FAYETTEVILLE — Mississippi State nearly escaped the fourth inning with minimal damage during its series finale against Arkansas.
The Bulldogs’ starting pitcher, Jackson Fristoe, had struggled by allowing a solo home run, single and walk to start the inning, but he had navigated his way past Razorback sluggers Christian Franklin and Casey Opitz, and was ahead 1-2 in a two-out count against Arkansas shortstop Jalen Battles.
But as the No. 2 Razorbacks have done all season, they dug in and made Fristoe’s job hard. Battles shortened his swing, took a ball and fouled off a pitch, then hit a hard grounder off the glove of diving third baseman Kamren James. James tried to throw Battles out at first base, but threw the ball away.
Two runs scored and another Arkansas two-out rally was born.
Robert Moore followed with an RBI triple to right field, and Jacob Nesbit singled to center field to score Moore.
Fristoe, who had been one strike away from preserving a 1-0 deficit, was taken out of the game with Arkansas ahead 5-0.
“If Battles doesn’t get it done right there, we score but it’s probably a little deflating and Mississippi State probably has some momentum because they feel like they got out of a jam,” Arkansas hitting coach Nate Thompson said. “Instead it turns into a five spot."
All of Arkansas’ two-out RBI hits during the fourth inning came with two strikes.
“I can imagine it’s extremely deflating,” said Matt Goodheart, who began the fourth-inning rally with a solo home run. “I know that being on the other side of it is probably tiring. It probably gets old because you’re facing a lineup that refuses to give in and is absolutely relentless in what they’re doing. I think that’s a huge part of who we want to be and what we want our identity to be as a lineup.”
The Razorbacks (19-3) have been gritty with two outs this season. Arkansas enters its midweek game against Central Arkansas on Tuesday with a two-out batting average of .266. Sixty of the Razorbacks’ 140 RBI have come with two outs.
Arkansas has scored 70 runs with two outs.
“It’s a credit to our guys and just their resiliency and toughness, and their commitment to competing with their best and having a really good approach,” Thompson said. “They’re doing what it takes in that moment to win the pitch, to win the at-bat, and drive the run in.
“It’s like you’re building a house and it’s brick by brick. You just put a quality at-bat upon a quality at-bat and pretty soon you’ve got a pretty good place to live.”
During their 7-game winning streak, the Razorbacks have 23 hits and 25 RBI when down to their final out in an inning.
Arkansas had 11 RBI with two outs during its weekend sweep at Mississippi State.
“We always talk about getting two-out hits, but it really is about making two-out pitches and it’s about making two-out plays,” Mississippi State coach Chris Lemonis said following the series, “and we didn’t get off the field this weekend, and it kills us.”
Two-out rallies have been a hallmark of some of the Razorbacks’ biggest wins this year. Arkansas scored 3 runs with 2 outs during a 5-run ninth inning on Feb. 20 when it defeated Texas Tech 13-9 in the season opener in Arlington, Texas.
The following day, the Razorbacks were 5 for 13 and scored all of their runs with two outs during a 4-0 victory over Texas in Arlington.
Arkansas tied a season high with seven two-out runs during its 11-6 victory over Murray State on March 6. Murray State led the game by four runs in the second inning.
The Razorbacks also had seven two-out runs during a 14-1 victory over Memphis last Tuesday. Arkansas scored all of its runs with two outs during a 3-1 series-clinching victory over Alabama on March 21.
Arkansas first baseman Brady Slavens has a team-best 13 RBI with two outs this season. Four of Slavens’ six home runs have come when the Razorbacks are down to their final out in an inning.
The two-out home run has been key to the Razorbacks racking up run totals late in innings. Goodheart hit a two-out, two-run homer during the sixth inning of the second game against Mississippi State. It was Arkansas’ 13th home run with two outs this year.
Christian Franklin hit a three-run home run with two outs an inning earlier.
“You just put pressure on the pitcher all game long until he cracks,” Thompson said.
“He makes a mistake and then, boom, here we go.”
Nine of Arkansas’ two-out homers have come with a runner on base. The two-out homer has produced 24 runs for the Razorbacks.
Goodheart’s two-out home run against Mississippi State last Saturday gave Arkansas an 8-5 lead. He said it changed the game.
“It put them at a larger deficit,” Goodheart said. “Mississippi State can really swing the bats and in the blink of an eye they can be knocking on the door, ready to tie the game, ready to take the lead.
“Whenever you create a larger deficit for them to overcome, it definitely gives our defense and our (pitching) staff a chance to have some breathing room.”
Thompson said two-out hitting can be the difference in winning and losing in the SEC.
“We just focus on winning pitches, and as long as we can win pitches, we can win at-bats," Thompson said. "As long as we win at-bats, we can win innings.”