FAYETTEVILLE — It took until the second time through the batting order, but No. 5 Arkansas finally put something together against Gonzaga senior left hander Mac Lardner in the fifth inning Friday.
The Razorbacks scored four runs in the inning to break a 1-1 tie, and went on to beat the Bulldogs 9-3 in front of 3,765 at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Arkansas (5-0) leads the four-game series 2-0. The teams are scheduled to play again Saturday at 2 p.m.
Casey Opitz and Cole Austin led off the fifth inning with singles up the middle. Robert Moore squared to bunt in the next at-bat, but Gonzaga showed the wheel play, where the third baseman charges and the shortstop covers third.
After taking the first pitch for a ball and conferring with Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn, the freshman Moore faked the bunt, pulled the bat back and put the ball in the spot the shortstop had vacated. Opitz came around to score to put the Razorbacks ahead 2-1.
Braydon Webb followed Moore's fake bunt with an actual bunt that was mishandled by Lardner, allowing Austin to score from third on the error. Moore scored from third on a wild pitch by Lardner and Webb scored on a Christian Franklin sacrifice fly to center field to give the Razorbacks a 5-1 lead.
Gonzaga responded with Gabriel Hughes' two-run home run in the top of the sixth to pull within 5-3. The homer came against Connor Noland, who allowed 3 runs (2 earned) on 5 hits and 3 walks in 6 innings to earn his second win. Noland struck out three.
Opitz struck again for Arkansas in the bottom of the sixth, tripling off the right field wall to lead off. Gonzaga right fielder Ryan Sullivan almost got his glove on the ball, but it was just out of his reach and Opitz slid into third with the first triple of his college career.
Opitz scored on a single from Moore - his second RBI of the game - to give the Hogs a 6-3 lead. Austin also scored in the inning on a sacrifice to right field by Webb.
Opitz homered into the visitor's bullpen in right field to put Arkansas ahead 9-3 in the seventh inning. He finished the game 3-for-4 with 2 RBI.
Marshall Denton, Zach Morris and Jacob Burton each pitched a scoreless inning in relief for the Razorbacks. None allowed a hit, although Denton and Burton each walked one.
Lardner (0-1) took the loss for the Bulldogs. Lardner, who pitched six scoreless innings against BYU in his first outing of the season, allowed 5 runs (4 earned) on 5 hits and 2 walks in 5 innings against the Razorbacks. He struck out six.