No. 5 Arkansas opened the NCAA Fayetteville Regional with a high-scoring victory against Southeast Missouri State, 17-9. Ben McLaughlin and Hudson White led the offense with two home runs each. LHP Mason Molina led off and allowed a walk against the first batter he faced, but quickly found his rhythm with consecutive strikeouts to keep him scoreless heading into Arkansas’ first at-bat. Hudson White was quick to build momentum, putting the Razorbacks on the board with his first of two home runs that day. After that, Arkansas’ bats came alive with seven runs in the second inning. Peyton Holt scored the first, with a single to right field, then would take advantage of an error at second base to triple the Hogs’ lead. They made it two more runs on Jared Sprague-Lott’s single to center field, before Ben McLaughlin hit his eighth home run of the year to give Arkansas an 8-0 lead in the third inning. Molina’s hot start faltered at the top of the next frame, when the left-hander gave up a pair of walks. Ben Palmer then got SEMO into the game with a three-run shot over the wall to cut the Hogs’ lead in half. While the Razorbacks recorded just one hit in their next two offensive outings, the Redhawks only continued to gain momentum. In the top of the fifth, Michael Mugan made it a three-run game, before Josh Cameron hit a three-run home run to right field to tie the game, 8-8. However, the Hogs quickly regained momentum in the bottom half of the inning with a pair of solo home runs from Wehiwa Aloy and Kendall Diggs to put Arkansas back in front 10-8. SEMO got one back in the top of the seventh, but RHP Gabe Gaeckle was there to close out the Redhawks, keeping the game within a single score. From there, it was all Arkansas as the offense scored seven more runs to close this one out, including McLaughlin’s afternoon triple in the second round that scored three. The Razorbacks move into the winner’s bracket with a 17-9 win over SEMO. They will face the winner of the first round game between Kansas State and Louisiana Tech at 8 pm on Saturday, June 1.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. —
No. 5 Arkansas opened the NCAA Fayetteville Regional with a high-scoring victory against Southeast Missouri State, 17-9. Ben McLaughlin and Hudson White led the offense with two home runs each.
LHP Mason Molina led off and allowed a walk against the first batter he faced, but quickly found his rhythm with consecutive strikeouts to keep him scoreless heading into Arkansas’ first at-bat.
Hudson White was quick to build on the momentum and put the Razorbacks on the board with his first of two home runs that day.
After that, Arkansas’ bats came alive with seven runs in the second inning.
Peyton Holt scored the first, with a single to right field, then would take advantage of an error at second base to triple the Hogs’ lead. They made it two more runs on Jared Sprague-Lott’s single to center field, before Ben McLaughlin hit his eighth home run of the year to give Arkansas an 8-0 lead in the third inning.
Molina’s hot start faltered at the top of the next frame, when the left-hander gave up a pair of walks. Ben Palmer then got SEMO into the game with a three-run shot over the wall to cut the Hogs’ lead in half.
While the Razorbacks recorded just one hit in their next two offensive outings, the Redhawks only continued to gain momentum. In the top of the fifth, Michael Mugan made it a three-run game, before Josh Cameron hit a three-run home run to right field to tie the game, 8-8.
However, the Hogs quickly regained momentum in the bottom half of the inning with a pair of solo home runs from Wehiwa Aloy and Kendall Diggs to put Arkansas back in front 10-8.
SEMO got one back in the top of the seventh, but RHP Gabe Gaeckle was there to close out the Redhawks, keeping the game within one score.
From there, it was all Arkansas as the offense scored seven more runs to close this one out, including McLaughlin’s afternoon triple in the second round that scored three.
The Razorbacks move into the winner’s bracket with a 17-9 win over SEMO. They will face the winner of the first round game between Kansas State and Louisiana Tech at 8 pm on Saturday, June 1.
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