The University of Arkansas baseball team’s series at Kentucky is even, but the games have been one-sided.
The No. 8 Wildcats bounced back with an 11-3 victory over the No. 2 Razorbacks on Saturday at Kentucky Proud Park in Lexington, Ky., after Arkansas won Friday night’s opener 10-3.
Arkansas (40-8, 17-6 SEC) allowed its most runs in a game this season Saturday after scoring its highest SEC total Friday night.
The previous high-scoring game for a Razorbacks’ opponent had been Florida’s 9-5 victory at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville last Saturday in the second game of a doubleheader.
Kentucky (34-10, 17-6) tied Arkansas for the best overall SEC record as each team continues to lead its division.
“Obviously we didn’t play our best game,” Razorbacks Coach Dave Van Horn said. “We still have an opportunity to win the series, so hopefully we’ll play a little better.”
Van Horn said junior left-hander Mason Molina (3-1, 3.47 ERA) is ready to start Sunday after he missed last weekend’s series against Florida because of a right ankle injury.
“Just to go out and attack, make them earn everything, throw his fastball for a strike,” Van Horn said of what he wants to see from Molina. “If he does that, he’ll be in good shape.”
Arkansas starting pitcher Brady Tygart, who had gone 6 innings in his previous two starts, went 3 innings Saturday and allowed 5 runs, 6 hits and 3 walks with 2 strikeouts. The junior right-hander threw 37 strikes on 66 pitches.
“Probably when you talk about Brady, the issue would have been he just didn’t throw his fastball for a strike,” Van Horn said. “Didn’t throw it where he wanted it and it made it very difficult to pitch, because they just started sitting on off-speed pitches.”
Kentucky went 6 for 12 with runners in scoring position and scored seven runs with two outs. Eight runs were scored on five doubles.
“The at-bats were there, the tough at-bats with two strikes, bunting, doubles, balls in play,” Wildcats Coach Nick Mingione said. “That was Kentucky baseball. We were a team today.”
Arkansas was 3 for 19 with runners on base.
“Hit some balls hard,” Van Horn said. “Didn’t have much luck.”
Arkansas catcher Hudson White hit a two-run home run in the second inning on a 3-1 pitch from Kentucky starter Dominic Niman — with Nolan Souza on base after a walk — to give the Razorbacks a 2-0 lead.
It was White’s first home run since Feb. 16 when the Razorbacks opened the season with a 6-4 victory over James Madison.
“It felt good,” White said. “I’ve been making a few adjustments and just trying to stick with my approach and put a good swing on it.”
The Razorbacks had seven other hits, all singles.
Niman went 5 1/3 innings and held Arkansas to 2 runs, 5 hits and 2 walks with 4 strikeouts.
“It starts with the guy on the mound and I thought Dom was sensational,” Mingione said.
“[Niman] did a good job of getting ahead, but we got ourselves in good positions to drive in runs and we weren’t able to do it,” said Arkansas second baseman Peyton Stovall, who went 2 for 5 and had an RBI groundout in the ninth inning. “I think if we just go out there [Sunday], play hard and keep putting ourselves in good positions to score runs, hopefully we’ll be able to do it.”
Niman stranded four base runners the first three innings.
“We had a couple opportunities to hit and drive in some runs early, and give him credit,” Van Horn said. “He got out of a couple of jams.”
Kentucky went ahead 3-2 in the bottom of the second inning when Emilien Pitre hit a two-run double and Devin Burks had an RBI double.
Arkansas left fielder Ross Lovich had a chance to catch Pitre’s deep drive, but he misplayed it after backing into the fence.
“I just think that he thought the ball wasn’t going to go as far as it did,” Van Horn said. “The wind was blowing to left field, especially early in the game.
“The ball got up in the air and it was hit a little better than you think on the swing. He just drifted back and back. About the time he was ready to catch the ball, he hit the fence. It ended up being a mistake and it was a tough one.”
Pitre had another two-run double in the fourth inning when the Wildcats pushed their lead to 7-2.
“We were playing uphill pretty much the whole game because we got behind so far,” Van Horn said.
Kentucky scored four more runs in the eighth inning when Nick Lopez had a three-run double.
Gage Wood pitched a career-long 4 1/3 innings for Arkansas in relief of Tygart and allowed 3 runs, 3 hits and 3 walks with 6 strikeouts. He gave up two hits and a walk in the fourth inning, but then settled down and pitched three scoreless innings before being lifted with one out in the eighth after hitting Gant Smith with a pitch.
Koty Frank got the final two outs for the Razorbacks in the eighth inning and allowed 3 runs and 2 hits.
Arkansas has lost back-to-back games only once this season, at Alabama three weeks ago.
“We’ll play hard, I know that,” Van Horn said of the Kentucky series finale. “We show up every day and get after it.
“Just a matter of if things go our way a little bit, but most of the time you have to make your own breaks. You have to do it and not expect the other team to fall apart.
“You’ve got to throw strikes, you’ve got to field the ball and you’ve got to take advantage of some pitches that are left in the zone.
“You’ve got to square them up and hopefully they don’t catch them. We’ll see how it goes.”
Stovall said the Razorbacks are excited to play again.
“We always want to win as many games as we can,” Stovall said. “I think that if we just go out there and play hard, the rest will take care of itself.
“Kentucky’s got a good team. Rubber match.
“It’s what you live for in college baseball and the SEC. So it’s going to be fun and we’re looking forward to it.”
