No. 11 Arkansas (38-9, 15-7 SEC) played one of its best games of the season in a dominant shutout win over the No. 1 Texas Longhorns (38-6, 19-3 SEC), 9-0, Thursday night at Baum-Walker Stadium. The Razorbacks now have sole possession of second place in the Southeastern Conference standings.
Arkansas baseball vs Texas, game one
Arkansas struck first in the bottom of the second inning in a huge way. 3B Brent Iredale reached on a one-out double for the game’s first hit. RF Carson Boles smashed a two-run home run to left field for his second big fly of the year to give the Hogs an early 2-0 lead.
Arkansas tacked on three more in the bottom of the third with CF Justin Thomas Jr. getting hit by a pitch to lead off the frame. SS Wehiwa Aloy drew a one-out walk to put runners on first and second. With two outs, 2B Camden Kozeal crushed a three-run bomb to right center for his 11th home run of the year to put the Razorbacks up by five.
Arkansas kept the offensive attack going with another rally in the bottom of the fourth. Boles led off by getting hit by a pitch, and C Ryder Helfrick reached on an infield single with one out. Thomas laced a single to left to cash in Boles and extend the lead, 6-0.
After LF Charles Davalan grounded out to first to put runners in scoring position, Wehiwa Aloy smoked a two-run double to right center to drive in Helfrick and Thomas to hand the Hogs an 8-0 lead. After RHP Ruger Rojas was relieved by RHP Cody Howard, DH Kuhio Aloy lined an RBI single up the middle to drive in his older brother to cap off the four-run rally.
LHP Zach Root was marvelous on the mound in his 12th start of the year with a career-high 11 strikeouts in eight scoreless innings. He allowed just two hits and two walks on 99 pitches (63 strikes) while picking up his sixth victory of the year. RHP Will McEntire was brought in the ninth inning and closed the game with a scoreless frame of his own to complete the shutout by striking out the side while allowing a walk on 21 pitches (11 strikes).
The Razorbacks and the Longhorns will meet back up at Baum-Walker Stadium on Friday for the second game of the series. The first pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.