Dietz dazzles in Diamond Hogs’ series-opening win over Ole Miss
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas’ bats put on a fiery display on Friday night in the Razorbacks’ series-opening win over Ole Miss, and they were aided by an outstanding performance on the mound by starting lefty Hunter Dietz.
The third-year pitcher who leads the SEC in strikeouts (now with 101 on the season) ended his outing just like he started it — with a strikeout looking. It was his ninth of the night, with all but one coming without the Rebels batter lifting the bat off his shoulder.
“Good as always,” Arkansas catcher Ryder Helfrick said of Dietz’s performance. “I thought he competed hard in the zone with multiple pitches. It’s hard to plan for when you got a good that throws as good of stuff as he does. Throwing as many strikes as he does, it’s really fun catching.”
The Trinity, Florida, native pitched six innings with just one run allowed — a solo home run by Judd Utermark in the sixth inning. He allowed just four hits and walked four batters and threw 61 of his 98 pitches for strikes.
Dietz’s outing started by three straight balls to Hayden Federico, but he rebounded and threw nine of his next 10 pitches for strikes and struck out the side.
“It’s really just staying true to who you are,” Dietz said postgame. “I feel like I throw a lot of strikes. Just because I’m down 3-0…doesn’t really change anything except the mindset. Just get in the zone make them hit it. Like, if I’m going to walk him, I’m not going to make it a four-pitch walk.”
Arkansas got the scoring started early, which allowed Dietz to have some run support behind him while he was on the mound. The Hogs scored three runs in the second inning off a three-run shot to left center field by TJ Pompey and added two more on a home run by Camden Kozeal in the third to give the Hogs a 5-0 cushion.
A leadoff home run by Kuhio Aloy that had a launch angle of 15 degrees and had an exit velocity of 115 mph pushed Arkansas’ lead to 6-0. Utermark’s solo shot in the sixth cut the deficit, but the Hogs responded to that with a five-run inning that started with a leadoff triple by Nolan Souza and was capped off by a three-run home run that bounced off the Hunt Center in right field that broke the game open for good.
Arkansas ended the game off an RBI double from Kuhio Aloy that gave the Hogs a 12-2 lead and a run-rule victory.
The win pushes Arkansas to 12-10 in Southeastern Conference play. The Diamond Hogs will look to win the series against Ole Miss on Saturday. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. and the game will stream on SEC Network+.
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