HawgBeat – Diamond Hogs closed, Auburn swept
FAYETTEVILLE – Sunday’s series finale between Auburn and No. The 7 Arkansas appeared on track to be a duel of pitchers, but a two-out walk in the bottom of the third inning changed course on a cold and windy afternoon at Boom Walker Stadium.
Left-handed Tiger pitcher Conner Copeland scored eight hits against the first nine batters, but his second time through the order caused a world of trouble. The Razorbacks left fielder Jared Wegner punished him for shortstop Tavian Eusenberger’s double and hit the batter — second baseman Peyton Stovall — as he pimped 470 feet far beyond the temperature-defying ones in a pig pen.
Wegener’s ninth-inning leadoff run marked the end of Copeland’s first, second, and third five unanswered innings outing en route to a 5–0 victory to secure a series sweep for Arkansas.
As effective as Copeland was at first, Razorback righty Cody Adcock matched his innings off one ball and put him up four. A Crowder College transfer issued a one-run run for the Tigers in the second, and their only hit was erased on a double play in the third. He hit six hits as many as the Sunday start that was originally left to be announced.
After three consecutive runs by Adcock to cap off the Hogs’ third straight quality start, Auburn finally managed to put several men on the bases in the seventh against right-handed Austin Ledbetter. However, the effort was in vain, as the sophomore caused a pop-up for the second out and a guard to third base for the third.
Ledbetter worked around a leadoff downfield bunt for a scoreless eighth before deflecting the ball to Gage Wood in the ninth. The freshman right issued a pair of free passes against three batters, prompting a pass to left fielder Hagen Smith. The Razorback’s wild card encouraged Auburn right fielder Justin Kirby and got left fielder Chris Stanfield to bounce into a player choice at the end of the game, completing the shutout and 13th consecutive win.
Arkansas’ only other talkable offense came in the fourth inning, when right fielder Jess Borovin struck out with a single—the first of four straight hits. Designated hitter Kendall Diggs smashed a 102-mph home run into right field, and third batter Harold Cole delivered a two-run single to make it 5-0.
A double play and a groundout by freshman pitcher Will Cannon stopped the Hogs’ momentum, and he proceeded to stop them until the eighth inning. It was the first time they were able to get multiple men on board with two ends in the eighth, but right-hander Chase Isbell scored the hit needed to end the threat.
The Diamond Hogs are set to wrap up their 18-game home run at 3 p.m. Tuesday, when the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks visit Baum-Walker Stadium. The contest will be broadcast live on SEC Network Plus, and can be accessed through the ESPN app.
