FAYETTEVILLE — Sunday’s series between Auburn and No. 7 Arkansas ended in a pitcher’s duel, but a two-out rally in the bottom of the third inning changed the trajectory on another cold and windy afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium .
Tiger left-handed pitcher Conner Copeland recorded eight outs against the first nine hitters, but he faced trouble the second time through the order. Razorbacks left fielder Jared Wagner punished him for center fielder Tavion Zosenberger’s double and one hit batter – second baseman Peyton Stovall – as he blasted a 470-foot blast beyond the temperature-lowering hog pen.
Wagner’s team-leading ninth roundtripper marked the end of Copeland’s outing and led to unanswered runs in the first, second and third en route to a 5–0 shutout victory to secure the series sweep for Arkansas.
As dominant as Copeland was to start, Razorback righty Cody Adcock matched his two innings of one-hit ball and struck him out. The Crowder college transfer issued a one-out walk for no gain to the Tigers in the second, and his only hit was erased on a double play in the third. He made six appearances as the Sunday starter, originally yet to be announced.
After three consecutive perfect innings from Adcock for the Hogs’ third straight quality start, Auburn was finally able to put several men on bases in the seventh against right-hander Austin Ledbetter. However, the effort was in vain, as a pop-up for the second out and a bouncer to third base for the third out induced a single.
Ledbetter worked a leadoff hit-by-pitch and worked a scoreless eighth before turning the ball over to Gage Wood in the ninth. The freshman righty issued a pair of free passes against three hitters, prompting the switch to left-hander Hagen Smith. Razorback wild cards fanned Auburn right fielder Justin Kirby and hoisted left fielder Chris Stanfield into the game-ending fielder’s choice, completing the shutout and 13th straight win.
The only other offense Arkansas could talk about came in the fourth inning, when right fielder Jess Bohroffen led off with a single—the first of four consecutive knockdowns. Designated hitter Kendall Diggs homered at 102 mph into the right field corner, and third baseman Harold Cole homered with a two-run home run to make it 5–0.
A double play and a pickoff from new pitcher Will Cannon halted the Hogs’ momentum, and he proceeded to shut them down until the eighth inning. The first time they managed to bring on several men with two outs in the eighth, but right-hander Chase Isbell recorded the strikeouts needed to end the threat.
The Diamond Hogs are scheduled to conclude their 18-game homestand on Tuesday at 3 p.m. when the Southeast Missouri State RedHawks visit Baum-Walker Stadium. The contest will be streamed live on SEC Network Plus, accessible through the ESPN app.