After a 2-1 victory in the series opener in Columbia, S.C., on Friday, the No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks rounded out Saturday’s doubleheader with a 9-6 win to clinch the series over the 20th-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks.
The Diamond Hogs are now 34-6 on the season and 14-4 in SEC play and will return to the state of Arkansas to play UAPB in Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock on Tuesday.
Here is a closer look at this weekend’s action as the Razorbacks picked up their second road series win in conference play.
Game recaps
Game 1 – Arkansas 2, South Carolina 1: Hagen Smith went head-to-head with South Carolina’s finest bullpen arms, including Ty Good, Chris Veach and starter Roman Kimball. The Gamecocks got on the board first in the bottom of the fifth on a Parker Noland RBI groundout. The Hogs responded with two runs of their own in the next half-inning thanks to a run-scoring wild pitch and a Jack Wagner sacrifice fly. That would be just enough for Arkansas as Gabe Gaeckle would hold the Gamecocks down in 2 2/3 innings of work before Stone Hewlett slammed the door.
Game 2 – South Carolina 6, Arkansas 3: Mason Molina went only 3 1/3 innings in Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader as he issued 7 walks and 2 earned runs before Parker Coil gave up 3 more. The Razorback offense put up little fight until the ninth inning, when Peyton Stovall homered before the Hogs loaded the bases with one out but failed to score.
Game 3 – Arkansas 9, South Carolina 6: Arkansas got on the board first with a three-run second inning in the latter half of the Saturday doubleheader. Both teams would trade runs before the Razorbacks tallied a five-run seventh inning, which saw 5 hits, 2 walks and 3 Gamecock pitchers. South Carolina would make a comeback effort by cutting the seven-run Arkansas lead to just three in the last two innings. Brady Tygart gave the Hogs 6 innings of two-run ball before Will McEntire and Gage Wood closed things out for the series win.
Series storylines
Peyton Holt is here to stay
After bursting onto the scene last weekend in Alabama, Dave Vorn Horn played Holt in both of the mid-week games against Texas Tech as well as all three games in South Carolina. He saw one game in center, one at third and another pinch-hit third base opportunity in Game 3.
The senior utility man had a big weekend in Columbia, going 5-10 with 2 walks and 2 HBPs. Holt reached base nine times over the weekend, boosting his on-base percentage to a team-leading .454.
If you had told me before the series Holt would have played the majority of the weekend at third base, I wouldn’t necessarily have been shocked. However, it is definitely important to note for the outfield/third base merry-go-round. With Jayson Jones and Will Edmunson earning time in the outfield, and the re-emergence of Ross Lovich, Holt may have to spend some time at third in place of Jared Sprague-Lott.
Regardless, Van Horn made it clear this weekend that he believes Holt’s bat has to be in the lineup day in and day out. His weekend performance seems to have proven Van Horn correct.
Offensive prowess?
Despite the Arkansas offense scoring only three runs in Game 2, it did manage to gather 12 hits, and in Game 2, the Razorbacks tallied nine more to push the weekend total to 25.
Let’s put that in perspective a little bit. In Arkansas’ first road series at Auburn, it had 24 hits across the weekend. Last weekend in Alabama, the Razorbacks totaled 16, and, in the three games in Arlington, the Hogs had 19.
The 25 hits in the South Carolina series are the most in a road or neutral series in 2024. So, despite the Razorbacks’ 14 team runs on the weekend, the bat-to-ball skills displayed deserve a collective sigh of relief from Hog fans complaining about hitting coach Nate Thompson and the Arkansas offense.
Razorback fans must stay away from comparing this team to a Texas A&M or Tennessee. This team is not built that way. Especially in a road SEC series, 25 hits is more than serviceable with this pitching staff.
Series MVG (Most Valuable Gorilla)
Peyton Holt: 5-10, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 HBP
Holt burst onto the scene a season ago when Peyton Stovall went down with an injury, and ever since has had a reputation for being a lightning bolt that can be put into a big situation at any given moment.
This weekend may have just been the Holt breakout Hog fans have been waiting for in 2024. We have seen glimpses of Holt’s ability all season, from his electrifying triple in Arlington to his play in the midweek against Texas Tech.
Now, it seems as though Holt will once again be a key to Arkansas’ success down the stretch after his big 5-10 weekend against the Gamecocks.
Series MVA (Most Valuable Arm)
Brady Tygart: 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 K, 2 BB
There were a couple of viable names for this weekend’s award, including Smith and Gaeckle, who combined to shut down South Carolina on Friday night.
However, Tygart’s rubber-match outing was the epitome of valuable. In a tough Game 3 on the road, the Razorbacks were lucky enough to have Tygart as their third starter. He went 6 strong innings, fanned 6 batters and giving up only 2 runs. And maybe most importantly, he only walked two batters.
The Razorback offense rallied behind Tygart’s strong performance while the righty remained poised on the mound, and Arkansas took the series from South Carolina.
Three series takeaways
- Tygart is Arkansas’ second-best starting pitcher. Having him as a weapon on Sundays is extremely valuable, and will help the Hogs immensely leading up to the postseason.
- Kendall Diggs is going to be just fine. Diggs went 2-5 on Sunday with two doubles after struggling in the first two games while dealing with a lingering shoulder problem. Diggs seemed to return to his normal self in Game 3, and those kinds of performances are what Hog fans should expect to see more of down the stretch.
- Arkansas is more than capable of winning a road series, even against really solid competition. You never want to count your chickens before they hatch, but this seems like just the kind of Van Horn team that would make a postseason run.