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FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas needed only 16 innings to complete a midweek sweep of Grambling, completing both wins in eight innings due to the run rule in place.
Wednesday’s victory was anticlimactic compared to the previous, which ended with a Braydon Webb grand slam. With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the eighth, a passed ball allowed Robert Moore to cross home and score the game-clinching run, ending the contest with a final score of 13-3.
Although the Razorbacks’ offense was more potent as a whole, having six more hits than on Tuesday, they utilized a similar mode of operation to capture their eighth-consecutive win.
“We did what we did yesterday,” head coach Dave Van Horn said following the game. “We took a lot of walks. We left a lot of runners out there early today, but we kind of just took what they gave us.”
Wednesday’s game was even uglier than Game 1 for the Tigers, as they walked 11, hit two more and committed four errors.
On the other hand, Grambling’s offense was able to get to Arkansas starter Austin Ledbetter early in the game, hitting two home runs off the freshman and scoring three runs, leading to his exit after only 2 1/3 innings on the bump.
Even though Ledbetter was hit around, allowing homers to Shemar Page and Jarcifur Parker, the freshman was deliberate in the zone in his outing, refraining from walking a batter and throwing 29 of his 43 pitches for strikes.
Those three runs proved to be all the Tigers could manage, as their offense was unable to cross the plate the remainder of the game despite tallying 11 hits.
Arkansas’ offense sustained their run production very evenly throughout the game, putting at least one run on the scoreboard in every inning except the fourth.
Sluggers Chris Lanzilli and Brady Slavens spearheaded the bats, driving in three runs apiece with the former collecting three knocks and the latter two.
Slavens brought home the first two runs of the game in the first on a pop up to the left side of the infield that fell between the third baseman and shortstop untouched, leading to Turner and Wallace scoring and the right fielder pulling into second with a double. His third RBI came in the bottom of the fifth with a single into right field, pushing Robert Moore home.
Lanzilli’s run production came from a trio of singles, the first of which was a swinging bunt to the third baseman that brought in Cayden Wallace. He followed it up with a pair of RBI singles to left and right field in the fifth and sixth innings, respectively.
Here are a few other key takeaways from the second game of the midweek series…
Bullpen once again dominates
Following Ledbetter’s removal from the game in the top of the third, Arkansas used a combination of junior Zack Morris, sophomore Heston Tole and freshman Nick Griffin to throw 5.2 scoreless innings.
The left-handed Morris was the first bullpen arm to be called on, entering in the third inning with Ledbetter’s inherited runner on first. Although he allowed the first batter he faced to single and issued a walk to the next to load the bases, he induced an inning-ending double play to escape the jam unscathed.
Morris almost allowed Grambling to ignite a two-out rally in the top of the fifth after he made an error on a grounder back to himself and surrendered a single to the next Tiger batter. He was once again able to close out the frame and complete 2 2/3 innings on the mound to earn his first win of the season.
“I thought Morris threw the ball very well for us,” Van Horn said.
Right-handed Tole followed Morris’ lead, giving up a leadoff single to the first batter he faced. He went on to strike out two Grambling batters and force a fly out to Webb in center to throw a scoreless sixth with all 12 of his pitches in the inning being strikes.
His second inning on the bump wasn’t as smooth, requiring 18 pitches, allowing two hits and throwing a wild pitch to the backstop, but he struck out two Tigers and ended his outing with 27 of 34 pitches in the zone.
Southpaw Griffin was the final Arkansas pitcher to get a shot at subduing the Grambling offense. He began by following in the footsteps of his teammates, allowing the first batter he faced to reach base on a walk.
It looked like there was a possibility he wouldn’t make it through the inning after giving up a single and walk to the subsequent two batters, but showed great composure as he worked out of a bases-loaded jam with no outs. He went on to get Daylon Ardoin to look at strike three and then flashed the leather as he was the front end of an inning-ending 1-2-3 double play.
Webb Builds On Game-Clinching Home Run
After struggling mightily to begin the season, remaining hitless through his first 23 at bats, super senior Braydon Webb found his stroke against the Tigers’ pitching staff.
His game-ending grand slam was only the beginning of his improved offensive performance, combining two hits with two walks on Wednesday to reach base in four of six plate appearances.
“Yeah, 100 percent,” Webb said when asked if the grand slam woke his bat up. “Baseball is a humbling game and the moment you think you have it figured out, it’ll teach you really quick so I was just trying to stay the course and stay positive. I knew it was coming, it was just a matter of time.”
Webb’s second hit of 2022 was the product of small ball, as he laid down a drag bunt for a leadoff single in the bottom of the third. He ended up colliding with the first baseman after a close play at first, but was able to walk it off and stay in the game.
He tacked on an RBI single through the right side of the infield in the bottom of the fifth, which brought the score to 9-3.
“It was good to see him get a couple more today,” Van Horn said. “It’s good because obviously he’s a good defender, but we need his bat too. He’s got good power.”
Despite dealing with a nagging quad injury, Webb was able to up his batting average to .156 in the two games. If the injury is bothering him, it’s hard to tell because he’s flying around the diamond as usual.
“It’s on the back end of being pretty much clear,” Webb said. “I just tweaked it and have been rehabbing it.”
First Hits
Webb wasn’t the only Razorback to tally his first hit of the season in the series, with sophomore Dylan Leach and freshman Drake Varnado also achieving the same feat.
The switch-hitting Leach collected his inaugural base knock in the bottom of the third, slapping an RBI double down the left field line to score Webb.
Varnado’s first career hit in an Arkansas uniform also produced his first career RBI. He followed Leach’s RBI double in the bottom of the third with an RBI single to bring the catcher across home plate and make the score 6-3.
He also flashed an aggressive base running style to accompany his speed later in the game. After punching a routine single through the middle of the infield, he churned his way through first and slid into second with a leadoff double to kick off the bottom of the sixth. After two passed balls, courtesy of the Tigers, he came around to score Arkansas’ ninth run.
Tacking a walk onto his already solid performance, Varnado showed out in his first career start for the Diamond Hogs.
“He competed, he played hard,” Van Horn said of the heralded recruit. “I liked the way he hustled on that single he turned into a double. He was out front on the pitch and he hit and never slowed down. I like that. Especially with the score, leading off, that’s a good time to try that.
Other Tidbits
~Freshman Peyton Stovall extended his hitting streak to nine games, providing three more singles and a walk for the offense on Wednesday. The three-hit performance upped his batting average to .339, which is now third on the team among starters. He’s showed a propensity for spraying line drives and hard ground balls everywhere the defense isn’t, easily manipulating his barrel of late.
~Sophomore Cayden Wallace built off his Co-SEC Player of the Week nod on Wednesday, reaching base in his first four plate appearances with three walks and a single. His three runs and sacrifice fly in the seventh led to him being involved in four separate scoring plays
~With his 3-for-6 performance, Lanzilli extended his hitting streak to 10 games and improved his batting average to a team-high .375. He is 17 for 36 (.472) over that stretch.
~Starting at shortstop after getting Tuesday off, junior Robert Moore turned in a solid offensive performance of his own, reaching base three times via the walk and once more after being hit by a pitch. Although he didn’t join the hit party, he tied Wallace with a team-high three runs scored.
~Van Horn was complimentary of Leach’s defensive performance behind the plate on Tuesday and Wednesday. Grambling attempted to steal only three times over the two games, but were denied on two of those attempts after Leach delivered strikes across the diamond.
~Although he was issued one free pass, graduate transfer Michael Turner was held hitless for the first time since March 4 against Southeastern, snapping a seven-game hitting streak.
Up Next
Arkansas welcomes Kentucky to Baum-Walker Stadium for the start of SEC play this weekend. The first two games are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT on Friday and Saturday and the series will conclude Sunday at noon CT. The entire series will be streamed on SEC Network-Plus.
