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FAYETTEVILLE — Robert Moore needed just four innings to match his RBI total from the SEC opener and help Arkansas to a series-clinching win Saturday night.
The junior once again started the scoring with a two-run double in the first and notched his third RBI on a bases-loaded walk in the fourth inning of the Razorbacks’ 9-3 win over Kentucky at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Although the double — which hit the bottom of the wall in left-center field — was his only hit of the night, the trio of RBIs brought him to six in the series, the same number he had in the previous 12 games combined.
Moore finished the game 1 for 2 with a pair of free passes (including a HBP) and a strikeout, improving his season batting average to .306. He seems to have settled into the fifth spot in the lineup because head coach Dave Van Horn wants him at the plate with runners in scoring position.
“We wanted to get Robert back to the 5-hole because we feel like he has a knack for driving in runs,” Van Horn said.
Moore’s two-run double proved to be crucial, as Kentucky put up two runs of their own in the top of the second on a pair of RBI singles from Alonzo Rubalcaba and Ryan Ritter that tied the game.
Arkansas was quick to retake the lead, as a solo shot from super senior Braydon Webb and a two-run blast from freshman Peyton Stovall in the bottom of the second gave it the lead for good.
Webb’s second home run of the year gave him a hit in his fourth consecutive game after he was held hitless in his first 23 at bats of the season. The ball may have barely left the park, traveling only 345 feet into the visitor’s bullpen, but it kickstarted the three-run inning that provided plenty of run support for freshman starter Hagen Smith.
The two-run home run, courtesy of Stovall, was much more impressive, coming off the bat at 105 mph and flying 418 feet into the night.
The scoring onslaught continued in the bottom of the third, with senior shortstop Jalen Battles making Kentucky pay for a leadoff walk issued to graduate transfer Chris Lanzilli. A wild pitch earlier in Battles’ at bat allowed Lanzilli to advance into scoring position before he was brought home on an RBI single into left field.
Another leadoff walk drawn by senior outfielder Zack Gregory in the bottom of the fourth led to him becoming the seventh run after Moore’s bases-loaded walk. Arkansas immediately tacked on its eighth run when senior Brady Slavens drew a bases-loaded walk of his own.
The final run of the game for the Hogs came in the bottom of the seventh, when Slavens collected his second RBI of the night with a sacrifice fly to left field that brought in graduate transfer Michael Turner. Although he was hitless, the performance was a step forward for the outfielder, who came into the game hitting just .229 and struggling with runners in scoring position.
“I thought that was a big confidence builder for him,” Van Horn said.
The Hogs’ 15th win of the year was the product of contributions from the lineup top to bottom, with every starter scoring or driving in at least one run on Saturday.
“I just see a lot of guys going out and competing for each other,” right-hander Zebulon Vermillion said following the win. “It’s not a me type of attitude we have right now. Everybody, even if they’re playing or not, they’re all pulling for one another.”
Here are a few other key takeaways from the game…
Quality Start for Smith
The true freshman from Bullard, Texas, has lived up to lofty expectations in his first year with the program, pitching his way to a win in every start except for the Stanford matchup in which he lasted only 2 1/3 innings.
