Hogs Sweep Dawgs, Move into Tie for SEC Lead
STARKVILLE, Miss. – No. 6 Arkansas (36-12, 17-7 SEC) finished off its three-game series sweep of Mississippi State (24-23, 6-18 SEC) with an 11-6 win on Sunday afternoon at Dudy Noble Field.
The Hogs earned their sixth consecutive win in Starkville and their second straight sweep of the Bulldogs in StarkVegas.
With Sunday’s series-sweeping win, Arkansas moved into a tie with Vanderbilt (34-13, 17-7 SEC) atop the SEC standings. The Razorbacks also took a one-half game lead over LSU (37-10, 16-7 SEC) in the West Division standings with the win.
For the third day in a row, Arkansas was all over the Mississippi State pitching staff from start to finish. The Hogs tagged Bulldog both-handed pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje for five runs on three hits and two walks in his 3 2/3 innings of work.
Arkansas opened the scoring in the top half of the third with three runs, highlighted by Brady Slavens’ third homer in as many days. His two run-shot brought home Ben McLaughlin, who reached base via an RBI single, to put the Hogs up, 3-0.
Mississippi State answered with three runs of its own in the bottom half of the third, but Arkansas punched right back in the fourth. The Hogs posted their second three-spot of the ballgame, spurred by Jace Bohrofen’s bases-clearing double.
It began to get out of hand in the fifth when Arkansas broke the game open with five runs in the inning. Kendall Diggs socked a two-out grand slam before Bohrofen went back-to-back with a solo shot, extending the lead to 11-4.
The continuous offensive onslaught helped the Arkansas pitching staff work around damage. Starter Hunter Hollan allowed four runs in 3 2/3 innings before turning the ball over to Cody Adcock, who allowed two runs in 1 1/3 innings.
Zack Morris emerged from the bullpen next and delivered what was unquestionably his best outing of the season, spinning three scoreless innings with two strikeouts to earn the win on Sunday. True freshman Parker Coil retired Mississippi State on eight pitches in the bottom of the ninth to close out Arkansas’ 11-6 series-sweeping victory.
At the plate, Bohrofen and Diggs each finished with a team-leading four runs batted in. Diggs went 2-for-3 in the finale to complete his weekend in Starkville 6-for-11 with 10 RBI, three walks and five runs scored.
Arkansas is back in action next weekend, returning to the friendly confines of Baum-Walker Stadium to host SEC Eastern Division foe South Carolina. First pitch between the Razorbacks and Gamecocks is 6:30 p.m. Friday, May 12.
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