So, Joe unties it, comfort found

Joe Serrano of Arkansas heads to first after an RBI single to take the lead against Mississippi State during the eighth inning Friday, April 24, 2015, at Baum Stadium.
Joe Serrano of Arkansas heads to first after an RBI single to take the lead against Mississippi State during the eighth inning Friday, April 24, 2015, at Baum Stadium.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Shoeless Joe came through for Arkansas Friday night.

Arkansas senior left fielder Joe Serrano -- who didn't wear his shoes during a postgame interview -- hit a go-ahead single with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Razorbacks rallied to beat Mississippi State 7-6 at Baum Stadium before an announced crowd of 3,927.

Serrano's two-out hit to left field scored Clark Eagan from second base after Eagan's two-out single scored Brett McAfee to it it 6-6.

Mississippi State reliever Trevor Fitts threw Serrano a 1-1 curveball.

"I knew the guy was throwing nothing but off-speed pitches, so I sat on a pitch and thankfully I hit it hard," Serrano said. "It felt good to give us the lead back, but I just did what anybody else in the lineup would do.

"I think if you would have replaced me with anybody else in the lineup they would have done the exact same thing I did. I have that much confidence in our team."

Arkansas improved to 11-3 in April, including two victories at Texas A&M last weekend when the Aggies were ranked No. 1.

"When we get on a roll, it's almost like nobody can beat us," Serrano said. "It feels like even though we might be down, we're never out of it."

Mississippi State (22-20, 6-13) took a 6-5 lead in the top of the eighth inning on Wes Rea's two-run home run with two outs on a 1-2 fastball from Arkansas reliever Zach Jackson.

"When they hit the two-run homer, we didn't get all uptight about it," Razorbacks Coach Dave Van Horn said. "We just came in and said, 'Hey, we're down a run in the eighth inning and we get last at-bats.'

"We just tried to keep everybody under control and thinking we could win."

Serrano said he was confident the Razorbacks (25-17, 10-9 SEC) would find a way to win.

"I just think all the guys -- the pitching staff and the hitters -- we're not getting tense when we get down," Serrano said. "It's just like, 'We're down, we've been here before. Let's just hit or pitch our way out of this,' and that's what we seem to do."

Rea, a senior first baseman, went 5 for 5 and drove in 5 runs.

"We couldn't find a way to get Wes Rea out," Van Horn said. "He single-handedly got after us pretty good."

Eagan hit a home run in the fourth inning to put Arkansas ahead 5-1, but Rea then helped the Bulldogs take the lead with four RBI in his final two at-bats, including a two-out, two-run single in the sixth inning.

"It was just a gritty comeback win," Van Horn said. "We didn't play great.

"We pitched just good enough and we got a couple of timely hits. I just feel fortunate to win the game."

Jackson (4-0) pitched the final 3 2/3 innings after coming in for Arkansas started Trey Killian.

Mississippi State took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Rea's RBI single, but Killian left the bases loaded by striking out Brent Rooker and John Holland swinging after falling behind in the counts 3-0 and 3-1.

Arkansas scored four runs in the third inning, including a two-run, two-out double by Bobby Wernes, to go ahead 4-1.

The Razorbacks tied it 1-1 when Tucker Pennell -- who hit a leadoff double and went to third on Eagan's bunt single-- scored on a grounder by Serrano.

Serrano was safe on an error by Rea, who didn't have his foot on first base. Benintendi followed with a single to load the bases and Eagan scored on a wild pitch to make it 2-1.

Van Horn said that on Serrano's single in the eighth inning, it was clear when the ball came out Fitts' right hand it was elevated and off-speed.

"Joe saw it quick and he stayed back just enough, and then he hammered it," Van Horn said. "The shortstop almost got to it, but it was hit so hard that it was a really tough play."

Arkansas center fielder Andrew Benintendi went 3 for 4 with three singles and a walk to reach base 13 consecutive times going back to his final nine plate appearances at Texas A&M last weekend.

"That was a pretty good streak right there," Van Horn said. "That's crazy."

Jackson threw 77 pitches but said he wants to play Sunday if needed.

"I'm going to do everything I can to be ready," Jackson said. "If it's the ninth inning and it's close game, I'm going to want to be in there."

Sports on 04/25/2015

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