FAYETTEVILLE — After a run-rule defeat Friday, Eastern Illinois put more pressure on No. 9 Arkansas in Saturday's game, getting within two runs against Brady Tygart in the top of the eighth inning. Never crumbling, the Razorbacks erased all doubts in the bottom of the frame, hanging five runs on the Panthers to make it 10-3, the eventual final score.
Arkansas' win was the second in as many days, securing the first series victory of 2023.
The Hogs wasted little time gaining the lead, taking advantage of Jared Wegner's two-out double to right field. Brady Slavens poked a single through the left side of the infield just two pitches later for a 1-0 lead.
They got right back to it in the second inning, when Caleb Cali drew a leadoff walk in his first start in a week. When the lineup flipped over, Tavian Josenberger unleashed a low line drive 103 mph over the right field fence for a 3-0 advantage.
"We didn't plan on him hitting the ball as far as he does," Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said. "Give credit to him for working hard. He's gotten a lot stronger."
Will McEntire took the mound for the third time this season, looking to make up for a pair of short outings in which he allowed a combined five earned runs.
The big right-hander from Bryant took advantage of his third chance. It was not until the third inning that he ran into trouble, and even then it was manageable. Eastern Illinois third baseman Kolten Poorman launched a leadoff homer to left field, cutting the lead to two runs, but McEntire stranded a pair of runners with a looking strikeout.
“So Coach Hobbs and Coach Baxendale got with me and apparently my arm slot had dropped a pretty significant amount,” McEntire said. “It was making my stuff more just spin and not really move as I needed it to. So we got back on the mound on Thursday, and I moved it back up because I am more of an over-the-top pitcher. I feel like my stuff was was better today. Credit to them for helping me fix that.”
Arkansas responded with another two-out run in the bottom of the third, courtesy of Parker Rowland. The switch-hitting catcher plated Jace Bohrofen, who led the frame off with a two-bagger of his own.
Leading 4-1, McEntire sat down five straight Panthers, but he let up with a two-out walk to the nine-hole hitter, which prompted Van Horn to turn to Koty Frank as the top of the order came up for the third time. The Arkansas starter pitched 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball, surrendering two hits, issuing two free passes and punching out four batters.
"It was really good to see McEntire throw the ball a lot better today," Van Horn said. "He’s not where he was last year yet, but it was a lot better than last week, and you know, used his cutter, his fastball, his curveball, changeup. I mean, he went out and pitched, and pitched to contact a little bit, but he ate up almost five innings for us, and that was good."
Frank needed just two pitches to end the fifth inning.
Eastern Illinois starting pitcher Tyler Conklin settled down after the Rowland double to retire the next seven Razorbacks, completing his afternoon with four earned runs in five innings. Right-hander Jonathon Hanscom replaced him on the bump, working around a one-out walk to keep the margin at three runs heading to the late innings.
Frank allowed his first run of the season on the Panthers' second leadoff bomb of the afternoon, a pinch-hit shot off the bat of Cade Zalewski to make it 4-2 in the seventh inning.
Once again, Arkansas responded with a two-out tally in the bottom of the frame. Ben McLaughlin pinch hit for Cali, drawing a walk with the bases loaded to stretch the lead back to three runs.
"I think our guys are really seeing the ball really well right now and not really giving in with two strikes," Bohrofen said of the Razorbacks' two-out approach. "It’s a good thing to see now. I feel like last year, we didn’t really figure that out until the postseason."
Frank gave way to Tygart, who also allowed his first run of 2023 in the eighth inning. Center fielder Lincoln Riley led off with a single, and he scored with two outs on left fielder Cole Gober's RBI knock.
It proved unimportant, however, as the Hogs hung five runs on the Panthers in the bottom of the eighth. Slavens, Bohrofen, McLaughlin and Rowland all drove in runs, joining Josenberger with two RBIs and stretching the lead to 10-3.
"A lot of lineups are top-heavy — you get to the bottom, the pitching staff can kind of relax, but I think that’s the complete opposite with us," Bohrofen said. "We’re pretty strong 1-9, so whenever you see that at the bottom of the lineup doing the production they did today, it’s really good."
Dylan Carter got the nod for Arkansas in the ninth, shutting the door on Eastern Illinois for the series win.
The Razorbacks will try for the sweep of the Panthers at 1 p.m. Sunday at Baum-Walker Stadium. The contest will stream live on the SEC Network Plus, accessible through the ESPN app.
