Razorbacks split doubleheader with Golden Flashes
FAYETTEVILLE - After the Arkansas Razorbacks played errorless defense, hit three home runs and logged six shutout innings with six strikeouts and no walks allowed by winning starter Blaine Knight in Friday’s 7-2 first game victory over Kent State, they committed two errors and a passed ball involving four unearned runs early and disintegrated to a 10-4 defeat helping Kent State easily salvage a doubleheader split Friday night before 6,091 fans at Baum Stadium.
Arkansas hitters struck out 11 times while its pitchers walked seven contributed vastly to the Razorbacks’ second game woes.
Arkansas (10-4) of the SEC and the Golden Flashes (7-4) of the MidAmerican Conference played Friday’s doubleheader because rain had been forecast Saturday.
So they’ll sit out today and conclude their threegame series at 1 p.m. Sunday as scheduled.
Knight shook off a first inning solo home run by Nick Kanavas to allow only three more hits through hits through his six complete innings and handed freshman reliever Kole Ramage a 7-1 lead to start the seventh.
The Golden Flashes tallied one off Ramage in the ninth.
Grant Koch’s two-home run to left after Heston Kjerstad’s leadoff walk gave Arkansas a 2-1 lead in the second.
A four-run fourth highlighted by Eric Cole’s three-run home run and Carson Shaddy’s RBI bunt single enhanced the lead to 6-1.
Shaddy’s two-out solo home run in the sixth reg-
istered the Razorbacks’ final first game run.
Arkansas never led Friday’s second game won in relief by Kent State right-hander Austin Havekost.
Second baseman Shaddy erred two batters into Friday’s second game, opening the Golden Flashes for three first-inning runs off losing starter Isaiah Campbell.
Campbell threw a wild pitch and walked one before Pavin Parks’ tworun double and Brad Hamilton's RBI single.
Thanks to a leadoff double, Jax Biggers, did score in the Arkansas first off lefty starter Connor Wollersheim, tagging to third on a fly to right and scoring on Casey Martin’s infield out.
Kanavas reached on shortstop Biggers’ error in the third and scored on another Hamilton single.
Freshman backup catcher Casey Opitz, giving All-SEC catcher Koch a second game rest, was charged with a passed ball setting cup Mason Mamarella’s RBI single in the fourth for the last of five runs charged to Campbell with only one earned.
Arkansas chased Wollersheim during the two-run fourth with Luke Bonfield, single, and Kjerstad, infield out, accounting for the RBIs.
Bonfield added a sacrifice fly in the eighth.
Havekost came on to blow away the Hogs with 3 2-3 shutout innings while striking out six.
Jake Reindl, relieving Campbell in the fourth, did fine until removed for lefty Matt Cronin after two bloop singles in the seventh.
Razorbacks relievers Cody Scroggins, Caleb Bolden and Jacob Kostyshock struggled with four walks amongst them during Kent State’s four-run eighth.
John Matthews closed the final two scoreless innings for Kent State.