Not a subscriber? Subscribe for free for 30 days w/code HAWGS30
NEW USERS | RETURNING USERS

A seventh-inning meltdown that included two defensive errors and another mental error ultimately resulted in Arkansas’ first loss of the 2020 season.

No. 19 Oklahoma broke a tie with three unearned runs in that mistake-filled inning to knock off the No. 4 Razorbacks 6-3 in their first game at the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic in Houston.

Arkansas came into the game undefeated, but drops to 7-1 with the loss, while the Sooners improve to 8-2.

Shortstop Casey Martin started the disastrous seventh inning by fielding a chopper by Trent Brown and sailing his throw well over first baseman Cole Austin and out of play.

The error - Martin’s fourth of the season and 42nd of his career - put the go-ahead run in scoring position. With no outs, Oklahoma decided to get him 90 feet closer with a sacrifice bunt.

However, instead of taking the free out, pitcher Kevin Kopps fielded Conor McKenna’s bunt and threw to third. Jacob Nesbit thought it was a force out, but even if he tried to make the tag, Brown would have slid in safely.

Brandon Zaragoza, the Sooners’ 9-hole hitter who was just 3 for 31 (.097), hit a 1-2 pitch into left field to give Oklahoma a 4-3.

A bunt single by Tanner Tredaway loaded the bases and Tyler Hardman drove in a run with a single, but another run came home when Braydon Webb’s throw back in got away from the cutoff man. The error was charged to Webb, but Nesbit appeared to be in position to field the throw.

That gave the Sooners a 6-3 lead that proved to be the final score. A pair of walks brought the tying run to the plate in the form of Heston Kjerstad in the ninth inning, but the slugger grounded into a game-ending double play.

Arkansas will try to bounce back when it plays former Southwest Conference rival Texas at 7 p.m. Saturday. The game will be televised on AT&T Sportsnet and streamed online on both Astros.com and MLB.com.

Back-to-Back Jacks

Simply putting the ball in play was a difficult task for Arkansas, as Oklahoma ace Cade Cavalli was as good as advertised. The hard-throwing right-hander struck out nine of the first 15 Razorbacks he faced, with only a couple reaching on infield singles.

Arkansas finally got to Cavalli in the fifth inning, starting with a single into the outfield by Cole Austin. The fireworks came from the 8- and 9-hole hitters, as Robert Moore crushed a two-run home run to right field that tied the game and then Jacob Nesbit gave the Razorbacks a 3-2 lead on a solo shot to left.

It was Moore’s second home run of the season, giving the 17-year-old freshman 11 RBIs. That ties him with Kjerstad for the team lead in RBIs, with all coming in the last five games. For Nesbit, it was his first homer of 2020 and the fifth of his career.

Facing Cavalli

Not only did those swings give the Razorbacks a one-run lead, but they also jolted some life into their dugout after being dominated by Cavalli.

A projected first-round draft pick who consistently throws 96-97 miles per hour, Cavalli carved up Arkansas’ hitters for most of his five-inning outing.

The Big 12's Preseason pitcher of the Year needed only 24 pitches to get through the first two innings and ended up retiring the first eight batters of the game before Nesbit reached on an infield single.

The tide started to shift in the fourth inning, even though he struck out the side around an infield single by Casey Martin. Arkansas’ hitters started making him work, as he threw 20 pitches in the inning.

Cavalli bounced back after the consecutive homers, striking out Braydon Webb and Matt Goodheart sandwiched around a single by Kjerstad, but he had thrown 33 pitches by the end of the inning. With his pitch count at 94, his day was done.

He finished with 11 strikeouts in the no decision, allowing three earned runs on six hits and no walks in five innings.

Noland’s Outing

Minus the large strikeout total, Arkansas ace Connor Noland was just as effective for the Razorbacks.

A pitch-to-contact pitcher, the right-hander kept his pitch count down even though he gave up runs in the second, third and sixth innings.

The first of those runs came after back-to-back hits by Brady Harlan and Justin Mitchell, the latter of which was a double to put runners on second and third. Brown followed with a sacrifice fly to give Arkansas its first deficit of the season.

Oklahoma doubled its lead the next inning, turning Tredaway’s one-out double into a run with some help from the Razorbacks. A rare passed ball by Casey Opitz - who had two all of last season - moved him to third, although Noland missed his spot by a lot and it could have been ruled a wild pitch. That made the ensuing ground out by Brady Lindsly an RBI.

Noland retired eight of the next nine batters and had thrown just 62 pitches through five innings, but Lindsly took advantage of the short porch in left field by hitting a game-tying solo home run. It looked like it might have been a fly out in most parks, but just got out at Minute Maid Park.

Despite his low pitch count, Noland was relieved after giving up a single to the next batter. It was his third time through the order, which proved to be a difficult hurdle for him to get over last season, as well.

Two of his three runs were earned, coming on six hits and no walks while striking out five in 5 1/3 innings.

Missed Opportunities

Arkansas had several chances to score more than just three runs, even before Kjerstad’s ninth-inning double play, but came up empty outside of the back-to-back home runs.

In the fourth inning, Martin ripped a pitch down the third base line, but third baseman Peyton Graham snagged it to rob him of extra bases. He made a strong throw to first and it was initially ruled the third out of the inning, but replay showed the first baseman’s foot came off the bag as the speedy Martin got there.

Martin proceeded to steal second without a throw and take third on a wild pitch. He was stranded there, though, as Franklin - who had just seen three pitches in the dirt - couldn’t check his swing on a full count and was called out.

Two innings later, the Razorbacks had an excellent opportunity to add to their one-run lead. Franklin singled and Opitz followed with a double to the left field corner. Even though Brown briefly bobbled it, Franklin was held up at third.

Reliever Wyatt Olds responded by striking out Austin and Moore to strand both of them on base. That was part of Arkansas’ 0-for-7 performance with runners in scoring position.

Other Tidbits

~This is the only time Arkansas will play Oklahoma at the Shriners Classic, but the Razorbacks will get a shot at revenge in a few weeks when they play the Sooners at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City for a midweek matchup.

~Oklahoma pitchers combined for a whopping 18 strikeouts Friday afternoon - Cavalli had 11, Olds had six and closer Jason Ruffcorn had one. That’s tied for the most strikeouts by Arkansas in a nine-inning game in at least the last seven seasons, matching the 18 in had in Game 1 of the Texas A&M series in College Station last season. (It’s worth noting that the Razorbacks struck out 20 times in Game 2 of their Auburn series last year, but that was a 15-inning game.)

~All nine starters struck out at least once, with Goodheart and Franklin doing so three times. One of four players to strike out twice was Martin, who now has 153 strikeouts in his career. That moves him into seventh place on the UA all-time list, breaking a tie with Matt Vinson and Ryan Fox. He is eight shy of Brett Eibner’s record of 161 by a three-year player.