By Otis Kirk
No. 6 Arkansas got out the broom on Sunday and completed a three-game sweep of Mississippi State with an 11-6 win in Starkville.
Arkansas got home runs from Kendall Diggs, Jace Bohrofen and Brady Slavens. Diggs hit a grand slam in the fifth and Bohrofen followed that with a solo shot for back-to-back home runs. Slavens hit a two-run shot in the third. Mississippi State's Chris Lemonis talked about where the Bulldogs came up short on Sunday.
"We don’t make enough pitches," Lemonis said. "We don’t make enough plays. Don’t get enough hits. I think all 11 runs score with two outs. We’ve got a chance to get off the field. We’re in a lot of positive counts, trying to waste pitches, we end up throwing a pitch for them to hit. Two of the innings when they score double-digit runs, we have double play balls, where you can get off the field. And we don’t make them.
"On the flip side, they make them. Last night, we dropped the pop ups. They’re fighting. They’re almost fighting too hard. They showed up today to play and gave a great effort, we’re just not playing good enough. That comes back to the coach. We’ve got to figure it out and move forward."
Arkansas used four pitchers on the day with lefty Zack Morris third to the mound. Morris (1-3) picked up the win going 3.0 innings, allowing no hits or runs, walking one and striking out two. Hunter Hollan got the start followed by Cody Adcock and then Parker Coil came on to hurl the ninth. Coil made quick work of the Bulldogs getting all three hitters he faced to ground out to Peyton Holt at second base.
In the top of the third, Bohrofen was hit by a pitch with one out. He stole second, then scored o a Ben McLaughlin single to center. McLaughlin was 3 for 3 on the day. Slavens followed McLaughlin's RBI single with a two-run shot for a 3-0 lead.
The Bulldogs tied the game in the bottom of the third. A balk led to one run and then designated Hunter Hines hit one over the fence in right-center field for two runs.
In the top of the fourth, Chase Rowland walked. John Bolton then followed with a fielder's choice. Diggs walked to load the bases. Bohrofen then doubled to allow Rowland, Bolton and Diggs to score for a 6-3 lead and the Hogs never trailed again.
The Bulldogs added a run in the bottom of the fourth to pull within 6-4. The Bulldogs last scored in the bottom of the fifth when Kellum Clark singled to center field. Amani Larry then sent one over the fence in left center.
But the Larry heroics came after Arkansas had plated five runs in the top of the fifth. Jayson Jones was hit by a pitch, Mason Neville pinch ran for him. Holt reached on an error on the Mississippi State shortstop David Mershon. With two outs, Bolton walked to load the bases. That is when Diggs hit a grand slam and Bohrofen followed with the solo blast.
The win allowed Arkansas (36-12, 17-7) to regain first place in the SEC West. LSU is close behind at 16-7 after dropping two of three to Auburn.
Friday, May 5, Arkansas 6 - Mississippi State 2
Arkansas' Hagen Smith, Cody Adcock and Gage Wood combined to pitch a two-hitter. Smith (7-1) got the win and worked five innings. Adcock worked the sixth then Wood went the final three innings. Wood earned his fifth save with not allowing a hit or run. He walked three and struck out four. Brady Slavens and Jace Bohrofen each hit home runs and Caleb Cali had three hits. Dave Van Horn was pleased to open the series with a win.
"Obviously it was a really good win for our team," Van Horn said. "On the road, Friday night, playing a team that can really swing the bats. Both teams didn’t make mistakes in the field, didn’t give anybody anything. There were a lot of, from our side there were walks, several hit by pitches, but they pitched out of jams. I say ‘they,’ but that’s pretty much Hagen. His stuff was amazing early. Almost too good.
"You could tell he was exerting way too much energy for a starter. The first inning I think he might’ve touched 98, 95, 96, 98 on the gun. It was incredible. Obviously he got a little tired. He did what he always does. He worked out of a couple of jams. He got us to the top of the sixth tied and then Slavens hit the big two-run homer to give us the lead. I thought Adcock came in and he was kind of like the bridge. We just needed one inning out of him just to get where we could bring Gage in. We felt like we could get nine outs out of him."
Wood talked about his mindset entering the game replacing Adcock.
"My mindset going in there was nine out, count 'em down, and let's go win a ball game," Wood said. "I felt good, but just kind of made that ninth inning a little harder than it actually was by walking some guys. I ended up getting out of it, and we got the win. It was good."
Saturday, May 6, Arkansas 14 - Mississippi State 2 (7 innings)
Kendall Diggs, Caleb Cali and Brady Slavens each hit home runs. Diggs knocked in five runs on the day and Cali plated three. Brady Tygart (2-0) got the start, worked two innings. Will McEntire pitched the final five innings and earned his first save of the season.
"I thought we did a great job tonight really just getting to (Landon) Gartman early," Dave Van Horn said. "He threw a bunch of pitches. We got his pitch count up. He’s more of a fastball, changeup, and tries to trick you a little bit. Tries to fool you so to speak. I thought Coach (Nate) Thompson and Coach (Bobby) Wernes had our hitters ready to role. They fought off a lot of pitches, tried to go the other way."
Up Next
The Hogs will host South Carolina (36-11, 14-9) on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Friday's game starts at 6:30 p.m. Saturday night's game is at 6 p.m. and then 2 p.m. on Sunday. All three games will be on the SEC Network+.