FAYETTEVILLE -- No. 7 Arkansas saved its best performance of the 2026 season for Sunday when they had an 8-inning, 11-0 run-rule win over Xavier to complete the sweep at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Arkansas (6-1) got an 8-inning, one-hit game from Colin Fisher who struck out 11 and gave up no walks. The only hit he surrendered came in the top of the first when Peter Johnson hit a line drive that bounced off Fisher's leg and then reached base before an infielder could come up with it. He threw 86 pitches on the day with 62 of them strikes to earn his first win. When asked what was working for him he had a simple answer.
"I guess everything," Fisher said. "Ryder (Helfrick) called a good game. I only shook him off once today so he called a good game. He's a great catcher, probably the best in the nation so I trust him completely."
Xavier is an aggressive team at the plate that was something that Fisher liked.
"You know they are going to swing so I give them my best stuff against their best stuff," Fisher said.
Fisher got great support too from his offense. The Razorbacks had 14 hits including three home runs. In the bottom of the eighth with two outs, Kuhio Aloy walked it off with a 423-foot blast over the fence in center field that also scored Carter Rutenbar and Camden Kozeal, who had knocked in Nolan Souza with a double just before the game-ending blast from the right fielder.
In the bottom of the first, Maika Niu opened the game with a double. Then, with two outs, Kozeal singled to plate Niu. Aloy then singled. Reese Robinett followed with a double to right field to allow both Kozeal and Aloy to score for a quick 3-0 lead.
Missouri State transfer Zack Stewart started off the bottom of the second with a solo shot over the fence in center field. Souza drew a two-out walk and then scored on a Helfrick double for a 5-0 lead after two innings.
In the bottom of the fourth, Souza delivered a one-out single. Helfrick followed with a 2-run blast for a 7-0 advantage. That ended the scoring until Arkansas walked it off in the bottom of the eighth.
In the game, Aloy had three hits and knocked in a trio of runs. Helfrick had two hits and plated three runs. Kozeal added two hits and knocked in a pair of runs. Robinett also had two hits and plated two. Stewart had two hits and the one run batted in. Souza had two hits and Niu one.
Xavier starter Jake DiTienne (0-2) took the loss. He worked 3.1 innings, allowed nine hits, seven runs, all earned, walked a pair and fanned four. Xavier used five pitchers on the day. Joey Young, Jake Hooker and Trevor Geddes didn't allow any runs and combined to only give up two hits. However, Asher DeLeo allowed three hits and four runs in the bottom of the eighth after retiring the first two Arkansas hitters he faced.
Arkansas will now host Arkansas State (4-2) is finishing up against Eastern Illinois on Sunday. Arkansas State swept Stony Brook in three games to open the season. They fell to Ole Miss 7-6 on Tuesday and split the first two games with Eastern Illinois.