Hogs cruise past Kentucky in conference opener, 9-4
The Razorbacks had a rude welcome for No. 4 Kentucky as Arkansas opened SEC play with a 9-4 victory in front of 7,682 fans in Baum Stadium on Friday night.
Arkansas starter Blaine Knight didn't have his best stuff but gave the Hogs 4 strikeouts in four innings, giving up 6 hits and 2 runs. Catcher Grant Koch had a huge night, going 2 for 4 with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs. This was the first multi-homer game in Koch's collegiate career.
Kentucky's starter, Sean Hjelle, entered the game undefeated, but the Hogs got to him early, scoring 3 runs in the first inning and giving him his first loss of the season. First baseman Kyle Cottom hit his sixth home run of the year but it wasn't enough as the Wildcats stranded 12 baserunners.
Here's how the Hogs topped the Cats in their SEC opener:
THE WINNING INNINGS
Kentucky nearly got on the scoreboard with its very first at bat, but right fielder Eric Cole had other ideas, robbing a home run from SEC Player of the Week, Troy Squires.
Cole continued his early game magic with a solo home run in his first plate appearance. The Razorbacks jumped on Sean Hjelle early, tacking on two more runs on an RBI double from Dominic Fletcher and an RBI single by Jordan McFarland to make it 3-0 Arkansas.
The Wildcats answered with a solo homer of their own by Kole Cottam to pull back within 3-1 in the top of the second.
Starter Blaine Knight was hit by a line drive in the shin in the third inning but recovered quickly and stayed in the game.
In the fourth inning, four walks and a hit batter allowed Arkansas to load the bases and score when Grant Koch walked in Casey Martin to push the Razorback lead to 4-1.
Two singles and a walk by Blaine Knight loaded the bases in the top of the fifth and Dave Van Horn replaced Knight with Jake Reindl. Reindl walked the first batter and brought in a run, but struck out the next hitter, limiting the Wildcats to 1 run and keeping it at 4-2.
Grant Koch smashed a two-run homer to left center in the bottom of the fifth, scoring Heston Kjerstad and giving the Hogs a 6-2 lead.
Kentucky got two runners on in the seventh, but Matt Cronin entered in relief and got out of the inning without any runs given up.
Koch launched his second bomb of the game in the seventh inning, this time a solo shot to left. An RBI double from Jax Biggers extended Arkansas' lead to 8-2.
Matt Cronin got himself into trouble in the eighth, giving up 2 runs on three singles and a double but forced a groundout to end the inning, leaving it at 8-4 Arkansas heading into the bottom of the eighth.
Kjerstad's sacrifice fly scored Martin, tacking on Arkansas' final run in the 9-4 victory.
KEY QUOTES
Dave Van Horn on Eric Cole robbing a homer on the first at bat:
"Well, it was huge. They jumped on Blaine's first pitch...Cole did a nice job of getting back to the wall easy...it looked like he kept it from going out of the park."
Van Horn on Blaine Knight's performance:
"It was ok. He's been better. Obviously the velocity anywhere between 91 and 94-95...I thought Kentucky had a really good approach and they got his pitch count up."
Van Horn on the game plan against Hjelle:
"Well, we were just trying to be aggressive. The guy's a strike thrower. I thought our guys were locked in good...He's good. He's a little deceptive. Throws the ball downhill with a lot of tilt."
Grant Koch on overcoming a poor first at bat:
"You just gotta adjust...I guess it just took me an at bat to kind of figure out his zone. It felt good to make the adjustment and get a few pitches to hit and put a bat on them"
Eric Cole on if he's ever robbed a homer and hit one in the same inning:
"Definitely not, so that's a first. It was a cool thing...I got down two strikes pretty quick and I was trying to keep it simple, not press...He left me a hanging slider and I got a pretty good swing on it."
STAT OF THE GAME
On the night, every single Razorback recorded a hit as the Hogs went 11 for 34 for the game. Third baseman Casey Martin is currently on an 11-game hitting streak.
Kentucky's Sean Hjelle entered tonight's contest with 4 walks and 4 earned runs given up on the year, but the Razorbacks were able to draw 4 walks and tack on 4 runs in this game alone.
WINNING PITCHER
WIN: Jake Reindl (Arkansas): 1 2/3 IP (45 pitches), 2 H, 2 K's, 3 BB, 0 ER
SAVE: Matt Cronin (Arkansas): 2 2/3 IP (50 pitches), 4 H, 4 K's, 0 BB, 2 ER
UP NEXT...
Arkansas and Kentucky will play a doubleheader on Saturday, March 17 because of predicted rain on Sunday. The first game of the day, game two, will start at 2:00 pm (CST) and the third and final game will begin 30 minutes after the previous one. Both games will be televised on SEC Network+ and WatchESPN.