FAYETTEVILLE — On a night when its ace was not his dominant self, Arkansas had to rely on the backend of its bullpen to close out a wild Friday night win.

Both starting pitchers gave up seven runs in 4 2/3 innings, but the Razorbacks made the critical outs down the stretch to hang on to an 11-9 win over No. 20 Tennessee.

Even though only three of Isaiah Campbell’s runs were earned thanks to three errors, it was still his least-effective start as a redshirt junior. He gave up six hits and several other hard-hit balls caught deep in the outfield, plus his three walks and three strikeouts matched his worst totals of the season.

“Isaiah just didn’t have the secondary pitches going like normal,” head coach Van Horn said. “He’d probably tell you that he didn’t spot his fastball as much as normal.”

Kevin Kopps was the first pitcher out of the bullpen and wasn’t quite as sharp as he’s been in recent outings, allowing two earned runs in two innings. That was enough to earn the victory, but it was the Razorbacks’ last two relievers who slammed the door.

Making just his third appearance since returning from an injury, right-hander Jacob Kostyshock had to work out of some trouble in the seventh.

He gave up back-to-back hits in two-strike counts, including an RBI double to Jake Rucker on an 0-2 fastball that stayed over the plate and allowed an inherited runner to score.

Van Horn admitted that they probably should have called for more breaking balls in those counts, but Kostyshock struck out pinch hitter Connor Pavolony to strand the tying runs in scoring position.

That was the first of seven straight Volunteers retired by Arkansas pitchers, with Kostyshock setting them down in order in the eighth.

“He got a couple of strikeouts, threw nothing but strikes and then the three-hole hitter…hit a breaking ball hard right at Martin, Martin fielded it and made a nice play,” Van Horn said. “It was kind of a sigh of relief because we knew that we were going to get to the ninth and have a chance to have (Matt) Cronin close it out.”

Despite what the scoreboard displayed, Van Horn said he hit 95 miles per hour a couple of times. That is much more like the pre-injury Kostyshock than the one who gave up two runs in just 2/3 of an innings against Mississippi State last week.

Elbow inflammation caused him to miss two straight weekends before that outing, so Kostyshock is understandably rusty. He even worked an inning in Tuesday’s blowout win over Northwestern State in an effort to get back to full strength.

“Having to sit out for a period of time, it’s always tough coming back,” Cronin said. “I had to do it last year with mono and whether it’s being sick or having a slight hiccup in your body, it’s going to be tough coming back.”

As for Cronin, he threw a pair of strikeouts sandwiched around an impressive running back by Christian Franklin in the left-center gap to secure his ninth save of the season.

“He had some adrenaline tonight,” Van Horn said. “He knew there was a big-time save situation in a big game, one that we had battled all the way back, and he took control of that ninth inning.”

It was a nice bounce back performance after struggling in his last few outings. He had given up a home run in his last three appearances and four of his last five.

In fact, all five of the earned runs he’s allowed this season came during that span and were a direct result of the long ball, with a two-run shot mixed in with three solo homers. Cronin threw 11 straight scoreless innings to start the season.

“Obviously that didn’t feel good and I started to doubt my fastball a little bit, but it felt good tonight,” Cronin said. “I had to break the streak on that one.”

One reason he was more effective Friday night was that his velocity was back up. His pitch speeds were down in his last two appearances and Van Horn even pointed it out after Wednesday’s loss to Northwestern State.

Cronin flashed several red numbers on the scoreboard against Tennessee, though. Several of them hit 96 mph, which is what the Razorbacks are used to seeing.

“I think he was frustrated the way it went the other night as well and he had something to prove,” Van Horn said. “Tonight he was back to his old self as far as velocity and he threw a lot of strikes as well.”

Game 2 of the series is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Saturday and will be streamed on SEC Network-plus, meaning it can be watched online on ESPN3.com or on the WatchESPN app.

SUBSCRIBE to HawgBeat and get access to exclusive prospect interviews, the best recruiting network in the industry, inside scoops on recruiting and team news, videos, podcasts and much more.

Join the discussion on THE TROUGH, the Arkansas Rivals premium message board for thousands of Hog fans.