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.