FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Razorback freshman Kendall Diggs stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning with two runners on base in a 3-3 game.
In the post-game broadcast on ESPN2, Diggs said he told himself "positive things only, especially in that situation."
And positive things did happen.
Diggs destroyed a three-run, walk-off home run into the Saturday night sky and off the Hunt Center in right field, sending the capacity crowd at Baum-Walker Stadium into a frenzy and lifting No. 5 Arkansas to the 6-3 win over Ole Miss.
The win ties up the series for the Hogs after they dropped Friday night's game 4-2.
Diggs' walk-off homer was the Razorbacks' third home run of the game, the method through which they scored all of their runs on the night.
Brady Slavens opened the scoring in the bottom of the first with a solo home run to put the Hogs up 1-0.
But from there, Ole Miss responded with solo home runs of their own in the following two innings by TJ McCants and Tim Elko to take a 2-1 lead.
Arkansas retook the lead in the sixth inning when Braydon Webb launched a two-run homerun into the Hog Pen in left field to put the Razorbacks up 3-2.
Hagen Smith exited after six full innings, settling in after allowing the two home runs to give Arkansas a quality start while striking out seven batters in the process.
Ole Miss was able to get runners on third and second with no outs in the 7th, but Evan Taylor entered in relief and got Arkansas out of the jam.
Another jam ensued in the 8th, as the Rebels loaded the bases with no outs. Brady Tygart entered to sort things out, and got the Hogs out of it mostly unscathed, but Ole Miss pushed across the tying run on a double play.
That set the stage then for someone to be the hero on the night in the ninth inning, and that's when Diggs stepped up in the clutch for the Hogs.
The freshman forced a full count, before sending the seventh pitch he saw over the right field wall for the walk-off no doubter.
Sunday's rubber match is set for 12 pm on ESPN.
