Tigers wait 25 years, beat Hogs

Missouri's Tanner Houck throws a pitch during a game against Arkansas on Saturday, April 2, 2016, at Baum Stadium in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Missouri's baseball team finally beat Arkansas again.

All it took was 11 games and 9,119 days.

The Tigers held on for an 8-5 victory Saturday night at Baum Stadium before an announced crowd of 7,232.

Missouri (16-13, 1-7 SEC) stopped its losing streak against No. 15 Arkansas (19-8, 4-4) at 10 games and beat the Razorbacks for the first time since an 11-3 victory April 16, 1991, in Columbia, Mo.

Arkansas had the tying runs on in the eighth inning, but left the bases loaded when Missouri reliever Austin Tribby got Tucker Pennell on a groundout.

Tribby loaded the bases when home plate umpire Todd Henderson ruled he hit Michael Bernal with a pitch.

Television replays showed the ball hit the dirt in front of home plate rather than Bernal and Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn argued the call to no avail.

The hit-by-pitch ruling prevented Rick Nomura scoring from third base on a wild pitch.

"Of course it didn't hit him," Van Horn said. "We all saw it. I don't know what the umpire saw, because it didn't look like it was that close to [Bernal].

"I'd rather have the run in, cut it to two runs and have Mike up instead of the go-ahead run on base. I'd rather have Mike swinging the bat.

"The umpire has got to see that. He just has to go off reaction of the hitter and sound, and Mike didn't react at anything. Pretty obvious the ball didn't hit him."

Arkansas scored three runs in the seventh inning -- including a two-run triple by Austin Catron after Nomura walked and Chad Spanberger singled -- to cut Missouri's lead to 7-5 and chase Tigers starter Tanner Houck (3-2).

The Razorbacks would have had a bigger seventh if Missouri shortstop Ryan Howard hadn't made a diving, back-handed stop on a hard grounder by Carson Shaddy.

Howard threw to Ian Nelson for a force out at second base to end the inning. His play prevented Tucker Pennel scoring to make it a one-run game and Arkansas having runners on first and second with cleanup hitter Cullen Gassaway batting.

"Ryan Howard made a great play," Van Horn said. "He might have saved the game for them."

Missouri made it 8-5 in the eighth when sophomore catcher Brett Bond was awarded a triple after Arkansas' Spanberger made a diving attempt to catch Bon's drive to right and let the ball get past him. Bond scored when Shaddy had Howard's grounder go under his glove at third base.

"There were some plays that weren't made that needed to be made," Van Horn said.

Houck, a sophomore right-hander projected to be a first-round draft choice next year and armed with a fastball that hit 97 mph Saturday night, went 6 innings and allowed 5 runs with 4 strikeouts and 2 walks on 100 pitches.

"We fought back down 6-0 against one of the best pitchers in the country and we made them use a little bit of that bullpen," Van Horn said.

Catron got Arkansas' first hit when he hit his second home run on an 0-2 pitch with two outs in the fifth inning to cut Missouri's lead to 6-1. Catron finished 3 for 3 with a walk and 3 runs batted in.

Arkansas starter Keaton McKinney (1-1) went 32/3 innings and allowed 6 hits, 6 runs and 4 earned runs with 4 walks and 2 strikeouts on 92 pitches. He hit one batter. It was the third start this season he's failed to get out of the fourth inning.

McKinney, who in his previous start threw six shutout innings against Auburn, saw his earned run average rise to 5.46.

"You see a lot of pitches scattered all over the place," Van Horn said of McKinney's struggles. "Up and out and down and in. There were some close pitches that he didn't get, but there were some that he got."

Missouri knocked out McKinney in a four-run fourth inning that boosted the Tigers' lead to 6-0.

Tigers third baseman Shane Benes -- the son of former major league pitcher Andy Benes -- hit a drive off the left field foul pole leading off the inning for his fourth home run this season.

Missouri added runs on Jake Ring's sacrifice fly and Trey Harris two-run single.

Zach Lavy doubled in Ring, who had walked, to give Missouri a 7-1 lead in the sixth inning.

Arkansas made it 7-2 in the sixth inning with a single by Pennell, double by Clark Eagan and RBI groundout by Shaddy.

Sports on 04/03/2016