It took a while to get there, but once again Arkansas proved to be too much for the Gamecocks in Fayetteville.
Trailing 2-0 early on Sunday, the Razorbacks clawed back, took the lead, and then separated from USC with a seven-run eighth inning to pull out an 11-4 triumph and sweep their SEC series with Carolina. Arkansas outscored the Gamecocks 35-9 over the weekend to remain in a tie for first place in the conference standings. Meanwhile, the Gamecocks tumble to 1-5 in the SEC and 17-8 overall with a date against North Carolina on the horizon.
Sunday didn’t start off as if it would be an easy win for Arkansas; as a matter of fact, the Gamecocks jumped to the lead right off the bat.
On the second pitch of the game, USC’s Nathan Hall blasted a home run to right field to give Carolina its first lead of the weekend. In the second inning, Beau Hollins extended that advantage to 2-0 with a solo home run to left field.
Arkansas answered right back with a pair of solo home runs themselves in both the second and third innings to tie the game at 2-2. Those first four long balls were just a sneak peek at the day as the two teams combined to hit seven, including a grand slam in the eighth inning by Arkansas’ Brent Iredale that broke the game wide open. Ryder Helfrick hit two homers on the day, one in the second and one in the eighth, to bookend the Razorbacks’ scoring.
Midweek starter Jarvis Evans, Jr., opened the game on the mound for USC after scheduled starter Dylan Eskew was injured on Saturday. Jack Veltri of Gamecock Central reported a USC spokesperson told him that Eskew was hit in the head by a home run that landed in the bullpen during batting practice yesterday. He was going through concussion protocol on Sunday, so Evans made his fifth start of the season. The junior left-hander worked just three innings, allowing two runs on five hits with three strikeouts.
The border battle between USC and UNC is set for Tuesday night at 7pm in Charlotte.