The No. 1 Arkansas Razorbacks cruised to a comfortable win to start their SEC slate, knocking off the Missouri Tigers 8-0 to start the series at Baum-Walker Stadium.
The Razorbacks finished with seven hits, four of which left the yard and provided all the scoring for the contest. Below is a rundown of the action, along with some other notes and observations as the Hogs improve to 15-2.
SCORING RECAP
- Bottom 2 – Arkansas 2, Missouri 0: After Ross Lovich was hit by a pitch to start the frame, Nolan Souza worked a great at-bat and hits the sixth pitch he sees 335 feet down the right-field line, his second home run of the year.
- Bottom 3 – Arkansas 5, Missouri 0: Kendall Diggs works a leadoff walk, and Wehiwa Aloy reaches via E5 before Ross Lovich gives the Hogs some cushion with a 394-foot home run toward the right field foul pole, hit 105 MPH off the bat.
- Bottom 4 – Arkansas 7, Missouri 0: Peyton Stovall kept the frame alive with a two-out walk. Missouri decides to stick with starter Logan Lunceford after a mound visit, and that turned out to be unwise as Kendall Diggs mashed a 400-foot home run to right-center field, hit 104 MPH off the bat.
- Bottom 8 – Arkansas 8, Missouri 0: Nolan Souza does it again (and in even more impressive fashion), ripping a 405-foot home run to right field, hit 102 MPH, to give Arkansas a little bit more insurance.
MVB (Most Valuable Bat)
Nolan Souza: Hitting is contagious, and Arkansas’ big night at the plate started with freshman Nolan Souza providing the first hit and first runs of SEC play with his two-run home run to right field. He also singled up the middle in the sixth inning, joining Diggs as the only other Hog with two hits.
After getting the scoring started for Arkansas, Souza also went ahead and drove in the final Razorback run with his second home run of the night in the eighth inning. Souza’s batting average now sits at .423 through 26 career ABs, and he’s provided a ton of scoring production with 9 RBI and 8 runs scored. He got the start at DH in this game, and it’s getting harder and harder to make a case against him staying in the everyday lineup for time being.
MVA (Most Valuable Arm)
Hagen Smith: You could make a real argument Smith is the most valuable pitcher in the country, and he certainly brought plenty of value in his first SEC start of the year. The lefty from Bullard (Texas) allowed just two hits, one of which being an infield single, in six scoreless innings of work.
Smith’s stuff was electric as ever, and his command improved in his final two frames of work. His fastball consistently sat in the 94-96 range, topping out at 98, and he mixed in a split-change a few times to go with his usual hard slider. Smith’s season ERA now sits at 1.57 with a crisp 50 strikeouts in 23 innings of work.
DON’T OVERLOOK
- Hagen Smith entered the day with 239 strikeouts for his career. He passed Blaine Knight for 5th on the school’s all-time list with his sixth strikeout in the third inning. He now sits 12 shy of Scott Tabor for 4th at 261 after finishing with 10 punchouts on the night.
- It was a big night for the Lovich family, which had ties to both teams. Arkansas’ Ross Lovich, who transferred from Missouri this past offseason, continued to make a strong case to be the Hogs’ everyday left fielder with a big three-run home run and another run scored. His brother Jackson, who leads the Tigers in hitting this season, was one of just three players to reach base against Hagen Smith, and he reached with an infield single in the seventh inning. Their youngest brother, Eli, is set to come to Fayetteville this summer as part of Arkansas’ 2024 signing class.
- Sophomore RHP Christian Foutch made his third appearance of the year (first since Feb. 27) for Arkansas and turned in two scoreless innings while working around a pair of hits. It wasn’t exactly a picture-perfect outing, but his fastball touched 99 MPH, which is objectively cool.
- Fellow sophomore right-hander Cooper Dossett also made his return to the mound for Arkansas. After allowing his first two runs of the season against UCA on March 5th, the Springdale (Ark.) native bounced back with a scoreless frame in his fourth outing of the year. In 4.1 innings of work this year, Dossett has now struck out nine hitters without allowing a hit. All seven pitches he threw tonight were strikes.
- Arkansas catcher Hudson White went 1-for-4 but swung the bat well. He had a 100 MPH lineout to the warning track in his first plate appearance, singled to left field in his third and hit a 99 MPH groundout in his fourth. Though he hasn’t come close to matching the production he had at Texas Tech a year ago, his recent swings have been a clear step in the right direction.
UP NEXT
The No. 1 Arkansas Razorbacks and the Missouri Tigers will return to Baum-Walker Stadium tomorrow afternoon for Game 2 of the series. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. (CT) and will be streamed on SEC Network+.