HOOVER, Ala. — In its first game at the SEC Tournament, Arkansas got revenge against the only team to win a series at its home ballpark this season.
The Razorbacks took the lead on a two-out, two-run single by Jack Kenley in the sixth inning and hung on for a 5-3 win over Ole Miss on Wednesday.
A two-out RBI single by Dominic Fletcher in the first inning got the scoring started. It was the first run Arkansas scored without a home run since the LSU series, as all 10 against Texas A&M came via the long ball.
With runners on the corners and one out in the third, the Razorbacks tacked on another run on an RBI fielder’s choice ground out by Matt Goodheart. Ole Miss nearly turned the inning-ending double play, but Goodheart beat out the throw at first to allow Jacob Nesbit to score.
Meanwhile, Patrick Wicklander enjoyed a solid bounce-back performance on the mound. After allowing seven earned runs in four innings in his last two starts combined, the freshman left-hander kept the Rebels off the scoreboard for four inning.
He ran into some trouble in the fifth, giving up a one-out single to Anthony Servideo and then walking Justin Bench, Ole Miss’ 9-hole hitter who was hitting just .091.
That prompted head coach Dave Van Horn to bring in Kevin Kopps out of the bullpen, but he allowed both inherited runners to score. Thomas Dillard hit an RBI single on a 1-2 pitch and Grae Kessinger followed with a sacrifice fly to tie the game.
Both of the runs were earned and charged to Wicklander, who gave up just two hits, one walk and two hit by pitches while striking out four.
Ole Miss manufactured a run without the ball ever leaving the infield to take the lead in the sixth.
Cole Zabowski struck out to start the inning, but Opitz didn’t catch the third strike and couldn’t find the ball, which had stopped on the plate. He moved to second on an infield single by Ryan Olenek that ricocheted off Kopps’ foot, advance to third on a Cooper Johnson sacrifice bunt and scored on pinch hitter Kevin Graham’s RBI ground out.
That lead didn’t last long, as Arkansas answered in the bottom of the sixth. After a wild pitch moved Casey Martin and Fletcher - who reached on a walk and hit by pitch, respectively - to second and third, Kenley delivered the aforementioned two-out single to the left-center gap to drive them in.
Not only did that put the Razorbacks up 4-3, but it also finally chased Ole Miss starter Zack Phillips. The junior left-hander had thrown only 3 2/3 innings - with a 17.18 ERA - in SEC play this season, but limited Arkansas to four runs on four hits and two walks.
The Rebels had a chance to tie the game in the eighth inning, putting runners on the corners with two outs against Jacob Kostyshock. However, closer Matt Cronin came in and struck out pinch hitter Chase Cockrell on three pitches to end the threat.
Arkansas added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth thanks to a leadoff single by Goodheart, who was replaced by Curtis Washington Jr.
It proved to be a great move by Van Horn to bring in the pinch runner because - after a walk by Fletcher - the freshman perfectly read a pitch in the dirt and took third. Ole Miss brought its infield in, but Washington was off on contact and still scored on Kenley’s grounder to first. He slid in just ahead of the tag on both of those plays.
Cronin blew Ole Miss away by striking out all three batters in the ninth to seal his 11th save of the season.
With the win, Arkansas moves into the winner’s bracket and will face No. 3 seed Georgia at 4:30 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on the SEC Network, with the winner automatically advancing to Saturday’s semifinals.
Ace right-hander Isaiah Campbell (10-1, 2.50 ERA) is expected to start for the Razorbacks.
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