Arkansas beats Northwestern State 5-2

Arkansas beats Northwsestern State to finish its midweek regular season schedule with a 5-2 victory over Northwestern State Wednesday afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium, improving to 30-16 on the year and 10-2 in midweek games.

The Hogs trailed early after Northwestern State scored twice in the top of the first inning, but the pitching staff shut down the Demons the rest of the way. Starter Tate McGuire worked two innings before the bullpen took over and combined for seven scoreless frames to close out the win.

Colin Fisher led the relief corps with four innings of work and three strikeouts. Steele Eaves, Parker Coil and Ethan McElvain each added a scoreless inning, with Eaves earning the win to move to 5-1 on the season and McElvain recording his team-leading fifth save.

Arkansas answered the early deficit with five unanswered runs. Carter Rutenbar drove in the first two runs, connecting on a sacrifice fly to center in the second inning and a single to left in the fourth to tie the game at 2-2. Rutenbar finished 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI, pushing his season slash line to a team-leading .330/.452/.459 across 37 games.

Arkansas beats Teams with Strong Performances

Maika Niu’s go-ahead sacrifice fly in the seventh gave the Hogs the lead for good. Kuhio Aloy followed with a single through the left side to push the advantage to 4-2, capping a two-hit, two-run afternoon for the sophomore. Ryder Helfrick drove in the final run on an RBI single to left in the eighth. Camden Kozeal also posted a multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with a run scored.

Arkansas wrapped the midweek slate with an 8-1 record in home midweek games at Baum-Walker Stadium this season.

The Hogs return to SEC play this weekend, hosting No. 17 Ole Miss in a three-game series at Baum-Walker Stadium. First pitch Friday is scheduled for 6 p.m. on SEC Network+.

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