NORTH LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas is used to tight games with lesser opponents at Dickey-Stephens Park, but was never in danger Tuesday night.
After giving up a run in the first, the Razorbacks took the lead without the benefit of a hit en route to a six-run home half of the inning, cruising to a 17-3 win over Grambling State. That more than doubles the largest margin of victory and run total in their 10 games played in North Little Rock, surpassing the 7-2 win over Memphis in 2011.
It looked like Arkansas would be in a dogfight similar to last year, when it beat the Tigers 7-6 with a four-run eighth inning, as starter Kole Ramage gave up three straight singles to start the game and load the bases.
However, Grambling managed just one run on a ground out by Kevin Whitaker Jr.
The missed opportunity immediately hurt because the Razorbacks also loaded the bases with no outs and scored a lot more than one run.
D’Quan Matthews, the Tigers’ starter, issued a pair of walks sandwiched around a hit by pitch before walking Jack Kenley to tie the game. A sacrifice fly by Little Rock native Trey Harris gave Arkansas a lead despite not having a hit.
The first hit wasn’t until Jordan McFarland’s dribbler down the third base line, on which Heston Kjerstad scored from third by avoiding a tag by the pitcher. Zack Plunkett doubled the Razorbacks’ run total by hitting a line drive over the left field wall for a three-run homer.
In the second inning, Casey Martin was thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple, but Trevor Ezell scored on the play to give him an RBI.
The Tigers managed to scratch across a run in the fourth and fifth innings, only to see Arkansas answer with a two-run bottom half of the inning.
The first of those runs was manufactured by Whitaker with the help of the Razorbacks. He reached on a leadoff single, moved to second on a ground out, took third on a wild pitch and then scored when Plunkett’s throw sailed into left field.
Grambling loaded the bases with no outs once again in the fifth, but had the same result - scoring just one run. This one came on a check-swing RBI single by Garrett Smith that barely stayed fair.
All three of the Tigers’ runs were charged to Ramage, although one was unearned because of Plunkett’s error. He gave up five hits and walked four while notching a career-high seven strikeouts.
Meanwhile, Martin added to Arkansas’ lead with his second inside-the-park home run of the season. That gave the Razorbacks the first of three straight two-run innings.
In the fifth, Trevor Ezell knocked in Curtis Washington Jr. - who hit a leadoff double - and then scored with the help of a stolen base and two wild pitches.
The next inning was similar, as Ezell hit an RBI double to score Washington - who hit a leadoff single and stole second - and then scored on Martin’s RBI single.
A sacrifice fly by McFarland in the seventh and three-run homer by Kjerstad capped the scoring for Arkansas, which scored in every inning except the third.
Four relievers - Marshall Denton, Elijah Trest, Collin Taylor and Jacob Burton - combined to throw five scoreless inning, with the check-swing RBI single by Smith being the only hit they gave up.
Only SEC games remain on Arkansas’ schedule now, with a road trip to Kentucky on tap for this weekend. That series begins at 5:30 p.m. Friday and all three games will be streamed on SEC Network-plus, meaning they can be watches online on ESPN3.com or the WatchESPN app.
Other Tidbits
~As is usually the case, Arkansas sold out of reserved tickets for the game and it was a packed house. The paid attendance was 10,463 and “tickets scanned” number was 9,758. The 10,463 tickets sold was 49 shy of tying the Razorbacks’ record at Dickey-Stephens Park, which was set back in 2012 (10,512). The 10-year total for these games is now 92,338.
~Ezell had a perfect day at the plate, reaching base in all six of his appearances - 3 for 3 with two singles, a double and three walks - and then scoring. His six runs tied a single-game school record set by Todd Zacher in 1981 and matched by Jeremy Jackson in 1997.
~Plunkett’s first-inning home run traveled 370 feet and had a 108 mile per hour exit velocity with a 37-degree launch angle. Kjerstad’s eighth-inning home run traveled 446 feet, according to TrackMan, but didn’t appear to go quite that far.
~Those were just the sixth and eighth hit by the Razorbacks since they started playing an annual game at Dickey-Stephens Park, with the others hit by big leaguers James McCann, Matt Reynolds and Andrew Benintendi, Chad Spanberger (currently in Double-A) and Cullen Gassaway.
~The inside-the-park home by Martin was Arkansas’ seventh home run in the annual game, but the first that failed to actually go over the fence.
~The only time Arkansas has lost at Dickey-Stephens Park was in 2015, when it lost to Memphis 5-4. Most of their wins have been very close, though, with four by one run and two by two runs. The other two games were decided by three and five runs.
BOX SCORE
