When lefty reliever Parker Coil took the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning against the No. 3 LSU Tigers, it was the first time in nearly a month and a half that he'd appeared in a game, and it came in a high-pressure situation.
After the Razorbacks (41-11, 18-9 SEC) tacked on two insurance runs in the top of the frame to lead 7-4, the Tigers put runners on first and second with just one out and the game-tying run at the plate.
That's when Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn inserted Coil to take over for right-hander Aiden Jimenez, and he made the most of the opportunity. The first out came in just three pitches, as he fanned LSU pinch-hitter Cade Arrambide looking.
Coil, a native of Edmond, Oklahoma, needed a little assistance from shortstop Wehiwa Aloy, but he induced a lineout that ended the game and, along with it, any chance of an LSU comeback.
"Yeah, I thought he did a great job," Van Horn said postgame of Coil. "His bullpens have been really good is what I’ve been told by coach Hobbs. We just felt like that was the right move. And we knew they were going to pinch hit, bringing in a right-hander but he gets righties out as well."
Coil, who earned the save for his efforts, needed just six pitches to finish the Tigers off, and all six were strikes. He dropped his already low ERA from 0.60 to 0.57 and the strikeout he threw was his 16th of the season.
"I mean, typical Coil," Van Horn said. "He comes in and throws six pitches, and it’s six strikes. The last ball was an 0-2 pitch, and he got it in on the hitter a little bit. He only hit it like 75 mph. It looked like a line drive, but it wasn’t hit super hard. I’m just glad it went right at him. They already got a bloop base hit the inning before that helped them score a run."
Along with Coil, the Hogs got a good performance out of freshman lefty Cole Gibler, who put in a solid 1.1 innings of work and struck out three while walking just one. He had two wild pitches, but didn't allow any runners to cross home.
"Gibler was outstanding today," Van Horn said. His fastball was 94, 95, maybe 96. That’s the best it’s been all year, and then the breaking ball was nasty. Upper 80s. They had trouble figuring out what it was."
The Diamond Hogs will need more from Coil, Gibler and the rest of the Arkansas pitching staff to make a deep postseason run. Arkansas will close out the regular season at home against Tennessee with a three-game series that runs from Thursday through Saturday.
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