Mississippi State’s hitters made sure the expected pitchers’ duel between D.J. Baxendale and Chris Stratton never materialized.

The Bulldogs scored twice in each of the first four innings to knock Baxendale, Arkansas’ All-America ace, out of the game and they went on to rout the Razorbacks 11-2 in the opener of a weekend series in Starkville.

Hunter Renfroe homered twice and drove in four runs for Mississippi State (16-7, 2-2 Southeastern Conference), while Adam Frazier and Mitch Slauter each had three hits and scored two runs.

Renfroe’s inside-the-park home run in the bottom of the first inning gave Mississippi State a 2-0 lead, and he hit one over the left field wall in the third inning to make it 6-0.

Trey Porter’s two-run single in the fourth stretched the lead to 8-0 and knocked Baxendale out of the game. The junior right-hander allowed eight runs on nine hits, in just three innings.

Stratton (5-0), meanwhile, was sharp. The reigning SEC Pitcher of the Week allowed two runs on five hits over seven innings. He struck out nine and walked two.

Tim Carver drove in the first run for Arkansas (20-3, 3-1) in the third inning with an infield groundout, while Sam Bates doubled in a run.

Ole Miss 11, Alabama 7

Ole Miss exploded for seven runs in the seventh inning, and beat Alabama in the opener of a three-game series.

Andrew Mistone went 2-for-5 with four RBIs, two of them on a single during the seventh-inning rally, for Ole Miss (16-6, 2-2 SEC). Alex Yarbrough drove in three runs, while Tanner Mathis and Will Allen had three hits apiece.

Taylor Dugas went 4-for-5 with a solo home run for Alabama (8-13, 0-4), which lost its fifth straight game. Ben Moore and Brett Booth knocked in two runs apiece.

Alabama needed three pitchers to get through the seventh inning. Relievers Ian Gardeck and Jake Hubbard faced a combined eight batters and got only one out. They gave up seven runs on six hits, in their one-third of an inning.

USM 8, Houston 0

Andrew Pierce had 15 strikeouts in seven innings, and Ashley Graeter and Joe Martin drove in three runs apiece as Southern Miss opened its Conference USA schedule with a shutout of Houston (9-11, 0-1 C-USA).

Pierce allowed seven hits and no walks in his seven innings on the mound. His 15 strikeouts were the most ever by a Southern Miss player in a nine-inning game. The school record is 19 set by Fred Waters against Loyola (N.O.) in a 14-inning contest in 1948.

Chase Horn threw the last two innings and added two more strikeouts to USM’s total to complete the team’s second straight shutout. It’s the first time the Golden Eagles have posted back-to-back shutouts since doing it against Houston in 2007.

Graeter hit a three-run homer in the first inning and finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored.