No. 3 Arkansas (14-1) put the Portland Pilots (5-10) away quickly in run-rule fashion, 10-0, in seven innings on Saturday in Baum-Walker Stadium. The Razorbacks have won 10 straight games and remain undefeated at home.
Arkansas drew first blood in the bottom of the third inning when 2B Nolan Souza reached on an error and CF Justin Thomas Jr. was hit by a pitch. Both runners advanced a base on a ground out by LF Charles Davalan. SS Wehiwa Aloy drove Souza and Thomas home with a double to left center to give the Hogs a 2-0 lead.
3B Brent Irdale led off with a walk to start the bottom of the fourth and later stole second base. Souza cashed him in with an RBI single up the middle and stole second base. Thomas followed up with a two-run home run with two outs for his second dinger of the year to extend the lead to five. Davalan singled up the middle to keep the frame going, and Aloy capped off the rally with a two-run blast to left field to give himself four RBIs in back-to-back games.
Davalan cranked a home run of his own in the bottom of the sixth with two outs with a solo shot to right field to put the game out of reach, 8-0. RF Kendall Diggs stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs and a runner on second. He rocketed a two-run homer to right field to end the game early for Arkansas and take the series.
LHP Zach Root threw six shutout innings in his fourth start of the season while allowing three hits and a walk with 10 strikeouts on 80 pitches (54 strikes). He dropped his ERA to 2.11 across 21.1 innings of work. LHP Colin Fisher tossed a scoreless seventh while surrendering just one hit with a strikeout on 14 pitches (nine strikes).
The Razorbacks will finish up the three-game series against the Pilots on Sunday at noon in Baum-Walker Stadium. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+.