All Hogs

Early Hole Too Deep for Razorbacks to Crawl Out; Deciding Game Sunday

Brady Tygart struggles early and Hogs' bats take a few innings to get them closer, but can't manage late rally

Andy Hodges

Arkansas Razorbacks center fielder Peyton Holt makes a leaping grab of a ball to deep center by Mississippi State's Logan Pulliam on Friday night at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark.
Arkansas Razorbacks center fielder Peyton Holt makes a leaping grab of a ball to deep center by Mississippi State's Logan Pulliam on Friday night at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. / Craven Whitlow-allHOGS Images
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The safest place in Baum-Walker for Arkansas Razorbacks games in the first couple of innings would be standing on home plate. The pitchers have had trouble getting started and it happened again Saturday night in an 8-5 loss to Mississippi State.

The Bulldogs scored enough in the first four innings to sustain Arkansas' five runs in the middle innings. The bats went away after that brief flurry, despite chances.

"It was a little bit of a roller coaster for us," Dave Van Horn admitted later.

It was another disappointing start for Brady Tygart, giving up four runs. Bybee followed and gave up four more runs and the hole was deep early for the Razorbacks. Despite a late rally, it proved to be too deep to scratch and crawl back, although they did manage to cut things close late.

Razorbacks pitcher Brady Tygart during first inning against Mississippi State
Arkansas Razorbacks pitcher Brady Tygart drops his head in the first inning against the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday evening at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. / Craven Whitlow-allHOGS Images

Tygart got in trouble early, walking the first two batters he faced. Then what appeared to be a routine double-play grounder to Wehiwa Aloy near second was bobbled by Peyton Stovall covering, who appeared to stumble coming to the bag, and loaded the bases. The Bulldogs' Dakota Jordan brought in one run with a single and Amani Larry delivered a two-strike line-drive homer over the left-field wall for a quick 3-0 lead.

In the second inning, Peyton Holt did it in the field again. State's Logan Pulliam hit a screaming liner to center that Holt ran a long way to reach, then dove for, making another highlight catch for the second night in a row. Tygart, struggling in recent games, didn't make it through the inning. He pitched just 1 2/3 inning, walking five batters, giving up four earned runs and throwing just 27 strikes in 54 pitches. Ben Bybee came in with two outs and the bases loaded.

"You expect to catch everything," Holt said after the game. "You want to get to every ball that’s hit. He hit it hard. I didn’t think that I was going to have to lay out. I thought it was either going to hit off the wall or I was going to catch it standing up. But it just kept carrying. Ross was doing a good job communicating as I was approaching the ball and I just laid out for it."

"The start that we started with and the way our guys competed with, I was happy with that," Van Horn said. "Now it just comes down to a rubber game tomorrow. And we’ll see if we can get off to a better start and pitch a little better and we’ll get into the game. Hopefully (Mason) Molina will give us that, give us some good pitching."

The Razorbacks did get their first baserunners in the bottom of the second after Aloy came within inches of a homer to dead center field that resulted in a double. Ben McLaughlin got a walk from State pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje. The Hogs couldn't take advantage.

Mississippi State broke the game wide open in the fourth with two-run homers from Jordan and Logan Kohler to take an 8-0 lead as Dave Van Horn continued to ride with Bybee on the mound.

The Razorbacks finally got a run home in the fourth inning when Ben McLaughlin drew a walk, then advanced to third on a single by Hudson White, before Nolan Souza hit a grounder to second that was thrown away from first base. That scored McLaughlin and White scored from third on a sacrifice by Holt.

Finally, the Hogs got out of an inning without the Bulldogs adding to the lead in the fifth inning when Jordan delivered a double in the game to right-center.

Stovall got the Hogs rolling, continuing to chip into the lead and get Cijntje out of the game in the fifth inning. His two-run homer was a solid blast over the right-field wall, cutting the lead to 8-4. Aloy followed with a line-shot double to the wall in left-center with just one out, but was left stranded on base.

The Hogs got runners on the corners in Nolan Souza and Lovich at first. Diggs moved them up and cut the lead to 8-5 on a sacrifice fly to center. It did give some energy to the nearly 11,000 folks in attendance when the Bulldogs were back in striking distance.

Parker Coil came in to pitch and settled things down on the mound for the Razorbacks. He worked 3 1/3 innings, scattering three hits with a couple of doubles, but nobody crossed the plate, keeping the Bulldogs within sight. Cooper Dossett came in and hit the second batter he faced in the helmet.

After a mound visit from Hobbs, Dossett got a little flare to single for the second out resulting in Van Horn bringing Stone Hewlett from the bullpen. He walked the first batter he faced, but struck out Pulliam for the final out of the inning.

Stovall got on base to start the eighth on what was ruled a single followed by Holt's bloop single just over the first and second basemen, to set up a pair of runners on base with one out. Nothing came of it, though, setting up a ninth inning.

The Hogs brought on Jake Faherty in the ninth and he retired State in order, setting up a need for a ninth inning rally. Arkansas got a two-out single by Aloy but that was the only whimper they could muster.

Mason Molina will be on the mound for the series-deciding game Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. on the SEC Network.

HOGS FEED:

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Andy Hodges
ANDY HODGES

Sports columnist, writer, former radio host and television host who has been expressing an opinion on sports in the media for over four decades. He has been at numerous media stops in Arkansas, Texas and Mississippi.

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