FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas countered every punch Tennessee threw Friday night before landing the knock blow.

After tying the game on three difference occasions, the Razorbacks scored four runs in the sixth and hung on for an 11-9 win to open their series against No. 20 Tennessee and former assistant Tony Vitello.

It was Jacob Nesbit's two-run double in the sixth that proved to be the difference. He finished the game 3 for 3 with a career-high six RBIs and a triple shy of the cycle.

“We wouldn’t be sitting here talking about a win if he didn’t have the big night,” head coach Dave Van Horn said. “That’s what it takes, somebody picking you up, somebody having a big night.”

The Volunteers struck first with a two-out home run by Andre Lipcius, his 11th of the season and just the second Arkansas ace Isaiah Campbell has allowed all year.

It was a short-lived lead, though. The Razorbacks’ first three hitters reached in the home half of the first, capped by an RBI single by Matt Goodheart.

Both teams wasted leadoff walks in the second before breaking through for a big third inning.

With the bases loaded and two outs, Evan Russell hit a single to drive in two run. Making matters worse, Christian Franklin bobbled the ball in left to allow the third runner to advance to third and then he threw wildly to the base, allowing him to score with the rare double-error.

RBI singles by Dominic Fletcher and Casey Opitz sandwiched around a Nesbit sacrifice fly tied it up, but a base running mistake by Jack Kenley prematurely ended the inning and kept the score at 4-4.

The fifth inning seemed to swing momentum back to Tennessee. After a tremendous diving catch by Fletcher to rob the Volunteers of a hit and at least one run, he lost a fly ball in the lights. Instead of being the third out, Russell got two RBIs out of it.

Pete Derkay followed with a single to drive in another run and chase Campbell after just 4 2/3 innings. Only three of the seven runs were earned, though, as an earlier error by Casey Martin extended the inning.

It was Campbell’s shortest outing of the season and included three walks and only three strikeouts, both of which matched his total at Auburn for the worst of the year.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Volunteers booted a potential inning-ending double play and Nesbit made them pay by launching a three-run home run into the Hog Pen to tie the game for a third time.

Tennessee put a runner on third with one out in the sixth, but Kevin Kopps got out of the jam with the help of his catcher, as Opitz gunned down the SEC’s leading base stealer - Jay Charleston - trying to swipe second for the second out. It was just the third time he’s been caught in 32 attempts. Kopps then struck out Justin Ammons to end the inning.

That gave the Razorbacks some momentum and Trevor Ezell capitalized, sending a 99 mile per hour fastball by Andrew Schultz over the right field fence to give them their first lead of the game.

They extended their lead with an RBI single by Kenley, but it required a tremendous slide by Goodheart to avoid a tag at the plate. The call stood after a replay review and then Nesbit drove in two more with a double.

The Volunteers managed to cut their deficit in half with Derkay’s RBI single and Jake Rucker’s RBI double, but they stranded the tying runs in scoring position when Jacob Kostyshock struck out pinch hitter Connor Pavolony.

That proved to be Tennessee’s last opportunity, as Kostyshock and Matt Cronin combined to retire the final seven batters of the game, including five by strikeout. It was Cronin’s ninth save of the season.

Arkansas will try to clinch the series at 6:30 p.m. Saturday with freshman left-hander Patrick Wicklander (3-1, 4.28 ERA) on the mound. He’ll face Tennessee ace Garrett Stallings (7-2, 1.82 ERA), a junior right-hander.

The game will be streamed on SEC Network-plus, meaning it can be watched online on ESPN3.com or on the WatchESPN app.

Other Tidbits

~A large crowd came to Baum-Walker Stadium for the top-20 matchup. The paid attendance of 11,787 and “tickets scanned” number of 9,769 were both season highs, surpassing last Saturday’s game against Mississippi State (11,087 and 8,823). The paid number is also the fourth largest in school history.

~Friday night was the sixth time in eight games that Arkansas has scored at least 10 runs. This game was particularly impressive because Tennessee came into the game with an NCAA-best 2.68 ERA.

~By going 2 for 3, Martin pushed his season batting average up to .305, marking the first time he’s been above .300 since March 2 at the end of the Stony Brook series.

~Although he walked twice, Heston Kjerstad went 0 for 3 to end his 14-game hitting streak.

BOX SCORE

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