Kendall Diggs explains his approach on walk-off home run to beat Texas A&M
Arkansas designated hitter Kendall Diggs came through in the clutch Wednesday against Texas A&M. Facing a 2-1 count in the bottom of the 11th, Diggs crushed a pitch to deep right field for a walk-off home run to give the Razorbacks a 6-5 victory.
The home run capped off a comeback for Arkansas, which found itself trailing 4-1 entering the seventh inning. After rounding the bases and celebrating the win with his teammates, Diggs joined the SEC Network broadcast to offer his perspective heading into the at-bat.
“I went in there and I wanted to make him come to me so he came at me with his first pitch, a fastball,” he said. “The next two were maybe a ball down. Really good pitches. But I knew he was gonna bring it to me there with a 2-1 count. He doesn’t want to get that leadoff runner on, so just trying to put a good swing on it and it worked out well.”
The home run for Diggs was the Razorbacks’ second of the day. The first came during the bottom of the seventh inning, when Jared Wegner connected with the first pitch in his at-bat to hit a grand slam to left field and give Arkansas a 5-4 lead.
“I know Wegner definitely got all of that one,” Diggs said. “That had nothing to do with the wind. I think they were some really good swings. I think it was carrying pretty well. It was a fun one. Ready to keep going.”
After a scoreless eighth inning from both teams, A&M scored again in the top of the ninth on a home run of its own from Austin Bost. That was the second homer of the day for the Aggies and tied the game at 5 to force extra innings after the defense held in the bottom of the inning.
Diggs is in his second season at Arkansas and has certainly made big strides since his freshman year. After hitting three home runs last season, the one he hit Wednesday brought his season total this year to 11. That is good for third on the team and his batting average on the year is .314.
“It’s been a blast,” he said. “Last year there was a lot of ups and downs, some really cool moments, but also some not very fun moments. That’s part of baseball. But this past year, I’ve really matured mentally, which is a huge part of baseball. Just slowing the game down and having confidence in myself. It’s been really fun.”
The the win Saturday, Arkansas moves on to the third round of the SEC Tournament to face LSU on Thursday. Start time for that contest is at 4:30 p.m. CT, and Diggs will hope to stay hot.
“I think every single one of us, it’s one of the most selfless groups I’ve ever been around,” he said. “We’re playing for each other. The injuries and all that kind of stuff, we’re playing for them. They’d do anything to be out there, so just putting ’em on our back and having fun with it.”