Razorbacks Bring Out Brooms Against Missouri with Dominant Pitching

Mason Molina follows rotation mates with dominant start to keep Tiger bats dormant

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas held Missouri to just eight hits across the weekend, capping off a series sweep and a 9-1 win in the finale. It was the 13th straight win for the Razorbacks.

'We pitched extremely well," coach Dave Van Horn said.  "They scored one run all weekend. We pitched out of a couple of jams. We also fielded the ball. We didn’t make an error all weekend."

Less than 24 hours after twirling a one-hitter as a staff, Razorback pitching took center stage again behind 5 1/3 innings of one-hit ball from Mason Molina. The Texas Tech transfer had a no-hit bid through five and struck out 10 Tigers.

Two Lefties Look to Leave Mark On Razorbacks' Lineup

The one-two punch of Peyton Stovall and Kendall Diggs wasted no time getting the Razorbacks on the board in the bottom of the first. Stovall hit the first pitch of the game into left for a single. Diggs followed with an RBI double that split the left-center field gap. Ben McLaughlin doubled the Hog lead with a sac fly. 

Molina came out firing, facing the minimum in the first two frames, including striking out the side in the second. McLaughlin continued his hot run at the plate with a 351-foot solo homer into the right-field corner to stretch the lead to 3-0. The Razorbacks scored 12 of its 23 runs of the weekend on the long ball. 

Stovall continued his hot return to the lineup, ripping an RBI double past the first base bag in the bottom of the fifth after Ty Wilmsmeyer led the inning off with an infield single. The Haughton La, native came around to score on the second sac fly of the day after advancing to third on a wild pitch and has nine RBIs in just seven games. 

Molina cruised until Mizzou's Jeric Curtis led off the sixth with a single. The Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. native departed after throwing 98 pitches and turned the ball over to Koty Frank. Frank kept the shutout intact, striking out Trevor Austin and Jackson Lovich.

"I think we just did a really good job of sticking to the plan," Molina said. "I felt like we like we executed well. He [catcher Hudson White] called a great game back there and the defense played really well behind me.

Arkansas Razorbacks' Mason Molina throws a pitch during a win over the Tigers to complete an SEC-opening series sweep at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark :: Campbell Rogerson / Arkansas Communications

The Razorbacks sent eight men to the plate in the sixth and tacked on three more runs. The first scored on an error before Wehiwa Aloy lined a two-run single into left to make the score 8-0.

Arkansas pitching came close to shutting out the Tigers for the third straight day, but Thomas Curry hit the very first pitch he saw from Colin Fisher over the fence to give Mizzou its first run of the series to lead off the seventh. 

White tacked on another run in the seventh and the Hogs outscored the Tigers 23-1 across the three games. Gage Wood and Gabe Gaeckle combined to throw one inning each to bring the game to the finish line. 

The Razorbacks play its first true road game of the season in a three-game series against the Auburn Tigers. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. inside Plainsman Park and will be broadcast on SEC Network and fuboTV.

HOG FEED:

• Eric Musselman knows how to handle the offseason by himself 

• Razorbacks need to clean house in basketball after this disastrous season

• Razorbacks continue display of power in win over Mizzou

• Subscribe and follow us on YouTube• Follow allHOGS on Twitter and Facebook