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FAYETTEVILLE — A veteran delivered the go-ahead hit and a freshman provided the insurance in Game 5 of Arkansas’ Fall World Series.
Casey Opitz lined a double off the wall in left field to score a runner from first and give Red the lead in the sixth inning. Two batters later, Zac White crushed a two-run home run that proved to be the difference in the Red’s 4-2 win on Thursday at Baum-Walker Stadium.
With rain in the forecast Friday, the scrimmage was moved up a day and Red has taken a 3-2 lead in the seven-game series. It can clinch the Fall World Series with a win Saturday afternoon.
The RBI double was made possible when Brady Slavens reached on a third-strike wild pitch to start the inning. That led to the Black team going to the bullpen and bringing in Nathan Rintz, whose 1-1 changeup caught a little too much of the plate and Opitz made him pay.
“He’s got a little run on his fastball, so I knew it was going to kind of stay on the outer side of the plate, so that’s where I was looking,” Opitz said. “That first-pitch fastball, it caught the corner and that was the kind of pitch I knew he was going to throw me.
“Then he went changeup up, and I was just kind of sitting something in the middle, outer half of the zone that I could drive, and I got that pitch.”
Following a pop foul by Zack Gregory for the first out of the inning, White gave the Red team some cushion by hitting the first pitch he saw from Taylor over the left field bullpen.
It was the first hit of the Fall World Series for the freshman out of Joe T. Robinson, as he entered the at bat 0 for 12. As he rounded the bases, White - whose older brother is a walk-on wide receiver on the football team - had an obvious smile on his face.
“It was awesome to see that,” Opitz said. “I know that was a huge hit for him. It’s always fun. I remember my freshman year hitting a home run and it’s a cool story to tell nowadays, but I’m excited for him.”
That proved to be a huge swing because the Black team managed to plate one run in the seventh. Ethan Bates’ RBI single drove in Jalen Battles, who reached on a leadoff single and then stole second.
The Black team had tied the game in the top of the sixth on an RBI single down the right field line by freshman Cayden Wallace. It had an opportunity to break it open with the bases loaded, but Matt Goodheart was caught trying to steal home, taking the bat out of Battles’ hands.
Earlier in the game, the Red team originally took a 1-0 lead in the fourth by capitalizing on an error.
With two outs, White hit a grounder that Battles did a nice job of fielding by ranging to his right, but his throw to first took Cason Tollett’s foot off the bag. Brady Slavens was at second, but never stopped running and scored on the play.
It was an unearned run for left-hander Patrick Wicklander, who threw 3 ⅓ innings for the Black. He was outdone by Red starter and fellow lefty Lael Lockhart, though, as he went four innings without allowing a run.
Game 5 MVP
It would be easy to tab Opitz or White as the MVP for their clutch hits Thursday, but it’s about time HawgBeat recognized a pitcher for this honor.
With his aforementioned four scoreless innings of work on the mound, Lockhart turned in the most impressive start of the Fall World Series so far, scattering three hits and walking only one while striking out two batters.
