Arkansas 9, Mississippi St. 3

Sunday, April 8th 2007, 8:48 pm

By: News On 6

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) Nine strikeouts in 7 innings on the mound gave Arkansas's Nick Schmidt his seventh win of the season against no losses and allowed the Razorbacks to get a 9-3 victory that avoided a sweep by Mississippi State.

Tim Smalling led the Razorbacks' offense Sunday at Fayetteville with a 3-run homer that got the scoring started for Arkansas in the 2nd inning. Arkansas's Matt Willard went 3-3 at the plate, scoring twice and sending home a run.

The victory keeps Arkansas on top in the Southeastern Conference's West Division, with an overall record of 25-10, 8-4 in the league. That gives the Razorbacks a 1-game lead over Mississippi State and the Rebels of Ole Miss in the SEC West. The Bulldogs fall to 21-8 and 7-5.

Jeff Flagg led Mississippi State, finishing the day 3-4 with 2 doubles, a home run and all 3 Bulldog RBI's.

Mississippi State starter Josh Johnson was tagged with the loss and is now 2-2. He gave up 4 runs on 6 hits in 3 1-3 innings on the mound.