ARLINGTON, Texas — Not even 24 hours after suffering an 18-6 loss to No. 15 TCU, the No. 8-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks (2-1) vented their frustrations against No. 9 of Oklahoma State in an 18-1 win over the Cowboys in seven innings at Globe Life Field on Sunday.
In five innings, the Diamond Hogs had 15 runs on 10 hits, while starter Hunter Hollan held OSU to one run on three hits in his debut for Arkansas.
Every Razorback starter has made it to the base of the contest and 11 runs have been made by the top four in the order – Tavian Josenberger (2), Peyton Stovall (2), Jared Wegner (5) and Brady Slavens (2). Wegner’s day consisted of a punting triple, a two-run homer, a walk, and a hit-per-pitch.
Arkansas hit .450 (9 of 20) with runners on base, compared to Oklahoma State’s .111 (1 of 9). Hollan was strong for four and the trio of Koty Frank, Cody Adcock and Gage Wood pitched three scoreless innings to close things out.
Here’s a recap of Arkansas’ victory over the Cowboys, who came away with a 2-1 record at the College Baseball Showdown.
The second inning featured plenty of offense from the Razorbacks, who scored five runs in the frame. Oklahoma State starter Bayden Root allowed the Hogs’ first three hitters to reach and charge the bases with no outs.
An RBI single from John Bolton was followed by an RBI groundout from Tavian Josenberger, and the Hogs quickly took a two-point advantage. Two batters later, Jared Wegner smashed a right-base punting triple that extended the lead to 5-0 in the second.
After a 1-2-3 inning from Hollan, the Hogs scored five more runs late in the third. John Bolton had a sack-fly that scored Jace Bohrofen, Peyton Stovall hit a two-run RBI single at center and Wegner stayed hot with a 365-foot two-run homer left.
The Arkansas left-hander blocked a pair of runners late in the third and Cowboys freshman right-hander Gabe Davis seated the Hogs in order in the top of the fourth.
Springdale native Marcus Brown got into OSU’s first inning on a sack fly late in the fourth, but Hollan rebounded and finished the inning with his fifth strikeout of the game.
Davis’ second inning didn’t go so well as the Hogs scored four runs against him and two runners were on the line with two outs when he was struck out with a 3-1 count against Jayson Jones. Freshman Kade Shatwell came on for the Cowboys and kicked the ball four to Jones, then threw a goal-laden walk to Parker Rowland that made it 15-1 in favor of Arkansas before Shatwell ends the inning with a strikeout.
The start of the sixth saw three Hogs make their season debuts – Mason Neville, Peyton Holt and Ben McLaughlin. Neville was the only successful hitter, as he fielded a single to right center in his first collegiate batting.
Adcock came in bottom of the sixth and worked a 1-2-3 inning. Other starts came in the top of the seventh for Arkansas as Reese Robinett and Hunter Grimes led the frame with back-to-back singles in their first game at bat as the Hogs.
Robinett and Grimes drove home on a pair of sack flies that made it a 17-1 Arkansas lead. Another cross run on an RBI single from Peyton Holt, which made it a 17-point advantage.
Wood came to stop things late in the seventh, which was a 1-2-3 inning for the freshman right-hander.
Next, the Diamond Hogs will play their home opener against the Grambling Tigers on Tuesday at Baum-Walker Stadium. The first launch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. CT and it will air on the SEC Network Plus.