FAYETTEVILLE -- Wehiwa Aloy hit his third grand slam of the season in the first inning and the No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks piled it on from there in a 12-7 slugfest win over Missouri State on Tuesday night.
The University of Arkansas (38-7) continued its home dominance by improving to 30-2 at Baum-Walker Stadium before an announced crowd of 9,890, and improved to 11-0 in midweek nonconference games.
The Razorbacks have a chance to complete a perfect midweek record for the first time since going 9-0 in 2005 in Wednesday's 4 p.m. game against the Bears (18-25).
Arkansas built a 9-0 lead through three innings behind Gage Wood (3-1) before the Bears rallied back into contention.
Wood said he enjoyed the start.
"I was as comfortable as you can get, I guess," Wood said. "It was more fun than anything. ... Our bats were great tonight and that's awesome."
Aloy's grand slam was the sixth for the Razorbacks and the first since fellow Hawaiian Nolan Souza launched one in a 13-0 win over Arkansas State on April 2. Aloy, who leads the team with 11 homers, also hit four-run shots in a 9-7 win over Central Arkansas on March 5 and in an 11-0 win over Arkansas-Little Rock on March 26.
The Razorbacks notched four-run innings in the first and third and scored in each of the first four frames before left-handed reliever Tyler Charlton blanked them in the fifth.
"Our nemesis all year has been giving up the big innings, and we gave up four in the first and then we gave up another four later," Missouri State Coach Keith Guttin said. "That's something that's hurt us."
By the fourth inning every Razorback had reached base when Jayson Jones stroked an RBI single into right field to make it 11-4.
Jared Sprague-Lott hit his sixth home run, a solo shot off Jake Syverson, in the eighth inning to make it 12-7 and give the Hogs a little more breathing room.
Sprague-Lott and Peyton Holt, hitting in the two hole for the second time this season, led the Razorbacks with two hits.
Wood, a sophomore from Batesville, made the first start of his college career and the right-hander cashed in with a strong 43-pitch performance through three innings. Wood faced the minimum of nine batters and allowed one hit, a one-out single in the third to Logan Chambers, who was erased by catcher Hudson White on a stolen base attempt.
"I thought Gage Wood came out and did a great job, gave us three really good innings," Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said.
Some of the Arkansas relievers were off their game, as the Hogs allowed six walks and hit three batters. Four of the walks came around to score.
Chambers, whose recruitment from Crowder (Mo.) College was at the center of a flare-up between Van Horn and Tennessee Coach Tony Vitello in 2022, had a big game with a pair of hits and two runs driven in.
However, in a matchup of Bryant High products, Chambers struck out against Will McEntire in his clean sixth inning. McEntire had his first scoreless outing in six appearances, since back-to-back strong appearances against Ole Miss on April 4 and 6.
Cooper Dossett relieved in the fourth and got into a mess. Dossett recorded 1 out and allowed 4 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks. It marked the first time in six appearances the Springdale Har-Ber product had given up a run since allowing two in an 8-6 loss at Auburn on March 23.
Van Horn opened the game against lefty Brendan Beaver (2-3) with left-handed hitting Peyton Stovall leading off, followed by eight consecutive right-handed bats and Arkansas attacked in the opening frame.
Stovall laced an opposite-field single to left to beat the shift on a 1-2 pitch, then Peyton Holt and Jared Sprague-Lott hit singles to load the bases. Aloy jumped on the first pitch he saw from Beaver for a 406-foot drive over the centerfield wall, just beyond the leap of 6-6 Caden Bogenpohl for a 4-0 lead.
In the Hogs' big third inning, Aloy and Ryder Helfrick walked to set up Jack Wagner's RBI single, Hudson White's RBI double and Stovall's two-run single.
Missouri State catcher Dylan Leach, making his return to Arkansas after playing in 2021-22 for the Hogs, was 0 for 2 with an RBI hit-by-pitch before having to leave the game in the eighth when Aloy's bat his his left forearm on the follow through of his swing. Guttin said an early examination on Leach did not appear to show a broken bone.
The Bears also put the hurt on Arkansas reliever Parker Coil, who entered in the seventh with Arkansas up 11-4.
Caden Bogenpohl and Cody Kelly worked leadoff walks against the lefty, the latter after a dropped foul pop by the catcher White, before Taeg Gallert drilled a three-run home run, his eighth of the year, over the left field wall to pull the Bears back within 11-7.
Van Horn said freshman lefty Colin Fisher is dealing with an injury and getting extra opinions but would not pitch this week. The designated hitter Wagner had to come out with a right leg issue while batting in the sixth and was replaced by Ben McLaughlin, who joined Aloy by playing in all 45 games. Van Horn said the trainers were not sure if Wagner suffered a cramp or some kind of muscle problem.