FAYETTEVILLE — Hagen Smith is on the mound Thursday night, but that probably isn’t what’s at the forefront of everyone’s minds ahead of the Arkansas vs Ole Miss series opener.
Both fan bases are wondering about their future on the hardwood, as Ole Miss basketball coach Chris Beard has seemingly emerged as the top candidate to replace Eric Musselman at Arkansas.
Those in attendance at Baum-Walker Stadium – and watching on SEC Network – will likely be scrolling social media for updates on that front when the baseball game gets underway at 6 p.m. CT.
However, there will be plenty of reason to pay attention to the action on the diamond, as the Arkansas vs Ole Miss series is usually an entertaining one. Plus, as mentioned above, Smith is on the mound. He was named the Midseason Pitcher of the Year by Perfect Game and D1Baseball earlier this week and has a 1.54 ERA with 72 strikeouts in 35 innings this season.
Follow along below for inning-by-inning updates from Game 1 of the series…
(READ NEXT: Check out our in-depth recap of Arkansas’ midweek win over Arkansas State)
LIVE UPDATES — Arkansas vs Ole Miss (Game 1)
Pregame Tidbits
Ross Lovich is getting the start in left field and Nolan Souza got the nod at designated hitter.
Top 1st – Ole Miss 0, Arkansas 0
- Luke Hill struck out swinging, 1 out
- Andrew Fischer lined out to the pitcher, 2 outs… Fischer hit a liner 101 miles an hour right at Hagen Smith’s head. Thankfully, Smith just stuck his glove out and the ball mercifully found it. A collective sigh of relief.
- Ethan Lege struck out swinging, 3 outs
Bottom 1st – Ole Miss 0, Arkansas 0 - Wehiwa Aloy grounds into a 6-4-3 double play, 3 outs
- Peyton Stovall singled to center
- Ben McLaughlin flew out to the warning track in right, 1 out
Top 2nd – Ole Miss 0, Arkansas 0
- Jackson Ross struck out swinging, 1 out
- Ethan Groff walked
- Treyson Hughes hit by the pitch, Groff to second
- Trenton Lyons struck out swinging, 2 outs
- Judd Utermark struck out looking, 3 outs
Bottom 2nd – Ole Miss 0, Arkansas 0
- Kendall Diggs grounded to third, 1 out
- Jared Sprague-Lott struck out swinging, 2 outs
- Ross Lovich struck out swinging, 3 outs
Top 3rd – Ole Miss 2, Arkansas 0
- Brayden Randle grounded to short, 1 out
- Hill singled to third
- Fischer singled to right, Hill to second
- Lege singled to third, bunt, Hill to third, Fischer to second
- Ross walked, Hill scored, Fischer to third, Lege to second, Ole Miss 1, Arkansas 0
- Groff hit a sac fly to left, Fischer scored, Lege to third, Ross to second, Ole Miss 2, Arkansas 0
Hughes grounded out, first base to pitcher, 3 outs
Some well-placed balls and command issues combine for two runs, but Groff missed a grand slam by a few feet, so all in all the Hogs will take it.
Bottom 3rd – Ole Miss 2, Arkansas 0
- Hudson White grounded to short, 1 out
Nolan Souza singled to center - Ty Wilmsmeyer grounded to third, 2 outs
- Stovall grounded to second, 3 outs … yikes, six-pitch inning as Riley Maddox has faced one over the minimum through three.
Top 4th – Ole Miss 2, Arkansas 0
- Hughes singled to center
- Utermark struck out swinging, 1 out
- Randle struck out swinging, 2 outs
- Hill walked, Hughes to second
- Fischer struck out swinging, 3 outs … Despite striking out three in the frame, Smith is not crisp but has stuck out eight on 82 pitches
Bottom 4th – Ole Miss 2, Arkansas 1
- McLaughlin grounded to second, 1 out
- Aloy singled to center
- Diggs walked, Aloy to second
- Aloy advanced to third on a wild pitch, Diggs to second
- Sprague-Lott grounded to short, Aloy scored, Diggs to third, 2 outs
- Lovich grounded to short, 3 outs … Get ’em over, get ’em in. Hogs cut the lead in half.
Top 5th – Ole Miss 2, Arkansas 1
- Lege struck out swinging, 1 out
- Ross fouled out to short, 2 outs
- Groff fouled out to the catcher, 3 outs … Smith counters with an eight-pitch inning of his own, which may have just bought him an extra inning. He’s at 90 pitches
Bottom 5th – Ole Miss 2, Arkansas 1
- White grounded to third, 1 out
- Souza grounded to second, 2 outs
- Wilmsmeyer grounded to short, 3 outs … Have a day Riley Maddox, he’s up to 11 groundouts on the evening.
Top 6th – Ole Miss 2, Arkansas 1
- Hughes walked
- Lyons strikes out swinging, 1 out … On his 101st pitch of the night, Smith strikes out his 10th batter of the evening making it four starts in a row and six of the last seven. The only time he struck out less than 10 during that stretch was when he threw four innings against McNeese on a pitch count and struck out nine
- Utermark struck out swinging, 2 outs
- Randle flied to left, 3 outs … Smith throws a season-high 105 pitches and works his way to a quality start.
Bottom 6th – Arkansas 5, Ole Miss 2
- Stovall walked
- McLaughlin walked, Stovall to second … back-to-back walks after just one all night
- Aloy homered to right, Stovall scored, McLaughlin scored, Arkansas 4, Ole Miss 2 … Despite it only being 347 feet, that may have been the most important one of the seven he has hit as a Razorback
- Josh Malitz to pitch for Riley Maddox
- Diggs grounded to short, 1 out
- Sprague-Lott homered down the left field line, Arkansas 5, Ole Miss 2 … Another short homer, 342 feet but they all count the same
- Lovich singled to short
- White flied out to center, 2 outs
- Souza singled to center, Lovich to second
- Wilmsmeyer struck out swinging, 3 outs
Top 7th – Arkansas 5, Ole Miss 2
- Will McEntire to pitch for Smith
- Hill grounded to short, 1 out
- Fischer walked
- Lege popped to first, 2 outs
- Ross struck out swinging, 3 outs
Bottom 7th – Arkansas 5, Ole Miss 2
- Brayden Jones to pitch for Malitz
- Stovall flied to right, 1 out
- McLaughlin walked
- ALoy lined to second, 2 outs
- Diggs struck out swinging, 3 outs
Top 8th – Arkansas 5, Ole Miss 2
- Groff popped to second, 1 out
- Hughes flied to deep center, 2 outs
- Lyons struck out swinging, 3 outs … Death, Taxes, Will McEntire being a good pitcher.
Bottom 8th – Arkansas 5, Ole Miss 2
- Sprague-Lott struck out looking, 1 out
- Lovich grounded to short, 2 outs
- White grounded to first, 3 outs
Top 9th – Arkansas 5, Ole Miss 2
- Will Furniss hit for Utermark
- Furniss grounded out, first base to pitcher, 1 out
- Randle struck out swinging, 2 outs
- Hill singled to second
- Hill advanced to second on indifference
- Stone Hewlett to pitch for Will McEntire
- Fischer struck out swinging FINAL – ARKANSAS 5, OLE MISS 2 … 19 in a row at THE Baum-Walker Stadium. 10,231 drive home happy.
Starting Lineups
| Ole Miss Baseball | Arkansas Baseball |
|---|---|
| 1. Luke Hill – 2B | 1. Peyton Stovall – 2B |
| 2. Andrew Fischer – 3B | 2. Ben McLaughlin – 1B |
| 3. Ethan Lege – LF | 3. Wehiwa Aloy – SS |
| 4. Jackson Ross – DH | 4. Kendall Diggs – RF |
| 5. Ethan Groff – CF | 5. Jared Sprague-Lott – 3B |
| 6. Treyson Hughes – RF | 6. Ross Lovich – LF |
| 7. Trenton Lyons – C | 7. Hudson White – C |
| 8. Judd Utermark – 1B | 8. Nolan Souza – DH |
| 9. Brayden Randle – SS | 9. Ty Wilmsmeyer – CF |
| Pitching: RHP Riley Maddox | Pitching: LHP Hagen Smith |
How to Watch Arkansas vs Ole Miss (Game 1)
Date: Thursday, April 4
Location: Baum-Walker Stadium (Fayetteville, Ark.)
First Pitch: 6 p.m. CT
TV/Stream: SEC Network
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