FAYETTEVILLE — University of Arkansas-Little Rock pitchers had trouble throwing strikes Tuesday night.
When the Trojans’ pitchers did find the plate, the University of Arkansas players hit the ball.
The No. 6 Razorbacks had 13 hits, including home runs by designated hitter Jace Bohrofen and shortstop Harold Coll, and took advantage of 15 walks to beat the Trojans 21-5 at Baum Walker Stadium.
The game ended after UALR batted in the top of the seventh inning because of the 10-run rule.
“Taking our walks when we can, and just hitting singles, not trying to get too big and hit a home run every time,” Bohrofen said of what make Arkansas’ offensive effective. “It can be really easy during mid-week games to get outside of your approach, but when you stick to it, you can put up a lot of runs like we did tonight.”
Arkansas (26-6) had 31 total base runners, including three who reached after being hit by pitches.
“I thought the offense did a great job of not trying to do too much,” Razorbacks Coach Dave Van Horn said. “They passed it to the next guy.
“If they threw a strike, take a swing. But if they were in a hitter’s count, they let pitches go by that they didn’t like. We got in a lot of hitter’s counts.”
Eleven Razorbacks who walked came around to score.
“They are very good for a reason, but they don’t need any help,” UALR Coach Chris Curry said. “That was the frustrating and disappointing thing — how much we gave them.
“That’s not to discredit them, because they did a great job of executing and capitalizing.”
Arkansas advanced base runners 24 times in 33 opportunities (72.7%).
“I think that’s a pretty good percentage,” Van Horn said. “I’ll take that all year long.”
Arkansas right fielder Hunter Grimes, making his second start, walked three times, including twice in the first inning and had three RBI.
“I think we might have tied a record tonight because I don’t know if it could be harder to walk twice in one inning,” Van Horn said. “I haven’t seen too many guys get up twice in one inning. I don’t know if I ever have, maybe once.”
Bohrofen and Coll each hit two-run home runs in the third inning to extend Arkansas’ lead to 15-2. The Razorbacks have hit at least one home run in 28 consecutive games.
Bohrofen went 2 for 4 with 4 runs batted in and Call was 2 for 4 with 3 RBI, and each scored 3 runs.
Second baseman Peyton Holt, making his sixth start with Peyton Stovall getting the game off, was 2 for 3 with 2 RBI and 4 runs.
“You don’t see a lot of 21-run games, especially at this level of baseball,” Holt said. “To see up and down the lineup everyone having some success, it’s pretty fun.”
Five Razorbacks who normally aren’t in the SEC lineup got on base.
“Especially the guys that don’t get to play very often, [it’s good] seeing them come in on these games and get a little bit of a taste and have success,” Bohrofen said. “Really trying to pull for those guys is big for team morale and a chemistry boost for sure.”
Arkansas sent 14 hitters to the plate and scored nine runs in the bottom of the first inning to take a 9-2 lead.
The Razorbacks drew seven walks and had four hits in the inning against three UALR pitchers as starter Chance Vaught, Camden Sargent and Scott McDonough all struggled with their control. They combined to throw 65 pitches, including 35 balls.
Vaught got Josenberger on a flyout, then the next nine Arkansas hitters reached base and scored — capped by Josenberger after he drew a walk.
It was the third time this season the Razorbacks scored at least nine runs in an inning. Arkansas scored 10 runs in the sixth inning of a 12-2 victory over Southeast Missouri State on March 21 and scored nine runs in the third inning of a 15-6 victory over Louisiana Tech on March 12.
The Trojans (17-12) scored three runs off Arkansas relievers Ben McLaughlin and Sean Fitzpatrick in the sixth inning to make it 21-5.
“It really affects [the players’] psyche when all of a sudden you go from being up 2-0 to very quick being down 9-2,” Curry said. “And then we have to start managing our bullpen because teams are keeping conference play in mind.”
Fitzpatrick left two base runners stranded with two strikeouts and a groundout. He left the bases loaded in the seventh inning when he got Jaxson Anderson on a groundout to end the game.
UALR took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Arkansas starter Cody Adcock labored through 26 pitches and threw 12 strikes.
Alex Seguine hit a leadoff single and scored a groundout by Nico Baumbach, who scored on a two-out single by Luke Pectol.
Adcock then worked three scoreless innings and finished with 70 pitches before McLaughlin came on to pitch in the fifth.
“I’m not worried about him pitching this weekend right now,” Van Horn said when asked about Adcock’s status for the Razorbacks’ series against No. 12 Tennessee that opens Friday night. “We just need to get him going. It didn’t go very good.
“We just wanted to get him out there to throw the ball over the plate, see if he could get them out.
“He struggled the first inning, maybe even the second inning. He got a little bit better. It looked like he settled down.
“To me, he’s a little jittery, he’s a little wound up. He’s got to calm down, and we’re trying to get him there. But thank goodness our offense kicked it into gear and gave us an opportunity to leave him out there for a while. Because if we wouldn’t have scored, he wouldn’t have stayed out there.”
But the Razorbacks did have a big answer in the first inning and kept scoring.