Diamond Hogs dust Red Wolves in in-state battle

The Diamond Hogs crushed Arkansas State in a series sweep Tuesday and Wednesday, upping their midweek winning streak to 17 games and remaining undefeated in their last 13 in-state matchups.

The Razorbacks put double digits up on the scoreboard during both games of the series.

Tuesday’s game started with senior Kole Ramage on the mound. The righty walked away with the win, giving up one hit and one unearned run and tallying one strikeout in three innings.

Junior Robert Moore’s fourth homer of the season came in the bottom of the first, bringing senior Michael Turner around the bases to put the Hogs on the board first.

The Razorbacks added another run in the bottom of the third when senior Brady Slavens tagged up and scored after sophomore Jace Bohrofen flied out to center field.

Senior Elijah Trest toed the rubber in the top of the fourth. The East Texan allowed one hit, three walks, no runs and added two strikeouts.

With the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth, two back-to-back walks scored Slavens and Bohrofen, and Arkansas led 5-1.

Sophomore Mark Adamiak took the hill for the last out at the top of the fifth and stayed through the seventh. The 6-foot-4-inch pitcher gave up no runs on one hit and collected four strikeouts.

In the bottom of the seventh, senior Jalen Battles doubled to right field, scoring Bohrofen. Freshman Peyton Stovall reached first on a fielder’s choice, forcing Gregory out at second. 

Slavens then bashed one to left field, earning his first grand slam of the season and putting the score at 10-1, the eventual final tally.

“I’m just getting back to playing like myself, like I always have,” Slavens said.

Freshman Nick Griffin rounded out Arkansas’ pitching for the night. The southpaw gave up no runs on one hit and racked up four strikeouts in two innings.

Wednesday’s pitching kicked off with sophomore Will McEntire. The Arkansan pitched 4 ⅔ innings, giving up one earned run on three hits, walking four batters and striking out five.

The Razorbacks woke up the bats early under cloudy skies. Battles and Bohrofen each hit two doubles. With Moore and sophomore Cayden Wallace roping one double apiece, there was potential for the Hogs to creep in on Arkansas’ standing record of 11 two-baggers in a game.

Sophomore catcher Dylan Leach pulled one out of the park, bringing himself and Bohrofen back to home plate, making the score 3-0 in the bottom of the second inning.

Sophomore Heston Tole earned his first victory of the season after pitching 1 ⅓ perfect innings, handing out no runs and no hits while fanning three batters.

Sophomore Gabriel Starks hit a rough patch in the seventh. Starks allowed two earned runs off one hit, issuing two walks and ringing up a strikeout.

Senior Issac Bracken stepped in to help during the top of the seventh, striking out two and allowing no runs off zero hits.

Freshman Austin Ledbetter got a chance to see the mound after the Red Wolves collected two more runs. Ledbetter allowed zero runs and gave up one hit.

To cap off the pitching, the Hogs brought in junior Miller Pleimann, who recorded a three up, three down inning. The Fayetteville native fanned two batters.

“I thought Miller was really sharp,” head coach Dave Van Horn said. “Ledbetter flashed a pretty good fastball and threw one breaking ball we really liked. Just to get them on the mound, that’s really good experience.”

Freshman Kendall Diggs was Wednesday’s offensive leader, going 3-3 at the plate with two RBIs. Leach finished with a homer and two RBIs, and Bohrofen rounded the offense leaders off with two doubles and two RBIs.

Arkansas' 10-3 victory Wednesday was the 1,100th of Van Horn’s career as a college head coach.

The Diamond Hogs will travel to College Station, Texas, for a weekend series against Texas A&M. The first game between the Razorbacks and the Aggies will be broadcast at 7:30 p.m Friday on the SEC Network.