Fayetteville, Ark. — Arkansas defeated Mississippi State 5-4 in walk-off fashion Friday night at Baum–Walker Stadium in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams. Arkansas’s TJ Pompey hit a solo homer in the bottom of the ninth to secure the victory, snapping the Razorbacks’ losing streak.
Arkansas took an early lead, scoring in the first inning on a single by Damian Ruiz and a groundout by Camden Kozeal. The Razorbacks extended their lead to 2-0 in the third after Nolan Souza doubled and scored on Kozeal’s RBI groundout. Mississippi State responded in the fifth, tying the game at 2-2 with a two-run rally highlighted by a sacrifice fly from Reed Stallman.
Arkansas regained the lead in the bottom of the fifth, aided by an error and an RBI fielder’s choice from Souza. Zack Stewart’s solo home run in the sixth made it 4-2. Mississippi State rallied in the ninth, with Ryder Woodson’s two-run homer tying the game at 4-4 after a pinch-hit hit-by-pitch from Drew Wyers.
Arkansas’s Pompey led off the bottom of the ninth with a home run off reliever Maddox Miller, ending the game. Mississippi State out-hit the Razorbacks 11-7 but stranded 12 runners. Chance went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored for the Bulldogs, while Woodson’s homer accounted for two of their four runs.
On the mound, Ryan McPherson pitched six innings for Mississippi State, striking out eight and allowing four runs. The teams are scheduled to conclude the series with a doubleheader Saturday starting at 1 p.m., due to forecasted thunderstorms. State’s Tomas Valincius will face Arkansas’s Hunter Dietz in game one, with Duke Stone and Colin Fisher pitching in the subsequent games, respectively.
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