FAYETTEVILLE — After relying on small ball and aggressive base running to win both ends Friday’s doubleheader, Arkansas turned the bats loose Saturday.
The Razorbacks pounded four home runs, including two by Jack Kenley, and three other extra-base hits, cruising to a 15-7 win that completed a three-game sweep of Stony Brook.
Kenley also had a monster home run in the opening series against Eastern Illinois, so he leads the team with three so far this season after not hitting any in his first two years at Arkansas.
“He’s shown some more power,” head coach Dave Van Horn said. “He’s gotten stronger. His swing’s a lot better than it’s been the first two years.”
Both of his home runs were two-run shots, with one off a fastball in the fifth inning that hit the bottom of the scoreboard and another on an off-speed slider in the sixth that got up into the wind and carried into the right field bullpen.
Van Horn predicted that Kenley - a career .190 hitter entering the season - would turn the corner offensively this season because he’d been “doing a better job of staying in his legs” and that has led to more confidence at the plate.
Kenley said he wasn’t surprised either and praised the “wonderful” coaching staff for the turnaround. It also helped that he put on some weight in the offseason. The result has been a .314 batting average and already as many home runs as extra-base hits he had the last two years.
“I knew it was coming,” Kenley said. “I know it’s always been there, it was just a matter of getting it out and making sure the wind’s blowing in the right direction.”
Arkansas’ 14-game homestand continues with a two-game midweek series against Charlotte. The games are Tuesday and Wednesday, and both have 3 p.m. first pitches and will be streamed on SEC Network-plus.
First Inning Answer
Coming off two tight victories in Friday’s doubleheader sweep, the Razorbacks already had the series in the bag but were going for a sweep to keep them perfect at home. Coupled with 38-degree temperatures at first pitch, Van Horn was a little uneasy going into Saturday’s game.
“I was a little concerned about today,” Van Horn said. “We’d already won the series, the weather, the temperature… I knew Stony Brook would come out and give us a good, big game.”
Sure enough, Stony Brook jumped out to an early lead. All-America shortstop Nick Grande led off the game with a single, moved to second on an error, stole third and then scored on a Chris Hamilton sacrifice fly. Sean Buckhout tacked on another run on an RBI single to score Michael Wilson, who doubled.
Before the Razorbacks got their first at bat, they trailed 2-0 and Van Horn said they needed to answer in the home half of the inning.
Casey Martin reached on a leadoff walk and then the next four batters jumped on freshman Nick DeGennaro early in the counts. Heston Kjerstad doubled, Trevor Ezell singled, Dominic Fletcher doubled and Casey Opitz singled, quickly making it a 4-2 game.
Van Horn said he noticed DeGennaro, who had looked good in two previous long relief appearances, left a few pitches up and that’s what the Razorbacks took advantage of.
“I just noticed their coach went out there pretty early,” Van Horn said. “I feel like, looking back, they were probably worried about him being nervous and not hitting his spots.”
Getting the lead back after the rough first inning was a key to Arkansas dashing Stony Brook’s hopes and securing the sweep.
“We ended up scoring four, but we just needed to cut that lead in half,” Van Horn said. “We changed the momentum a little bit and we ended up getting the lead. They battled pretty good.”
Production at the Bottom
Arkansas broke it open in the middle innings and most of the production came at the bottom of the order. In the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, the six through nine batters went 6 for 9 with two walks and a hit by pitch.
Two of the hits were Kenley’s home runs and another was a solo home run by Christian Franklin. Much like his three-run shot against Eastern Illinois, it was an opposite field homer in front of the scoreboard.
“That’s where my power is,” Franklin said. “Me and (hitting coach Nate) Thompson have been working on my pull-side power, but I’ve always been able to drive the ball to the opposite field.”
Kenley and Franklin, the 7- and 9-hole batters, combined for eight of Arkansas’ 14 RBIs in the game.
“It’s nice to have that down there,” Van Horn said. “Obviously we know the guys up top are going to get their RBIs; it’s just a matter of when they’re going to get it rolling.”
Noland’s Third Start
Freshman right-hander Connor Noland failed to record an out in the fourth inning, giving him his shortest outing of his young career.
He got into trouble in the first by allowing the aforementioned two runs and it all started when Grande blooped a leadoff single off the end of his bat. The Seawolves got three hits off him in that first inning.
“Just got off to a little bit of a rough start and then basically didn’t do a real good job holding runners,” Van Horn said. “Then after that, I thought he picked it up a little bit.”
Noland had to work out of a bases-loaded jam in the second inning and then retired three straight after a leadoff single in the third. It was a leadoff single by Dylan Rest followed by a hit by pitch the finally prompted Van Horn to bring in a reliever.
“I think that he’s got to just be more consistent,” Van Horn said. “He had a couple of good innings, but not enough.”
The reason Van Horn got him after throwing only 54 pitches was because the Razorbacks had several arms available in the bullpen. Noland’s final line was three earned runs on six hits and one walk while striking out just one. It was his third no decision.
Other Tidbits
~The paid attendance was 8,117, but cold weather kept a lot of fans at home once again. The “tickets scanned” number was 2,560.
~Making his second career start, freshman Trey Harris collected his first collegiate hit with a two-out single in the sixth inning. He is now 1 for 7, but has reached base three other times thanks to two walks and a hit by pitch.
~Casey Martin drew a couple of walks and reached on an error, but officially went 0 for 4 to end his 11-game hitting streak. He had been the only Arkansas player to hit safely in all nine games this season, plus his streak included the final two games of last season.
~The Razorbacks’ first home run of the game actually came from the top of the lineup, as Trevor Ezell sent the first pitch he saw in the fourth inning over the right-center field fence for a two-run homer. It was his second home run of the season, which is tied with Franklin for the second most on the team. By going 2 for 4, he raised his batting average to a team-high .432.
BOX SCORE
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