Razorbacks figure out Longhorns' pitching quickly; blasting No. 1 Texas

Arkansas breezes past top SEC starter to snap rival's winning streak while Root dominating for Hogs

Arkansas Razorbacks pitcher Zach Root throws a pitch against the Texas Longhorns. The Razorbacks blanked the Longhorns 9-0 in the series opener. | Nilsen Roman-HogsSI Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — No. 1 Texas allowed five runs or more in just five of its first 21 SEC games. It took Arkansas took just three innings to score five off the back of two homers to cruise to a 9-0 win and pick up a game in the SEC standings.

In the first matchup as conference foes since 1991, Arkansas snapped the Longhorns' 10-game winning streak and handed Texas its first conference loss since April 12.

The two starters for the game were trending in opposite directions coming into the game.

Texas starter Ruger Riojas allowed just one run in his previous 8 2/3 innings of work while Arkansas starter Zach Root allowed 11 runs over the past two weekends.

Those stats would prove deceptive as Riojas allowed a season-high nine runs and saw his season ERA jump from 2.98 to 4.19.

"They played awesome," Texas coach Jim Schlossnagle said. "Pitching, defense, timely hitting. They did all of it. We did none of it."

Root rebounded from his recent woes and turned in the longest outing of any Razorback starter this season. No other starter had lasted longer than six innings since Root went 7 2/3 against Vanderbilt on March 28.

"He didn’t start nibbling and looking for strikeouts," coach Dave Van Horn said. "He was just trying to get outs. It seemed like his breaking ball got a little better maybe the second half of the game it got a little tighter."

With Logan Maxwell out of the lineup, Carson Boles got the start in right field and got the scoring started with a two-run homer to left.

Touch 'em all, @carson_b1! pic.twitter.com/4kdSN9CsVo

— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) May 1, 2025

Riojas went deep into his bag of tricks to try and get the Razorbacks out, throwing three eephus pitches in three different at-bats all under 60 miles an hour. Cam Kozeal, getting the start at second base didn't let the quirks bother him.

After Riojas threw a eephus pitch earlier in the at-bat, Kozeal blasted a three-run shot on a 3-2 pitch with two outs over 25 miles faster.

411 FEET AND NO DOUBT ABOUT IT pic.twitter.com/ejgdR3qJVH

— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) May 1, 2025

Root just mowed down a Texas lineup that had no answer. The lefty allowed just four baserunners and just one runner to reach second base, setting a new career-high in strikeouts with 11 and innings (eight).

"The starting pitching hasn’t been the best on the team," Root said. "[It's] not where everyone wants it to be. Just going out there and having a really good start was really important for all the hitters so they can get a little more relaxed and not play from behind all the time."

ZACH ROOT IS A BAAAAD MAN!

That's a career-high 11 strikeouts pic.twitter.com/QFTMgAasaE

— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) May 2, 2025

Will McEntire pitched a scoreless ninth with three strikeouts to cap the shutout.

Arkansas now climbs back to within four games of the SEC title race and also picks up half a game on LSU, who came into the day tied with Arkansas for second place.

The Tigers will start a Friday-Sunday series on the road against Texas A&M. Game two between Arkansas and Texas is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday and will be broadcast on SEC Network.

News and Notes:

Bottom of the Lineup Produces:
Arkansas' bottom four hitters all got on base multiple times and finished the game a combined 4-for-10 and got on base nine times. All nine Razorback hitters also got a hit and struck out just eight times compared to 14 for the Longhorns.

Rivalry Shutout:
Arkansas shutout Texas for just the seventh time in school history in the 91st game of the series. The last time the Hogs shut out the Longhorns was in 2021 in Arlington. Texas now leads the all-time series 56-35, but the Hogs have won eight of the last 10.