The No. 1 Arkansas Razorbacks picked up their 15th straight win with a chaotic 6-5 victory in game two of the series at Plainsman Park in Auburn, Ala.
Auburn led at three different points, but the Razorbacks tied the game 5-5 in the seventh inning and jumped in front with a massive home run by freshman Ryder Helfrick in the ninth inning. Here’s a closer look at the action as Arkansas improved to 19-2 on the season.
SCORING RECAP
- Bottom 1 – Auburn 1, Arkansas 0: Auburn’s shortstop led off with an opposite-field double down the line against Brady Tygart, stole third a few pitches later, then Ike Irish drove him in with an RBI groundout to shortstop.
- Top 2 – Auburn 1, Arkansas 1: Ben McLaughlin with a nice at-bat against Chase Allsup, fouling off a couple of two-strike pitches before unloading on a fastball over the heart of the plate and sending it 403 feet to right-center field for his third home run of the year to tie the game.
- Bottom 3 – Auburn 2, Arkansas 1: Tygart issues back-to-back walks to start the frame, and then a back-pickoff attempt from Parker Rowland gets away from McLaughlin at first base, which allows Weiss to come around to score.
- Bottom 3 – Auburn 3, Arkansas 1: Tygart issues a third straight walk, then comes back and gets a strikeout, but a balk moves the runners up to second and third with one away, and a groundout by Chris Stanfield (6-5 to get Bobby Pierce out at third) drives home the second Auburn run of the inning without a hit.
- Top 4 – Auburn 3, Arkansas 2: Wehiwa Aloy leads off with a single, and Kendall Diggs reached via error on a ball up the middle. Allsup came back to strike out Hudson White for the first out, but then an infield single by McLaughlin loaded the bases, and a walk to Jared Sprague-Lott brings home an Arkansas run.
- Top 4 – Arkansas 4, Auburn 3: After Butch Thompson spent a good minute arguing the call on the previous pitch, Will Edmunson jumps on the first one he sees and ropes it into left field for a two-run single to put Arkansas on top.
- Bottom 5 – Arkansas 4, Auburn 4: Bobby Pierce leads the frame off with a double to left field against Koty Frank and comes around to score on another botched pickoff attempt by Rowland.
- Bottom 5 – Auburn 5, Arkansas 4: Javon Hernandez reaches with a one-out single up the middle, and he’s driven in by an RBI single to left field by Cooper Weiss.
- Top 7 – Auburn 5, Arkansas 5: After Will Edmunson was hit by the first pitch of the inning from Auburn’s closer John Armstrong, Ty Wilmsmeyer reached with a bunt single, and Edmunson advanced to third on a throwing error by the third baseman. After that, Peyton Stovall lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to tie the game.
- Top 9 – Arkansas 6, Auburn 5: Freshman catcher Ryder Helfrick, who entered the game at catcher for Arkansas after Parker Rowland was pinch-hit for, absolutely launches his second career home run well beyond the fence in left field. The ball was hit 109 MPH off the bat and an estimated 405 feet, which feels about 100 too short.
MVB (Most Valuable Bat)
Ben McLaughlin: It was a better day at the plate for the Hogs, but there still weren’t a ton of options to choose from for this category, so McLaughlin recording two hits and a mammoth home run leads the way even with Helfrick having the hit.
On a serious note, McLaughlin is quietly as consistent as any bat in the Arkansas lineup. After going hitless in the team’s first two conference games, he has now hit safely in three straight to keep his batting average at a cool .329. McLaughlin has also reached base in 19 of 21 games played this season.
MVA (Most Valuable Arm)
Cooper Dossett: After being called on in a massive spot with the bases loaded and two outs, the first pitch Dossett threw was grounded to first base for an out to keep it a 5-5 game. That one pitch alone held plenty of weight, but Dossett came back to get three more huge outs in the eighth inning to keep it tied.
Him getting this honor with only four outs came down to a few simple reasons. For one, Tygart and Koty Frank weren’t exactly lights out in their larger workloads, which opened the door for Dossett’s high-leverage outing. His appearance also looms large in the big-picture context of this Arkansas pitching staff, as it gives the Hogs another certified option to trust in the back-end of the bullpen to go with guys like Frank, Will McEntire and Gabe Gaeckle.
Dossett’s outing also featured him having to wait out a 30-plus minute UMPIRE DELAY as the home plate umpire was unable to continue after getting hit with a foul ball underneath the mask. The second base umpire came in to replace him behind the plate, but he left his gear at the hotel and had to have it brought to him. Yes, you read all of that right.
DON’T OVERLOOK
- Senior right-hander Will McEntire made his second appearance of the weekend and recorded his second save of the year. He only threw 22 pitches Thursday night, but you don’t see too many pitchers being asked to come in and close a game just one day after tossing two scoreless, high-leverage innings the night before. McEntire quickly retired the side in order with two strikeouts, lowering his season ERA to 1.57.
- Acting head coach Matt Hobbs, who served in place of Dave Van Horn as he tended to a personal matter, made a big decision with two on and two out in the fourth inning, turning to Koty Frank on the mound for Brady Tygart at 75 pitches. The move worked out as Auburn slugger Ike Irish jumped on the first pitch he saw and lined it to right field, and Kendall Diggs got there in time to make a sliding catch.
- Hobbs followed up with an absolute managing clinic in the seventh inning to help Arkansas out of a bases-loaded jam with one out. He countered an Auburn pinch hitter with Stone Hewlett to get a strikeout in a left-on-left matchup. Hewlett’s outing lasted just one hitter as Hobbs turned to Dossett to induce an inning-ending groundout.
- It wasn’t a banner day for defense at the yard in wet conditions, but the Hogs had two humongous plays in the field that wound up looming extremely large. They pulled off a nice 9-4-2 relay to cut down an Auburn runner at the plate on an Irish double, and McLaughlin made a slipping, sliding and diving play to touch first base with his glove after bobbling a groundout with the bases loaded.
- Along with his big home run, Helfrick made one of the biggest plays of the game to throw out Cooper Weiss on his fourth stolen base attempt after he walked to start the bottom of the eighth inning.
- Hewlett only faced one hitter, but it was an absolutely massive spot with the bases juiced, and he got the strikeout asked of him. He’s now gotten 12 outs this season, 10 of which have been strikeouts. Hard to ask for more out of a left-on-left specialist.
UP NEXT
The No. 1 Razorbacks and the No. 23 Tigers will return to Plainsman Park Saturday afternoon for the series finale. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. Central and will be streamed on SEC Network+.