Smith Joins Elite Company In Razorback Win Over Murray State

Razorbacks ace carries load in series opener against Racers

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Hagen Smith followed up his 17-strikeout performance with another dominant performance against the Murray State Racers, striking out 12 in six innings en route to a 5-1 Arkansas win. Smith now sits seventh all-time on the Razorbacks' all-time strikeouts list with 230, passing Charlie Boyce.

Murray State, however, threw the first punch. Drew Vogel smashed the second pitch of the game to right for a solo homer. Smith rebounded after the solo homer, retiring seven straight and striking out the side in the second, all with swinging third strikes on secondary pitches.

"I think probably more than anything it might have been like a little slap in the face and got him upset and then he went to work," coach Dave Van Horn said. 

The Razorbacks gave Smith some much-needed run support in the second after the top of the order was retired in order, Ben McLaughlin led off with a walk. Wehiwa Aloy and Hudson Polk followed with singles to load the bases.  Jones continued to impress in the battle for left field with a two-run double into the right-field corner. Polk scored a third run on a fielder's choice.

Walt Beazley / Arkansas Communications

The Hogs' offense only managed two hits in the next three innings but didn't need to do much as Smith continued to race through the Murray State lineup, with his only blemish after the homer being a one-out walk to Logan Bland in the third. 

"It’s something special," left fielder Jayson Jones said about Smith's recent outings. "You say you can see over and over again. This guy, we played in the fall and the spring. It is definitely something special to see.”

Murray State's Cade Vernon matched Smith to keep the game close, using his low-to-mid-90s fastball to keep the Hogs' bats at bay. Three straight 1-2-3 innings, highlighted by three groundouts in the fifth and two strikeouts to cap the sixth kept it a two-run game. Koty Frank relieved Smith in the seventh and continued the strikeout train, picking up three of his own. 

However, trouble brewed in the eighth as Murray State brought the go-ahead run to the plate after a leadoff double from pinch-hitter Dan Tauken. Ethan Krizen subsequently got plunked. With one out, Gabe Gaeckle replaced Frank and struck out the next two hitters to escape the jam to bring the team total on the season to 133, the best in Division I baseball.

The Razorbacks added two more runs in the bottom of the eighth for some insurance thanks to some sloppy Murray State defense. Kendall Diggs looked to have been picked off, but the throw got away from the second baseman. Later in the inning, he scored on a fielder's choice and  Jared Sprague-Lott followed on a passed ball to make the final score 5-1.

Game two of the series against Murray State is slated for 2 p.m. Saturday. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+.  

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