Kjerstad comes up clutch in walk-off win over Auburn, 5-4
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On the heels of a 5-0 performance this past week, the newly-minted No. 3 Arkansas Razorbacks were named NCAA.com's ‘Team of the Week’ via Twitter on Monday.
Arkansas (24-9, 8-4) snuck by Louisiana-Monroe in two straight contests on Tuesday and Wednesday before going on to sweep then No. 13 Auburn in a home weekend series. Heston Kjerstad’s walk-off RBI single on Sunday was the third walk-off victory for Arkansas this year and gave them the series sweep.
In a 10-9 walk-off win over the Warhawks, Evan Lee became the first Razorback to hit a home run and get the victory on the mound in a game since Brett Eibner. Freshman Caleb Bolden pitched seven shutout innings in a 4-0 win over ULM in game two.
Blaine Knight (6-0, 1.93 ERA, 48 K’s) continued his Friday night dominance by out-dueling highly-rated Auburn starter Casey Mize in a 2-1 win. Knight struck out six and only surrendered 1 run in a little over six innings of work. He has now defeated four of the top 11 pitchers in the nation, according to D1 baseball player rankings.
The Hogs pounded Auburn 13-2 on Saturday night as every starter recorded a hit and Kacey Murphy went seven strong. On Sunday, Arkansas fell behind 4-0 early, but reliever Jake Reindl retired the Tigers’ final 18 batters and Kjerstad came through the game-winning RBI in the bottom of the ninth, securing the series sweep.
With a batting average of .311 as a team, the Hogs sit in second place in the SEC behind only Kentucky at .318. The Razorbacks have hit 56 home runs through 33 games and have six different players with at least 5 homers, good enough for first in the conference.
The Razorbacks now claim sole possession of first place in the SEC West at 8-4 and have won their first six conference home games for the first time since 1990. This weekend’s series against South Carolina gives Arkansas a solid chance to extend that streak.
