Arkansas completes sweep
FAYETTEVILLE - After trouncing the Texas Longhorns 13-4 Tuesday night, the Arkansas Razorbacks had to overcome then hang on to lasso the Longhorns 7-5 Wednesday afternoon to complete a twogame series sweep over their old Southwest Conference rivals at Baum Stadium.
Coach Dave Van Horn’s Razorbacks now take a 13-4 overall record into their three-game SEC season-opening series Friday, Saturday and Sunday against the Kentucky Wildcats at Baum, while the Longhorns of coach David Pierce fall to 9-9 overall and head home to Austin to open their Big 12 campaign this weekend against the Texas Longhorns,
Arkansas third baseman Casey Martin of Lonoke, a who hit a three-run home run Tuesday, was big again Wednesday with his bat, going 2-for-3 with a home run.
He also scored from second on a short single to left that forced an errant Texas throw.
Sophomore Evan Lee, 2-for-3 with two RBIs, sophomore first baseman Jordan McFarland, who had four RBIs Tuesday, had a key RBI hit Wednesday, and second baseman Hunter Wilson, who had an RBI single and turned two double plays, also had big roles Wednesday while fresh-
man Caleb Bolden won in relief with lefty Matt Cronin notching Wednesday’s save.
“Great to come up with a win,” Van Horn said. “We didn’t start off very good. We walked the first two hitters of the game, two of the fastest kids in Division 1 baseball.
“As probably predicted, they both scored without getting a hit. Bolden settled things down. The defense in the middle did a good job with the double plays.
“Ramage pitched well and then we were very fortunate that Matt Cronin came in and got us out of a jam.
“Casey Martin is electric and Hunter Wilson got a big hit. It’s a big difference going in the ninth leading by two instead of one.”
Pitchers usually pay for walking an inning’s first two batters, which Arkansas starter Hunter Milligan did.
Indeed, though never yielding a hit, the freshman lefty from Greenbrier paid a tworun price.
Kody Clemens’ sacrifice bunt advanced the runners to score Zach Zubia’s infield out and a Milligan wild pitch.
Bolden relieved Milligan to start the second and blanked Texas through the fourth on two hits and a walk and handed reliever Barrett Loeske a 5-2 lead to start the fifth.
Martin, whose threerun home run Wednesday night nicked the left-field foul pole, clouted a twoout, no-doubt solo home run in the second, hitting the light post beyond the left-field bullpen.
Arkansas’ four-run fourth chased Texas right-handed starter Nico O’Donnell. McFarland walked leading off, and Dominic Fletcher singled him to third.
Martin’s RBI infield single to third drew an errant throw from third baseman Clemens advancing runners to second and third. Lee dumped a single into left, and Martin’s speed from second made it a two-run single with Lee taking second on the throw home.
O’Donnell was banished when Texas first baseman Ryan Reynolds’ throwing error registered the inning’s last run.
Loeske struck out his first batter in the Texas fifth then was nailed for a single, a walk and Clemens’ RBI double.
Freshman right-hander reliever Kole Ramage walked the bases loaded then induced Austin Todd to rap into an inning-ending double play.
The Hogs also turned two behind Ramage in the sixth, negating two Texas singles.
McFarland’s double off reliever Andy McGuire in the seventh tallied a run charged to reliever Josh Sawyer.
Regular Razorbacks relievers Jake Reindl and Matt Cronin barely escaped a precarious two-run Texas eighth.
Zubia’s double, Todd’s bunt single and Reynolds’ RBI single greeted Reindl before he retired PJ Petrinsky on a short fly to left. Van Horn then waved in southpaw Cronin to face left-handed eighthole hitter Duke Ellis.
Ellis defied percentages with an RBI single to left.
Cronin retired pinch-hitter Jake McKenzie on a popup, hit a batter then blew strike three past right-handed pinch-hitter Michael McCann with the bases loaded.
Martin walked leading off against McGuire in the eighth, and he was singled home by Wilson after Lee bunted Martin to second and went to third on Koch’s fly to right.
“You can’t beat it,” Wilson said of the wins. “Texas is Texas. We’re Arkansas. It’s a big rivalry. Had a big crowd and we were the better team and played hard. I absolutely love it.”