The No. 3 Arkansas Razorbacks (20-2, 2-1 SEC) earned a dominant 16-0 seven-inning run rule shutout of Oral Roberts (12-8, 1-2 Summit League) on Wednesday afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville to complete a two-game midweek sweep of the Golden Eagles.
Arkansas plated 12 runs on 10 hits in a bottom of the fourth inning that featured the Hogs sending 17 total batters to the plate. The Razorbacks tallied 14 total hits in the game, 10 of which came with runners on base. Seven of the Hogs' runs were driven in with two outs on a day that featured wind gusts of up to 45 miles per hour in Fayetteville.
Arkansas pitchers combined to allow just one hit with no walks on the afternoon. Left-handed pitcher Colin Fisher, a sophomore from Noble (Okla.), got the start and pitched two perfect innings with no hits allowed, no walks and four strikeouts.
Fellow sophomore Tate McGuire relieved Fisher with three scoreless and hitless innings. Sixth-year senior Dylan Carter gave up the only hit by a Razorback pitcher in a scoreless top of the sixth, while freshman Steele Eaves closed it down with a scoreless top of the seventh inning.
Similar to the 4-1 win over the Golden Eagles on Tuesday, Hogs' first baseman Cam Kozeal left the bases loaded in the bottom of the first inning. Fisher hit a batter with one out in the top of the second, but that was the only baserunner he allowed across the first two innings of the game.
Arkansas took advantage of a pair of two out baserunners in the bottom of the second inning when shortstop Wehiwa Aloy hit a two-run single to second base that made it a 2-0 lead after two innings.
Sophomore right-hander Tate McGuire relieved Fisher to start the top of the third inning and the Liberty (Mo.) native needed just 12 pitches to get three quick outs. The Razorbacks added a run to their lead via an RBI double down the right field line from Kozeal.
McGuire tossed another three up, three down frame in the top of the fourth inning. In the bottom half of the fourth, Oral Roberts moved on from starting pitcher Luke Puffinbarger with reliever Price Allman, who quickly gave up a 448-foot two run home run to Hogs' second baseman Nolan Souza.
Allman didn't retire any of the batters he faced and he was relieved by righty Jared Ure, who issued a bases loaded RBI walk to Kuhio Aloy that made it a 6-0 lead for Arkansas. The Razorbacks followed that with three-straight RBI knocks from Brent Iredale, Kozeal and Kendall Diggs. Ryder Helfrick loaded the bases again with a single and then Souza and Davalan both had run-scoring swings to follow and make the lead 11-0.
Oral Roberts made another pitching change and it didn't help, as Wehiwa Aloy promptly drove a two-RBI triple to centerfield and Logan Maxwell followed it with a two run home run to right field that extended the lead to 15-0 for the Razorbacks. After two more singles from Iredale and Kuhio Aloy, Kozeal finally ended the inning with a fly out as the 17th batter of the frame.
The Golden Eagles seemed to collect their first hit of the game with one out in the top of the fifth, but it was ruled an error on Iredale at third base. McGuire otherwise faced the minimum in the frame.
Relief pitcher Brayden Mackey issued three one out walks in a row in the bottom of the fifth and he was relieved by right-hander Conner Floyd, a Bentonville (Ark.) native, who gave up one run on an RBI fielder's choice by freshman Gabe Fraser. That was the only run in the frame, though, to make the score 16-0.
Dylan Carter took the mound in the top of the sixth for the Hogs and immediately the combined no-hitter was gone when he gave up a leadoff single. After the Hogs went down in order in the bottom of the sixth, Steele Eaves erased a two out walk in the top of the seventh inning to close out the run rule victory.
Up next, Arkansas host South Carolina on Friday for the SEC home opener at Baum-Walker Stadium. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. CT and the game will be streamed on SEC Network+.
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