No. 3 Mississippi State Baseball Swept by No. 10 Arkansas After 10-2 Loss

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Scoreless through four innings, No. 10 Arkansas plated a run in the fifth inning before eight more Razorback runners came across to score in the sixth inning as No. 3 Mississippi State baseball fell in the series finale by a score of 10-2 Saturday afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium.

With the loss MSU falls to 32-9 (10-8 SEC). With the series sweep, Arkansas improves to 32-10 (12-6 SEC).

Freshman right-hander JT Ginn (7-2) tossed four scoreless innings where he allowed just two base runners. He remained in the game in the fifth inning and allowed the first run of the game after junior Jordan McFarland singled, moved to second on a ground out and was plated on an RBI single from redshirt-freshman Jacob Nesbit.

The game broke wide open in the bottom of sixth inning when Arkansas scored eight runs on four hits. Sophomore Casey Martin began the inning off with a double to left field. A pair of walks then loaded the bases. A hit batter scored one run before a fielder’s choice and a fielding error scored two more runs. A three-run home run to left center from Nesbit then made it a 7-0 game. A double from redshirt-senior Trevor Ezell scored one run before a ground out scored the eighth run of the inning. Sophomore Casey Optiz’s RBI single gave Arkansas a 10-0 lead after seven innings.

MSU ended the shutout in the top of the ninth after Sophomore Rowdey Jordan’s two-RBI single plated a pair of runs to make it 10-2.

The Dawgs were outhit 10-6 in the loss, with sophomore Tanner Allen leading the team with two hits. Sophomore Jordan Westburg, freshman Hayden Jones, Jordan and junior Gunner Halter also recorded hits in the contest.

Redshirt-junior Trysten Barlow allowed six runs on two hits while getting one out in the sixth. He walked two batters. Senior Jared Liebelt then allowed one run on three hits in 1 ²⁄₃ innings. Junior Colby White ended the game by pitching a scoreless eighth inning.

Freshman right-hander Connor Noland (2-2) earned the win after pitching 7 ²⁄₃ innings of scoreless baseball. He allowed four hits and struck out five batters.

MSU will now face rival Ole Miss on Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Mississippi in the annual Governor’s Cup game.