HawgBeat - Arkansas blows six-run lead, chance at SEC title
An 8-2 advantage disappeared in the eighth inning Friday, and the Diamond Hogs missed out on clinching the SEC title.
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks stood just six outs shy of an SEC championship. A six-run lead with Gage Wood on the mound seemed insurmountable for the struggling Vanderbilt Commodores.
It turned out to be anything but.
Eight runs against three Arkansas pitchers made it a 10-8 game in favor of the home team, a lead which it held onto in the ninth to even the series and deny the Diamond Hogs the conference crown.
"We played a pretty good game," Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said. "Just had a bad eighth inning, obviously."
The Razorbacks got off to a second straight quick start, hanging three runs on their hosts in the top of the first.
Left-hander Devin Futrell, the only established starter pitching for Vanderbilt during the series, surrendered four hits against seven batters, and could have been on the hook for more if not for a play at the plate that went his way.
Right fielder Jace Bohrofen got the party started with a 382-foot home run down the right field line, his team-leading 14th of the season. The line continued to move with a walk to left fielder Jared Wegner and a single from designated hitter Kendall Diggs, both of whom muscled around third on third baseman Caleb Cali’s double to left.
Wegner scored successfully from second, but Commodore shortstop Jonathan Vastine got the relay throw home in time to nail Diggs for the second out. The next pitch bounced its way through the left side for an RBI single for first baseman Brady Slavens.
Both Futrell and Razorback starter Brady Tygart settled into a duel for the next couple innings after that. Eight straight Hogs went down in order, including the top three on strikes. The first eight VandyBoys could muster nothing more than a short flyout to right, and five of them failed to put it in play.
The Commodores became the first of four opponents Tygart has faced since returning from his UCL sprain to score against him. Hitting ninth, left fielder T.J. McKenzie put one over the tall wall in left field for his first homer of the year. Center fielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. cleared the same fence, going back-to-back and cutting the deficit to 3-2.
"You take away those couple of pitches and he had a really good outing," Van Horn said. "I think he’s building his pitch count up, and hopefully his next outing he’ll be able to go longer."
Arkansas got one of the two runs back with a pair of doubles in the fourth. Slavens one-hopped the right field fence, and second baseman Peyton Holt collected his fourth RBI since taking over starting duties at Mississippi State.
With the lead back to two runs, Tygart settled down to work a perfect fourth, in which he struck out his sixth and seventh batters of the evening.
After 62 pitches, the Hogs turned to left-hander Zack Morris to bridge the gap to Wood. The senior mowed through his first three batters using 11 pitches, and the task got much easier when he returned for the sixth.
Cali and Slavens singled consecutively with one away, setting the table for the red-hot Holt. Futrell hung an 0-2 pitch belt-high, and the Greenwood native launched it almost 400 feet, clearing the left field bleachers for a three-run shot and a 7-2 lead.
The homer was Holt’s second of the season and his first against an SEC pitcher. It was also his 11th hit in 17 at-bats during the last two series.
"Holt had a great day, obviously," Van Horn said. "Made a couple really nice plays in the field and a couple of really big hits for us that helped us build up a pretty good lead. It's just too bad it was for naught."
Another quick inning allowed Morris to work a third frame in the seventh, and he came a two-out walk shy of a perfect trip through the order. He bounced back with his sixth punchout of the night, leaving his team six outs shy of a conference title.
Morris said the decision to remove him from the game caught him off guard.
"My stuff was really good," Morris said. "I wanted to go back out there, but it just seemed like they had already made their mind up by the time they came and talked to me. I was in the dugout preparing to go out again, and they just came up to me and said they were going to the next guy. So I was like, ‘Okay.’"
Wood inherited an 8-2 advantage to start the bottom of the eighth. Vanderbilt reliever plunked Holt with two outs to start a rally that culminated in shortstop John Bolton’s RBI single, and that was where the good news ended.
The first ball in play hit Wood’s leg. The next was a lousy bunt that somehow landed for a hit. The next was a sacrifice fly to shortstop, which rendered Bolton unable to finish the game after he collided with Holt.
"It hurt," Holt said. "He’s okay. Just like a little tweak in his ankle. Nothing too major, which is good. I’m a little banged up, but it’s fine. He made the catch and that’s really all that mattered at that point."
Two batters and another run later, it was 8-4, and that was it for Wood.
"I think he’ll be fine," Van Horn said. "You know, just had a bad day. Just leave it there, I guess."
Righty Cody Adcock failed to retire either batter he faced, and he left left-hander Parker Coil with an 8-7 lead.
Commodore catcher Jack Bulger belted the freshman’s first offering to left field for the go-ahead three-run homer, sinking the Hogs’ hopes of wrapping up the conference title with a game to spare.
"We kind of had it set up the way we wanted it," Van Horn said. "The pitchers I thought did a great job except in the eighth inning."
The visitors attempted to battle back, as Diggs sent closer Nick Maldonado’s 2-1 pitch to the deepest part of the park, where Bradfield leapt to snag it above the yellow line.
Cali’s third hit of the game brought the tying run to the plate in Slavens, but Maldonado fanned him to complete the comeback victory.
Arkansas is still a half-game above No. 5 LSU and a full game ahead of No. 4 Florida, meaning a win in Saturday’s rubber match would clinch the SEC title outright. An LSU loss would mean a Western Division crown for the Hogs and a share of the conference title with Florida, even if they drop the series finale.
The Tigers will go for the sweep of Georgia at noon, the Gators are eyeing a series win at Kentucky at 1 p.m. and the Razorbacks are doing the same at 2 p.m. All three games will stream live on SEC Network Plus.
"This team has been resilient all year," Morris said. "These guys have been stepping up whenever their number has been called through unfortunate events with injuries and stuff. We just have to move on from it."
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