Bears 2, Razorbacks 0: Shutdown

The Razorbacks had defeated Missouri State in 10 straight games coming into tonight, but were unable to make it 11.

Three Missouri State (18-7) pitchers combined for the shutout against the Hogs. They gave up six hits, four walks and struck out eight as a triple tandem.

It has to be disappointing for Arkansas, because they have struggled with midweek pitching this season and got a fantastic effort from four guys tonight. James Teague (1-2) took the loss after humming through the first four innings. He gave up two singles and hit a batter to load up the bases before recording an out in the fifth. Keaton McKinney came on to do as much damage control as possible. He gave up a sacrifice fly to the first batter he faced to give the Bears a 1-0 lead.

Then it got a little weird. Carson Shaddy threw out a runner trying to steal third. So, with two down and a man on first, it looked like the Hogs could get out of this with only a little blood. Then, McKinney's fielding error allowed another man on. As if that wasn't enough, he plunked the next batter to load the bases. Four straight balls later, Missouri State has another run on the board to make it 2-0. McKinney strikes out the final batter of the inning to get out of it.

Jackson Lowery came on to pitch the 7th. He threw a solid two innings, giving up just two hits. Lance Phillips came in and threw a one-hit scoreless 9th. But, it didn't matter because the Hogs were unable to put a single run on the board.

Rick Nomura, Carson Shaddy and Joe Serrano had, what I like to call, "bless your heart" games at the plate. Combined they were 0-12 with five strikeouts and stranded seven of Arkansas' nine runners between them.

There were a few minor offensive highlights, like Andrew Benintendi reaching base three times by going 2-3 with a double and walk. Cullen Gassaway and Tyler Spoon also had doubles to round out all of Arkansas' extra base hits for the night.

The Hogs travel to Auburn for a three game series with the Tigers this weekend. Auburn hasn't been quite the slouch they've been in the past. They have nice non-conference wins over Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State, and Alabama, which was a "non-conference" game in the Capital City Classic. They are coming off a series victory in Starkville last weekend, after starting the season 1-5 in conference play against Texas A&M and Vanderbilt. First pitch Friday is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be carried on SEC Network Plus.