SEC BASEBALL

Hogs sweat out close one again

Arkansas short stop Brian Anderson makes the play on a high bounce in the second inning of Friday night's game against Mississippi State at Baum Stadium in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas closer Colby Suggs was facing a .370 hitter with no where to put him and the game on the line.

“He’s the best closer in the country,” Razorbacks left fielder Matt Vinson said. “I’m really happy to see him back.”

Arkansas held on to beat Mississippi State 5-4 on Friday night at Baum Stadium before an announced crowd of 5,047 when Suggs ended the game by striking out cleanup hitter Alex Detz with the bases loaded.

Detz went 2 for 4 to raise his average from .364 to .370 before striking out on three pitches against Suggs. The last strike was called.

“That was just a very gutsy performance right there,” Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said.”That was a tremendous effort and a big win for our team.”

Suggs, who was sidelined by an oblique injury to open the season, got his second save of the season. His first came in a 5-3 victory in 13 innings at South Carolina last Sunday.

“I’m feeling great now,” Suggs said. “I might have rushed it back from that oblique injury, but I just wanted to be out there playing with all these guys I’ve been playing with for three years now.

“Obviously, whenever they voted me captain I felt a little more pressure to get out there and perform. I feel 100 percent now.”

Mississippi State pulled within 5-4 in the ninth when Brett Pirtle scored on an error by pitcher Trent Daniel, who threw wildly to third trying to get Pirtle on a force out after fielding a bunt by Nick Ammirati.

“Daniel would have had the runner at third, but he didn’t get the ball out of his glove on the first try and that messed everything up,” Van Horn said.

With Demarcus Hodge on third and Ammirati on second, Daniel got Adam Frazier to pop out for the first out.

Suggs then came in and got C.T. Bradford on a fly out to Vinson that was too shallow to score Hodge. Suggs intentionally walked Hunter Renfroe - who was 4 for 4 - on Van Horn’s orders to face Detz.

“He would have done whatever we asked him to do,” Van Horn said. “Here’s the deal, he might have got (Renfroe), but if he doesn’t, there are a couple of guys in the dugout you guys would have been all over about pitching to him. We did what we needed to do.”

So did Vinson in the seventh, when he hit a one-out, bases-loaded triple off Myles Gentry and over Bradford’s head in center field to put Arkansas ahead 5-3. The Razorbacks loaded the bases on Tyler Spoon’s single, Brian Anderson’s walk and Dominic Ficociello being hit on the foot by a pitch.

“It was a fast ball,” Vinson said of Gentry’s 1-0 pitch. “He missed out the first time, so I knew he was going to try and get it over the plate.

“Honestly, I was just trying to get it deep in the outfield and get that run home and get somebody over. It happened to get over his head, which doesn’t happen much because he can run some balls down.”

Vinson, who is batting .333, also had a game-winning, two-run single at South Carolina last Sunday. He’s hitting .393 (11 for 28) in SEC games.

“I think that with age and just experience and being there, he’s one of our go-to guys,” Van Horn said. “He’s one of two or three guys I want at the plate with runners in scoring position that can drive people in.”

Vinson also had an RBI in the third inning when he drew a bases-loaded walk to give Arkansas a 2-0 lead, but the Razorbacks (20-7, 5-2 SEC) got just one run after loading the bases with no outs when Ficociello and Willie Schwanke struck out.

“We could have been in control of the game if we’d had a little better third inning,” Van Horn said. “Fortunately, we scored a run …. but it would have been nice to be up 4-0. I think we could have relaxed a little bit if we’d done a better job.

“But give them credit, they got out of it.”

Mississippi State (22-7, 2-5) tied the game 2-2 with two runs in the sixth inning to chase Arkansas starter Barrett Astin and went ahead 3-2 in the seventh when Pritle doubled and scored on Ammirati’s single.

The Bulldogs had 11 hits, but left nine runners on base. Arkansas, which left 10 runners on base, had seven hits and eight walks.

“They got the key hit in the key situation and we didn’t,” Mississippi State Coach John Cohen said. “We had two of our best hitters up in the ninth and neither one of them got it done.

“That’s surprising to me because those two guys are very good players. Given that opportunity in the future, I think those guys will get it done.”

Arkansas won its sixth consecutive game, including four in SEC play.

“It almost got away from us,” Van Horn said. “It got a little stressful there.”

Today’s game

MISSISSIPPI STATE AT ARKANSAS WHEN 2:05 p.m. today WHERE Baum Stadium, Fayetteville RECORDS Arkansas 20-7, 5-2 SEC;

Mississippi State 22-7, 2-5 RADIO Razorbacks Sports Network. Not all games will be carried by affiliates.

Check local listings.

INTERNET www.arkansasrazorbacks.com

Sports, Pages 19 on 03/30/2013