Hogs Outlast Bulldogs in Doubleheader to Clinch SEC Opening Weekend Series Win

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – No. 5 Arkansas (14-6, 2-1 SEC) split Saturday’s doubleheader against No. 3 Mississippi State (16-4, 1-2 SEC) at Baum-Walker Stadium to clinch its ninth consecutive SEC Opening Weekend series win. The Razorbacks dropped game one of the twin bill, 7-2, before outlasting the Bulldogs, 7-3, in the nightcap to secure the series victory.

Arkansas, which has not lost an SEC Opening Weekend series since being swept by South Carolina in Columbia, S.C., in 2016, has won nine consecutive series against Mississippi State inside the friendly confines of Baum-Walker Stadium (2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2024 & 2026), with the last series loss in Fayetteville coming in 2007.

Up next, Arkansas closes out its season-long 18-game homestand with a double midweek series against Northern Colorado. First pitch between the Razorbacks and Bears is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 17, on SEC Network+.

Game 1 of DH: #3 Mississippi State 7, #5 Arkansas 2
Arkansas had no answers for Mississippi State starter Tomas Valincius, who threw seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts, in game one of Saturday’s doubleheader. The Hogs broke through for two runs against the Bulldog bullpen in the eighth inning on Nolan Souza’s RBI single and Ryder Helfrick’s RBI double, but it was too little, too late in the 7-2 loss.

Hunter Dietz started on the mound for Arkansas, allowing five runs on four hits and three walks while striking out eight over 4.2 innings. Tate McGuire (3.1 IP, 2 R, 2 SO) and Cooper Dossett (1.0 IP, 0 R, 1 SO) worked in relief in the loss.

Offensively, Helfrick (2-for-4, 2 2B, RBI) and TJ Pompey (2-for-4, 3B) were the lone Razorbacks to record multi-hit games.

Game 2 of DH: #5 Arkansas 7, #3 Mississippi State 3
The Hogs overcame an early three-run deficit with seven unanswered runs, including a four-run eighth inning, to claim a 7-3 win in the series finale – game two of Saturday’s doubleheader – and secure the SEC Opening Weekend series.

Mississippi State struck first with three runs in the second, but Arkansas starter Colin Fisher settled down to turn in 4.2 innings of three-run ball with six strikeouts before handing the game over to the bullpen. In relief, Steele Eaves (2.0 IP, 2 SO), Parker Coil (0.2 IP, 1 SO) and Ethan McElvain (1.2 IP, 2 SO) combined for 4.1 scoreless innings, allowing the Hogs to stage their comeback and defeat the Bulldogs in a series at Baum-Walker Stadium for the ninth consecutive time.

Trailing by three in the third, Arkansas scored a pair of runs on a wild pitch and passed ball to cut its deficit to one. Helfrick’s two-out RBI single in the fifth tied the game at three before the Razorbacks broke it open with a four-spot in the eighth, thanks to Maika Niu’s go-ahead RBI single, Pompey’s RBI single, a run-scoring error and bases-loaded walk.

McElvain, who earned the win to improve to 3-0 on the year, closed out the game with a scoreless frame in the ninth.

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