri State scored 12-straight runs during the third, fourth and fifth innings Tuesday night at Hammons Field as the Razorback pitching staff was not able to figure out one of the nation’s best offenses, falling 14-6 in its midweek contest.
Missouri State (28-14) put up 8 runs in the fifth inning well after getting to Arkansas starter Weston Rogers for three runs in the third inning. The Hogs (26-19) tried making a comeback after the big Bear inning, scoring 5 runs in the top half of the sixth, but it was the only inning Arkansas’ offense could muster any sustained production.
Carson Shaddy and Luke Bonfield continued to see the ball well in Tuesday’s contest as each recorded two hits. Shaddy provided a solo home run that started the 5-run sixth, which was his 8th home run of the year, tying him for the team-lead.
Shaddy’s performance at the plate in his last five games have been nothing short of strong as he is hitting .524 over that stretch with 11 hits, 6 runs scored, 1 triple and 3 home runs. Shaddy has seen his overall numbers jump as a result as he is now hitting .359 this year, which still leads the team with 60 hits and 33 RBIs.
Bonfield’s 2 hits were each doubles as he now has 20 extra-base hits this year to go with his 48-hit total and 8 home runs.
Right-hander Austin Knight (4-1) picked up the victory for the Bears throwing 5 2/3 innings. Even though he gave up all five of Arkansas’ runs, his teammates gave him plenty of run support in the Bear victory.
RAZORBACK QUOTABLES
“It was a tough one tonight. We, obviously, didn’t do a good enough job tonight of throwing strikes. When we walked their nine-hole hitter before their big inning, we had to go through the meat of their order and couldn’t get them out. Their starting pitcher did a really nice job of keeping the ball out of the middle of the plate for the first three or four innings. When we got to him, the game was already pretty much in hand.” – Dave Van Horn on Arkansas’ loss tonight to Missouri State
“It’s tough to watch. We have some guys out there that we wouldn’t normally be throwing and it didn’t go well. Then, we went with some guys to give us an inning here and there and it didn’t go very well for them either. Give credit to their (Missouri State) offense, they just got after our pitchers tonight.” – Dave Van Horn on Missouri State’s offensive production in the game
“That was a good offensive inning. Hats off to some of those hitters for not shutting it down and just keep battling.” – Dave Van Horn on Arkansas’ 5-run fifth inning
UP NEXT
The Razorbacks stay on the road for a three-game series in Baton Rouge, Louisiana when they face No. 13 LSU starting on Friday at 7 p.m. CDT. Arkansas and LSU will have games 1 and 3 of the series broadcast on SEC Network+, while game 2 will be on ESPNU.
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