Arkansas blanks Southern Cal in series opener

Arkansas third baseman Casey Martin tags Southern Cal base runner Angelo Armenta during a game Friday, March 2, 2018, in Fayetteville.
Arkansas third baseman Casey Martin tags Southern Cal base runner Angelo Armenta during a game Friday, March 2, 2018, in Fayetteville.

Arkansas 4, USC 0 - Final

Freshman right-hander Jackson Rutledge allowed a one-out walk in the ninth, but induced a couple of groundouts to record his first save. Rutledge allowed 1 hit, walked 1 and struck out 2, and needed 43 pitches in 3 innings.

Perhaps most importantly for Arkansas (8-2), Rutledge saved the bullpen for the rest of the weekend when it appeared at one point the Razorbacks might have to rely on multiple relievers.

USC (7-2) stranded eight base runners. Arkansas out-hit the Trojans 8-7.

The Razorbacks have shutouts on consecutive days. Arkansas beat Dayton 11-0 on Thursday.

The teams play again Saturday at 2 p.m.

Arkansas 4, USC 0 - End 8th Inning

Dominic Fletcher reached on a one-out single, but was unable to score as Grant Koch and Jared Gates grounded out to the left side of the infield.

Jackson Rutledge is back on the mound looking for a three-out save. He has looked good so far.

Arkansas 4, USC 0 - Middle 8th Inning

Jackson Rutledge retired all three USC batters in the eighth, just the second time today the Trojans have gone down in order. It would appear Rutledge will get a chance to record a three-inning save because no Arkansas pitchers are warming up in the bullpen.

Arkansas 4, USC 0 - End 7th Inning

Eric Cole reached on a two-out single and stole second, but the inning ended when Heston Kjerstad struck out swinging.

Arkansas 4, USC 0 - Middle 7th Inning

Jackson Rutledge worked around a two-out single to keep the Trojans scoreless. USC has stranded seven runners today.

Arkansas 4, USC 0 - Middle 6th Inning

Carson Shaddy and Jax Biggers teamed up to turn a double play, and USC is still scoreless.

Blaine Knight probably will not come out for another inning, having thrown 98 pitches. He has done a good job of bouncing back from some shaky innings early. He has allowed 6 hits, struck out 4 and walked 1.

Arkansas 4, USC 0 - End 5th Inning

The Razorbacks added another run on a fielder's choice RBI for Luke Bonfield. USC third baseman Angelo Armenta bobbled the ball a little, which he kept him from going to home to try and tag Eric Cole.

Arkansas 3, USC 0 - Bottom 5th Inning

Arkansas has something going in the bottom of the fifth. Jax Biggers and Eric Cole each drew one-out walks, then Heston Kjerstad followed with his team-leading 12th RBI of the year on an opposite-way grounder between first and second.

Cole moved to third on the hit with a good piece of running from first to third.

Arkansas 2, USC 0 - Middle 5th Inning

Blaine Knight's first perfect inning of the day came in the fifth. He retired the Trojans' top three hitters in 15 pitches, punctuated by a strikeout of three-hole hitter Brandon Perez.

Arkansas 2, USC 0 - Middle 4th Inning

Blaine Knight is struggling with his command today. He walked the leadoff batter in the fourth for the second consecutive inning, which warranted a visit from pitching coach Wes Johnson.

A base-running error by USC gave the Razorbacks a second out before Knight struck out nine-hole hitter Chase Bushor to end the inning, stranding the sixth Trojan runner today.

Knight is up to 73 pitches. Arkansas has sent Jake Reindl, Matt Cronin, Evan Lee, Cody Scroggins and Jackson Rutledge to the bullpen.

Arkansas 2, USC 0 - End 3rd Inning

The heart of the Arkansas order went down in order in the third inning. USC right-hander Chris Clarke has settled down since the home run, retiring seven of the past nine batters. Arkansas is making contact against Clarke, but they have mostly been easy outs.

Arkansas 2, USC 0 - Middle 3rd Inning

The Trojans put two more on base in the third on a hit and an error. Grant Koch had the highlight of the inning when he gunned down Matthew Acosta trying to steal second for the first out. Acosta reached on an error by Arkansas first baseman Jared Gates.

Arkansas 2, USC 0 - End 2nd Inning

The Razorbacks had a two-out rally when Carson Shaddy was hit by a pitch and Casey Martin singled, but the inning ended when Jax Biggers flied out to deep left field.

Arkansas 2, USC 0 - Middle 2nd Inning

USC put its first two batters on base in the second, but Knight worked around the jam with the help of some good defensive plays. Notably, third baseman Casey Martin made a good looking play on a bunt for the first out and first baseman Jared Gates caught a hot shot to end the inning.

Knight is up to 38 pitches through two innings.

Arkansas 2, USC 0 - Bottom 1st Inning

Luke Bonfield's two-run home run with two outs has put the Razorbacks on the board. Bonfield smoked a 0-1 pitch from USC right-hander Chris Clarke into the Hog Pen in left field.

Bonfield's homer scored Jax Biggers, who reached on a leadoff single.

Arkansas 0, USC 0 - Middle 1st Inning

Blaine Knight didn't have an easy first inning. He allowed a one-out single, had a balk and hit a batter, but stranded two USC base runners when he struck out Blake Sabol looking at a low 1-2 fastball.

Knight threw 19 pitches in the inning.

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