Chris Lanzilli was not fooled by the changeup. The ball left his bat at 106 miles-per-hour and traveled beyond the left field wall.
It was the first of many impressive hitting moments for Arkansas, which had zero trouble with the No. 2 overall seed Stanford, 17-2, in the first round of the College World Series.
Lanzilli’s homer broke a 1-all tie with the Cardinal with one out in the fifth and the Razorbacks piled on from there. Arkansas racked up 21 hits, seven of which went for extra bases, in the easy win.
The Diamond Hogs will now get the winner of Auburn and Ole Miss. Those two meet Saturday night.
Every Arkansas starter had at least two hits, paced by Michael Turner’s 4-for-6 day. Peyton Stovall knocked in four runners and Cayden Wallace knocked in another three.
Alex Williams, the PAC 12 Pitcher of the Year, went 4 1/3 innings, giving up eight hits and two walks while striking out six and allowing five runs.
Robert Moore added the fifth run to Williams’ tally after the Cardinal starter left the game. Moore’s single to right served as the exit for Williams, but after Jalen Battles walked and Peyton Stovall hit into a fielder’s choice, Moore scored from third base on a wild pitch by Ryan Bruno.
An RBI single by nine-hole hitter Zack Gregory tacked on another run off Bruno to make it 6-1. That was that.
Every Arkansas batter had reached base at least once by the fifth. The Diamond Hogs lineup finished with 21 hits and seven walks.
Meanwhile, Arkansas starter Connor Noland mowed down the Stanford lineup. He worked 7 2/3 innings, helping his bullpen in the short week in Omaha, Nebraska, giving up just six hits.
Arkansas wasted little time opening the scoring. Braydon Webb led off the game with a triple and he scored two batters later on Cayden Wallace’s sacrifice fly.
Stanford tied things in the bottom of the inning in even faster fashion. Brock Jones took the third pitch of the game from Arkansas starter Connor Noland to deep left field over the wall.
Arkansas will get either the Tigers or Rebels on Monday night. The Razorbacks won SEC series against both during the regular season.