Razorbacks don’t settle for singles against Trojans

The No. 12 University of Arkansas baseball team smacked two-run extra-base hits in three consecutive innings to rally past Southern California and clinch the three-game series with an 8-6 victory Friday night at Dedeaux Field in Los Angeles.

Shortstop Casey Martin provided the big blow — a no-doubt two-run home run, his first of the season — in the fifth inning to put Arkansas (5-0) in front for good.

Isaiah Campbell (2-0) survived a shaky third inning to notch the victory over USC right-hander Kyle Hurt (0-1). Campbell allowed 3 earned runs on 6 hits while striking out 5 in 51/3 innings.

Arkansas right-hander Kevin Kopps worked 22/3 innings in his first outing in more than a year after Tommy John surgery, and lefthander Matt Cronin pitched a perfect ninth for his second save of the series.

The Trojans (2-3) outhit the Hogs 9-8 but only managed one extra-base hit.

Martin and Jack Kenley led the Razorbacks with two hits each, and Kenley drove in a game-high three runs. Trevor Ezell walked three times and scored twice for Arkansas, which had five stolen bases.

The Razorbacks broke on top with a two-out rally in the first. Ezell drew a two-out walk and stole second base. Dominic Fletcher lashed a low offering to the wall in right field to drive in the first run.

That lead held up until the third when the Trojans put together four singles and benefited from the error-prone Hogs to score four runs, three of them unearned.

Brady Shockey and John Thomas hit one-out singles to get the rally started. Matthew Acosta singled to right field to tie the game at 1-1, and when the ball rolled under Heston Kjerstad’s glove a second run scored.

The Trojans added another run when Campbell threw wildly to first on Chase Bushor’s bunt. USC capped the rally on Jamal O’Guinn’s RBI single up the middle for a 4-1 lead.

Kenley tripled with two outs in the fourth off Hurt to drive in two runs and cut the Hogs’ deficit to 4-3. Ezell and Fletcher had walked to lead off the inning.

Christian Franklin was hit by a pitch to open the fifth inning, then stole second. Martin followed with his smash far over the left-field wall to put Arkansas back out in front 5-4.

The Razorbacks extended the lead in the sixth. Casey Opitz singled through the left side and Jacob Nesbit drew a two-out walk. Franklin launched a shot over left fielder Blake Sabol’s head to drive in two more runs and give the Hogs a 7-4 lead.

The Trojans drew back within a run in the sixth when catcher CJ Stubbs followed a Sabol single and a double by O’Guinn with a shot up the middle off Kopps to make it 7-6.

Bushor and Sabol opened the USC eighth with back-toback singles, but Kopps got O’Guinn to ground into a double play on the next pitch. Kopps escaped the inning by inducing a ground ball for the third out.

Arkansas got an insurance run in the top of the ninth on Kenley’s two-out single to right field. The hit scored Curtis Washington, who pinch ran after Jordan McFarland’s one-out single and stole second base.