Razorbacks can't stave off Bulldog rally

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Even after jumping out to a 5-0 lead, with four off of a grand slam from Eric Cole, Friday night, the No. 3 Arkansas Razorbacks could not hold off a late rally from the Mississippi State Bulldogs and could not get a baserunner over the final four innings before falling, 6-5, in the series opener at Dudy Noble Field.

The loss was just the second in 11 games for Arkansas (28-11, 10-7). The Hogs' lead over LSU (24-15, 9-7) dropped to half a game and Mississippi State (20-19, 6-10) was able to stay over .500.

Cole's grand slam capped a four-run, four-hit second inning that had the Hogs cruising early. They added a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning that led to the eventual early exit for Mississippi State starting pitcher Konnor Pilkington.

However, that was the end of Arkansas' offense for the rest of the game. Bulldog reliever J.P. France (2-1) retired 12-straight batters to end the game, striking out nine.

Cole's home run was Arkansas' second grand slam of the season, joining sophomore Jordan McFarland as the only Razorbacks to hit a grand slam this year. He finished the game 1-for-4 with the grand slam as his only hit. He now has eight home runs on the year and is one of four Hogs with eight or more home runs this season.

Blaine Knight was sharp through his 5 2/3 innings of work, but gave up a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning before being relieved by sophomore Matt Cronin (2-1) four batters later. Knight finished with the no decision and remains undefeated this season

It was only his fourth in 10 starts that Knight did not go six innings or more. Knight has struck out four or more batters in all 10 his outings this year.

Cronin gave up three earned runs over two innings, while striking out five but only gave up one hit. He struck out the first four batters he faced, but ran into trouble in the eighth when he walked the first two batters and allowed a two-out two RBI single to Jordan Westburg, which tied the game at 5-5.

Hogs, Heston Kjerstad, Grant Koch, and Jax Biggers all turned in two-hit games, but only Cole and Dominic Fletcher drove in runs. Four of Arkansas' five runs came off of Cole's grand slam, while Fletcher had the sacrifice fly in the fifth inning. The four RBIs are a career-high for Cole and his eighth multi-RBI game of the season.

Arkansas and Mississippi State closed their series on Saturday with a doubleheader at Dudy Noble Field. The Razorbacks are scheduled to host the No. 5 Texas Tech Red Raiders (31-8) on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Sports on 04/22/2018

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