Arkansas falls 6-5 to South Carolina in Round 2 of SEC Tournament
The No. 5 Arkansas Razorbacks (43-13, 20-10 SEC) sputtered to open postseason play in the SEC Baseball Tournament with a 6-5 loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks (35-21, 19-11 SEC) on Wednesday in Hoover, Alabama.
An offense looking for a turnaround failed to do so, as the Razorbacks finished 9-for-35 at the plate (.257), 1-for-10 with two outs (.100) and 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position (.273).
Second baseman Peyton Stovall collected three hits with two doubles and an RBI while first baseman Ben McLaughlin added two hits and RBIs of his own.
Starting right-handed pitcher Ben Bybee struggled in 2.1 innings pitched. The Kansas native walked three, allowed three hits and gave up two earned runs during his outing.
Christian Foutch and Jake Faherty were excellent in 3.2 innings combined with six punchouts between them both, while freshman Gabe Gaeckle earned the loss after he was struck with the game-winning two-run homer in the top of the ninth.
Top First - South Carolina 1, Arkansas 0:
On a picture-perfect day in Hoover, Alabama, Ben Bybee started his day with two quick outs via ground out and strikeout. The next two at-bats didn't go as swimmingly, as the Kansas native walked both Gamecocks. Parker Noland singled to left center to give his team a 1-0 lead, and Bybee stranded two runners on a groundball.
Bottom First - South Carolina 1, Arkansas 0:
South Carolina right-hander Eli Jones made quick work of the Razorbacks. After getting behind 2-0 to leadoff man Kendall Diggs, Jones fought back to collect the strikeout. Peyton Stovall grounded out on the second pitch of his at-bat and Hudson White swung and missed to close the 11-pitch frame.
Top Second - South Carolina 1, Arkansas 0:
Bybee bounced back after his rollercoaster first inning, as he retired two Gamecocks on the first pitch of their respective at-bats sandwiched around a groundout.
Bottom Second - Arkansas 1, South Carolina 1:
Arkansas tied the game in the second thanks to some clutch hitting by Jared Sprague-Lott. Following a leadoff single by Ben McLaughlin and a groundout by Wehiwa Aloy that moved McLaughlin over to second base, Sprague-Lott poked a basehit down the right field line to tie the game at one. Nolan Souza struck out and Peyton Holt grounded out to end the inning.
Top Third - South Carolina 2, Arkansas 1:
Bybee failed to escape the third after throwing a four-pitch walk to the leadoff man, a single and then a one-out RBI single to Cole Messina to hand the Gamecocks a 2-1 lead. Dave Van Horn turned to Christian Foutch out of the bullpen, who plunked the first batter with a 98 MPH fastball but escaped the bases-loaded jam with a strikeout and a groundout.
Bottom Third - South Carolina 2, Arkansas 1:
Set up for a big frame with 9-1-2 of the batting order coming to the plate, any hopes for an outburst were dashed after Ross Lovich and Diggs grounded out and flew out to start the frame. Stovall broke things up with a double to left center, but White popped up in the infield to end the threat.
Top Fourth - South Carolina 2, Arkansas 1:
Foutch was nasty in the fourth with his high-velo, devastating offspeed mix. He struck out the leadoff man in a full-count before giving up a single through the right side. That runner was stranded after a flyout to left and a swing and a miss by Ethan Petry.
Bottom Fourth - Arkansas 2, South Carolina 2:
The Razorbacks found themselves with runners on first and third with no outs after McLaughlin led things off with a single and an error allowed Aloy to reach base. After Sprague-Lott flew out to shallow left field, South Carolina brought Ty Good out of the bullpen. Ryder Helfrick came in to pinch hit for Nolan Souza, and he tied the game on a sac-fly to left.
Top Fifth - South Carolina 4, Arkansas 2:
Left-hander Parker Coil took the mound to relieve Foutch, and he plunked South Carolina's leadoff man with his very first pitch. Coil would regret that, as Messina took the southpaw yard to center field for a 4-2 lead. Coil responded with a strikeout, a groundout, walk and flyout to end the inning.
Bottom Fifth - South Carolina 4, Arkansas 2:
With the top of the order due up again, Arkansas was primed to scratch some runs across. Instead, Diggs and Stovall each popped up before White earned a four-pitch walk. He was stranded at first base after McLaughlin popped up to third base.
Top Sixth - South Carolina 4, Arkansas 2:
Righty reliever Jake Faherty was called upon to start the sixth, and he did his job well. His first pitch was taken to center field for a fly out before he walked the next batter in a full count. Faherty bounced back with a strikeout and a fly out to end the inning.
Bottom Sixth - South Carolina 4, Arkansas 2:
Aloy began the inning with a swinging strikeout and Sprague-Lott followed suit with a popup. Helfrick worked a two-out walk but was left there after Peyton Holt struck out looking on a questionable high pitch call.
Top Seventh - South Carolina 4, Arkansas 2:
Faherty continued to work his magic and was nasty in the seventh, as he struck out two and forced a flyout to squash a baserunner that reached via error.
Bottom Seventh - Arkansas 4, South Carolina 4:
Late-game rally! Will Edmunson got the pinch hit opportunity to leadoff the frame and took advantage with a single to right center. Diggs singled in the next at-bat and the Gamecocks turned to Garrett Gainey out of the pen. Stovall smashed a double to center field to score one, White walked and McLaughlin hit a bases-loaded sac-fly to tie the game. The Hogs failed to scratch anything else across.
Top Eighth - Arkansas 4, South Carolina 4:
Arkansas turned to freshman closer Gabe Gaeckle and he didn't disappoint. The flamethrower picked up two quick strikeouts swinging to start things off before allowing a single, but set down Petry swinging to close the inning.
Bottom Eighth - Arkansas 4, South Carolina 4:
The offense came back down to earth for Arkansas in the eighth, as the Hogs went 1-2-3 with two strikeouts by Helfrick and Holt before Edmunson flew out to left field.
Top Ninth - South Carolina 6, Arkansas 4:
Oof. Gaeckle led things off with a hit-by-pitch to set up Messina at the plate. He delivered with his second home run of the game to hand the Gamecocks a 6-4 lead. Gaeckle worked around a walk and a single to escape the inning, but the damage was already done.
Bottom Ninth - South Carolina 6, Arkansas 5:
The final inning of the game was a wild one. After Diggs grounded out to start the frame, Stovall, White and McLaughlin singled in three straight at-bats to bring the deficit within a run. After an Aloy ground out, Sprague-Lott flew out to center field to end the game.
Up next, the Razorbacks will face Kentucky in the losers bracket of the SEC Tournament on Wednesday. First pitch is set for 9:30 a.m. CT and it will broadcast on the SEC Network.
Box Score
