HawgBeat - Arkansas mashes 6 home runs in big win over SEMO
The Arkansas offense exploded with six home runs and 17 runs scored during Friday's regional win over SEMO.
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FAYETTEVILLE — The No. 5 national seed Arkansas Razorbacks scored 17 runs on 16 hits and they mashed six home runs in their regional-opening win Friday over 4-seed Southeast Missouri State at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Hosts of the Fayetteville Regional, the 1-seed Diamond Hogs had to sweat things out on the mound with Razorbacks' pitchers issuing 10 walks to Redhawks' hitters — a new single game program-record for SEMO. Arkansas started with an 8-0 lead, SEMO tied it at 8-8, and the Razorbacks then ended with an eight-run lead, 17-9.
"Credit to them, man," Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said. "Their offense came back and took a couple walks and I don’t know, maybe a home run or whatever, but it was a great job by our offense really the whole game. We’re up eight, it’s tied and we end up winning by eight. It didn’t feel like that, but it was a really good job of continuing to play the game and have good at bats."
Two sluggers had multi-homer outings for the Hogs, as catcher Hudson White mashed two longballs and first baseman Ben McLaughlin hit a pair of three-run bombs.
"I guess I want to talk to whoever said Arkansas couldn’t hit," SEMO head coach Andy Sawyers said postgame. "That was the narrative kind of coming into it, was one of the best pitching staffs in the country, but had struggled offensively."
Right from the start, the Razorbacks were getting to SEMO starter Haden Dow, who surrendered a solo homer to White in the bottom half of the first inning.
"He’s swinging the bat with a lot more bat speed, not so tied up," Van Horn said of White. "Obviously he’s really confident, but he’s been hitting the ball a lot better ever since we played Kentucky on the road, that’s when it started."
Arkansas broke things open an inning later by plating seven runs on four hits to take an eight-run lead in what felt like an instant.
Left fielder Peyton Holt made it a two-run lead with a one-out RBI single and centerfielder Ty Wilmsmeyer followed that with an RBI fielder's choice knock. Following the second out of the frame and a pitching change to right-hander Collin Wilma, Arkansas third baseman Jared Sprague-Lott dropped a two-RBI single to left to make it 5-0.
The next at bat, McLaughlin hit a 104 mile per hour three-run laser off the JB and Johnelle Hunt Family Baseball Development Center in right field to give the regional hosts an 8-0 lead.
"I’ve just been staying consistent with my work and what I do," McLaughlin said postgame. "For me, I’m just keeping the same approach and if it goes out, it goes out, but stacking AB’s is all I’m trying to do."
SEMO responded against Arkansas starter Mason Molina by plating four runs on two hits — one of which was a three-run homer from Redhawks' shortstop Ben Palmer — in the top of the third inning to make it an 8-3 ballgame.
Wilmsmeyer led the bottom of the fourth off by reaching via an error on the second baseman for the second time, but he was stranded at second. Meanwhile, the Redhawks managed to tied at eight runs each in next half inning — this time via a three-run homer off hit off right-hander Will McEntire.
Arkansas responded in the bottom half of the fifth with back-to-back homers from shortstop Wehiwa Aloy and right fielder Kendall Diggs. Aloy's ball traveled 427 feet to left field as his team-leading 14th homer, while Diggs' swing was his first longball since March 28.
The Redhawks plated their ninth run in the top of the seventh, and Arkansas responded again, this time with four runs in the bottom half. White drove in the first with an RBI sacrifice fly, and McLaughlin then hit his second three-run homer 413 feet and off the scoreboard in right-center to give the Hogs a 14-9 lead.
"I just feel like I was trying to hit it wherever they were pitching it and for me, just competing with two strikes," McLaughlin said postgame. "Both of my home runs were with two strikes. It was more-so just competing. Trying to put a ball in play. Doing whatever I could to help the team."
Diggs led the bottom of the eighth off with a single, Wilmsmeyer hit a one-out double and then White hit his second homer — a three-run shot — to make the lead 17-9 for Arkansas with three outs to go.
McLaughlin led the team with three hits and six RBIs, while White, Aloy, Diggs, Holt and Wilmsmeyer all had two hits in the game. Wilmsmeyer, Diggs and White all scored three runs each.
"I’m just proud of the way we competed at the plate," White said postgame. "You know, we’ve been working hard all season. I felt like we were kind of due for a game like that. I’m proud of the group."
Up next, the Razorbacks will face the winner of 2-seed Louisiana Tech and 3-seed Kansas State on Saturday at 8 p.m. CT at Baum-Walker Stadium. The Bulldogs and Wildcats will play Friday night in Fayetteville.
