Hancock and Tanner hit back-to-back home runs in sixth inning
STARKVILLE – It was another crooked number that did in the No. 2 Mississippi State baseball program on Sunday (March 28), as No. 1 Arkansas claimed the series finale, 6-4, at Dudy Noble Field.
A five-run fourth inning provided enough offense for the Razorbacks (19-3, 5-1 SEC), but the Diamond Dawgs (17-7, 2-4 SEC) made it interesting with two runs in the fourth and sixth innings. A single run in the sixth for Arkansas accounted for the final tally.
Four Diamond Dawgs collected multi-hit games on the afternoon, with all four posting two hits in the series finale. Josh Hatcher drove in one RBI and added a double, while Luke Hancock walked, hit his sixth home run of the season and scored twice. Tanner Allen, Brad Cumbest and Scotty Dubrule all chipped in two hits against the Razorbacks. Logan Tanner hit his third home run of the season following Hancock’s long ball, marking the first back-to-back home runs since 2019 (Dustin Skelton & Tanner Allen; ULM, 4/3/2019).
Jackson Fristoe (2-2) took the loss with five runs allowed in 3 2/3 innings of work. He walked two and struck out seven in his fifth career start. Houston Harding allowed one run in 1 2/3 innings of work and struck out one, while Landon Sims fanned four batters in 3 2/3 innings to close out the game.
For Arkansas, Matt Goodheart homered for the third straight game and was one of five Razorbacks to drive in one RBI. Jalen Battles had a pair of hits, scored one run and drove in one RBI.
Quotable
Head coach Chris Lemonis
On how he summed up the weekend to his team
CL: I just told them we’ve got a good team, but we have to play better. The only thing we can do and the only thing we can control is how hard we work this week and try to get back to the practice field and improve and get that good feeling again. We just got manhandled in all phases of the game. We got beat, and that includes coaching. We got beat in every phase. We’ve got a good team, but we did not show up ready to play this weekend.
On what he will look for his team to improve on moving forward
CL: We always talk about getting two-out hits. It’s really about making two-out pitches, making two-out plays. We don’t get off the field this weekend and it kills us. It killed us in the fourth [inning] today. And the other side is, we don’t really get a lot of two-out hits today. We’re in positive counts and we just get really bad at-bats [and swing] at bad pitches in those situations that let them off the hook. Like I always say, tip your hat to them to make a pitch, but we’re not looking to hit a 2-0 changeup with the bases loaded. You’ve got to be able to box somebody up and make them pay and I think that’s what they did to us.
Scoring Recap
Top Fourth
Matt Goodheart started the inning with a solo home run to right field. Cayden Wallace singled to right field and advanced on a walk to Brady Slavens. Jalen Battles’ single scored two and Robert Moore’s triple plated one. Jacob Nesbit brought another around to push Arkansas to a five run lead.
Arkansas 5, Mississippi State 0
Bottom Fourth
Kamren James walked and advanced to second as Luke Hancock was hit-by-pitch. Logan Tanner reached on a fielder’s choice to load the bases before Josh Hatcher reached on the same to score one. Brad Cumbest‘s single to right center scored the second run of the frame.
Arkansas 5, Mississippi State 2
Top sixth
Casey Optiz doubled to left field to start the inning and advanced to third on a Battles single. Moore and Braydon Webb walked back-to-back to score one.
Arkansas 6, Mississippi State 2
Bottom sixth
Two back-to-back solo home runs for Hancock and Tanner capped the scoring for the game.
Arkansas 6, Mississippi State 4
Up Next
Mississippi State will turn its attention to a midweek matchup with Mississippi Valley State on Tuesday, March 30. First pitch will be thrown at 6:30 p.m. at Dudy Noble Field.