No. 1 Arkansas (31-3, 11-1 SEC) used the long ball and extra base hits to roll past the Arkansas State Red Wolves (14-18, 5-7 Sun Belt), 7-3, Tuesday night at Baum-Walker Stadium in an in-state matchup. The Razorbacks are on their best 34-game start for the second straight year.
Arkansas baseball vs Arkansas State
Arkansas State took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning with SS Patrick Engskov leading off the frame with a single. 2B Cason Campbell reached on a single of his own to left field, but Engskov was thrown out at third base while Campbell snuck his way to second. After C Kaden Amundsen lined out to center to move the runner to third, LF Jake Henry Williams laced an RBI double down the left field line to plate Campbell.
Arkansas immediately tied up the game in the bottom of the second with RF Carson Boles making his way on with a one-out single while moving up to second on a groundout and to third on a wild pitch. 2B Nolan Souza knocked an RBI single to right field to bring him in to knot it up.
The Red Wolves retook the lead in the top of the third with 1B Will French working a one-out walk, and RF Cross Jumper singled to right field to put runners on first and second. After a wild pitch allowed French to move over to third base, former Razorback Cason Tollett drove him in with a sacrifice fly to right field as the team's designated hitter, 2-1.
RHP Tate McGuire threw three innings in his second start (10th appearance) of the season while allowing two runs, five hits and a walk with two strikeouts on 47 pitches (32 strikes). He was relieved by RHP Ben Bybee to open up the top of the fourth inning, tossing a perfect frame on 10 pitches (eight strikes).
All was quiet until the Hogs struck big in the bottom of the fifth. Souza made his way on base with a one-out single to right center, and CF Justin Thomas Jr. worked a walk with two outs to place runners on first and second. After LHP Carson Keithley relieved RHP Kole Turner on the mound, LF Charles Davalan smashed a three-run home run to left field to hand Arkansas the lead, 4-2, for his 12th home run of the year.
The Razorbacks are 31-3 🐗 pic.twitter.com/inszuqarXb
— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) April 9, 2025
Arkansas State came back in the top of the sixth with a run of its own to cut the deficit to one. Jumper led off the inning with a walk and later advanced to second on a groundout. Campbell lined an RBI single to left field to cash him in. LHP Colin Fisher was relieved by RHP Dylan Carter, who forced Amundson to ground out to second to end the inning.
The Razorbacks built their lead up to four with a three-run rally in the bottom of the sixth. It started out with 1B Camden Kozeal leading off with a double to left center. RHP Cooper Garrison was inserted on the bump for Keithley and recorded the first two outs of the inning. DH Kuhio Aloy barreled up a two-run bomb to right center to put Arkansas ahead by three, 6-3, for his ninth dinger of the season.
LHP Isaac Sewell came in as the new arm for the Red Wolves and walked Souza to continue the inning. RHP Collin Maloney was immediately brought out of the bullpen after the two-out walk and proceeded to give up free passes to C Zane Becker and Thomas. LHP Jack Nelson stepped onto the rubber as the fifth pitcher of the inning and allowed an RBI walk to Davalan to cap off the rally.
LHP Cole Gibler threw a scoreless frame in the top of the eighth while working around a hit and a walk. He carved up two batters on 24 pitches (13 strikes) in his ninth appearance on the mound. RHP Carson Wiggins tossed a three-up, three-down inning in the ninth inning to close the game in his 10th appearance of the season on eight pitches (all strikes) while picking up a strikeout.
The Razorbacks will head to Athens, Ga., to take on the Georgia Bulldogs in a three-game series starting on Friday. The first pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m., and the game will be streamed on SEC Network+.