Hogs Cruise to 18-4 Blowout

By Tye Richardson

Special to CollegeBaseballInsider.com

@tysonr7

(photos courtesy of Razorback Communications)

 

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Often times the first three innings of a game look completely different from the game in its entirety. That was the case Friday afternoon at Baum Stadium.

 

Missouri State’s pitching started off strong. Starter Jon Harris looked to be in command through the first three innings, throwing 28 pitches and not allowing a hit. The Bears had a one-run lead early after a solo shot from third baseman Jake Burger.

 

That all changed as Harris and the Bears lost control of the game starting in the fourth on the way to the Razorbacks' 18-4 victory in Game 1 of the best-of-three series.

 

Left fielder Joe Serrano (pictured above) led off with a double, and third baseman Bobby Wernes followed with another double. Then center fielder Andrew Benintendi came to the plate. The National Player of the Year changed the game without even hitting the baseball. Missouri State coach Keith Guttin chose to walk the sophomore with two men on.

 

That decision loaded the bases and allowed right fielder Tyler Spoon to come to bat. Dubbed “Spoooooon” by Arkansas fans, the junior smashed a single to bring home Serrano and Wernes to start the Arkansas massacre. First baseman Clark Eagan hit a sacrifice fly to bring Benintendi home as the Hogs (39-22) scored three runs in that inning. The Bears (48-11) never recovered.

 

“Honestly I felt like that when we got that first hit out of the way, everyone just relaxed,” Serrano said. “After that, it just seemed like everything compounded on top of each other.”

 

That seemed to be the case as Arkansas never trailed after the fourth inning.

 

“We didn’t do much against him [Harris] the first time through the lineup, and I felt like our hitters relayed some good information to the other hitters,” Serrano said. “I think we kind of just carried that into the fourth inning.”

 

Arkansas had a big day against Harris, a projected first-rounder in the MLB Draft. The usually strong pitcher gave up nine hits and eight earned runs in 5.2 innings.

 

“I didn’t miss a barrel,” Harris said. “They just went out swinging, finding holes to drop balls in where there was none of our guys there to catch.”

 

The Razorbacks found themselves fortunate to escape the first few innings, only giving up one run. Starter Trey Killian (3-4) was fortunate to be only down one run heading into the fourth. A couple foul balls bouncing fair and a hit or two more could have changed the whole outcome of the game. Killian (right) was bent, but he did not break, giving up eight hits and three earned runs in six innings.

 

“I thought Trey Killian had just enough to get us through the middle of the game,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said.  “I’m proud of him for hanging in there.”

 

Arkansas broke Missouri State’s 19-game winning streak in dramatic fashion. The Razorbacks went on to score six more runs in the sixth and six in the eighth. Serrano finished 3 for 4 with a homer and four RBI, and Eagan drove in four. Benintendi hit a solo homer and drove in three.

 

“We just have to come out tomorrow and bounce back,” said Missouri State’s Jake Burger, who went 4 for 4 with two runs.

 

Game 2 is Saturday at 1:05 p.m. CT.

 

NOTES

·    Starting pitcher Jon Harris had only lost one game before facing the Razorbacks

·    Baum Stadium’s attendance record was broken with 11,869 announced fans.

·    2004 was the last time a Baum Stadium hosted a Super Regional. The Razorbacks defeated Florida State in the first two games to advance to the College World Series.

·    The Bears had 10 hits but only managed to score three runs. They left nine runners on base.

·    Andrew Benintendi caught a crucial fly ball near the wall to save a run in the third inning.

·    Arkansas left fielder Joe Serrano is hitting over .600 this postseason.