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Logan Forsythe had three hits including the game winner to lead the Arkansas baseball team to a 12-3 win over Mississippi Valley State on Monday afternoon at Baum Stadium.
Forsythe was one of four Razorbacks to post multi-hit games in the contest as the Razorbacks tallied seven runs in the second inning and never looked back. Arkansas (32-20) is currently on a five-game winning streak which matches its second longest of the year. Mississippi Valley State (17-24) now moves on to the SWAC Tournament.
Scoreless at the end of the first inning, Mississippi Valley touched up Arkansas starter Sam Murphy for two runs in the top of the second inning to take the early lead. That lead however didn’t last long as the Razorbacks responded with patience and timely hits in the bottom of the second to score seven.
The inning began with what seemed to be a harmless walk to Casey Coon which was followed by a fly out to center field. Three consecutive walks scored Coon and kept the bases loaded. A groundout would score Arkansas’ second run of the game then with two outs five straight singles by Chase Leavitt, Ben Tschepikow, Forsythe, Coon and Jacob House made the game 7-2 in an instant.
The Delta Devils would add a third run in the fourth inning, but the Razorbacks would respond with four more to make it an 11-3 contest. The big shot in the fourth came off the bat of Aaron Murphree who blasted his 14th home run of the season down the left field line. The bomb was a three-run shot and his first in more than a month. Coon’s RBI double scored Forsythe to start the inning.
On the mound, Arkansas used five pitchers with Murphy getting the start and going three innings for the win, his second victory of the season. James Mahler (2.0), Brett Eibner (2.0), Evan Cox (1.0) and Travis Hill (1.0) closed out the contest for the Hogs who allowed three runs on eight hits, striking out seven.
Along with Forsythe, Leavitt, Coon and House each had multi-hit games for the Razorbacks. Forsythe would go 3-5 in the game while the latter three had two hits each. Forsythe, Andrew Darr and Murphree would each score two runs. Ben Tschepikow’s RBI single in the second inning gave him a 13-game hitting streak, one shy of Arkansas’ 2008 season best and a career mark for the fourth-year junior.
The Razorbacks return to Southeastern Conference play on Thursday evening when they travel to Starkville, Miss., to play the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the final SEC series of the year.
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