HOOVER, Ala. — It’s probably safe to say Curtis Washington Jr. had a good birthday.

On the day he turned 19, the freshman entered Wednesday’s game as a pinch runner for designated hitter Matt Goodheart and came around to score a key insurance run in Arkansas’ 5-3 win over Ole Miss at the SEC Tournament.

Washington got to jog to second thanks to a walk by Dominic Fletcher, but used his speed to make it the rest of the way around the bases.

Officially, it was a wild pitch that moved him to third. The box score doesn’t tell the whole story, though, as the speedster from West Memphis perfectly read a pitch in the dirt and slid in safely just ahead of the throw by Cooper Johnson, the SEC All-Defensive Team catcher.

“When he went from second to third, I was a little nervous, but he did a great job,” head coach Dave Van Horn said. “Great slide (to the) back side of the bag. He barely beat it.”

Trying to keep it a one-run game, Ole Miss had its infield play on the edge of the grass. It seemed like the move would pay off when Jack Kenley hit a sharp grounder to first, but Washington was going on contact and slid in just ahead of Kevin Graham’s throw.

Although the play went to replay review, it was clear he beat the tag to put the Razorbacks up by two in the ninth inning.

“If it had been hit back to the pitcher, he’s gone,” Van Horn said. “The first baseman hesitated just a split second on the throw to the bag and he got under it. Sometimes you have to take a chance and make them make a play, and they didn’t quite make it.”

It was the 27th appearance of the season for Washington, with all but five coming off the bench. Despite limited playing time, he has made the most of his opportunities.

At the plate, he is 12 for 29 (.414) with three doubles, one triple, one home run and three RBIs. The Razorbacks have used him quite a bit as a pinch runner, helping him rack up 14 runs scored while going 4 for 5 on stolen base attempts.

Washington has also established himself as a great teammate who energizes the rest of the team.

“He’s just a ball of energy,” Kenley said. “The way he was able to get on and be aggressive on the bases like he was and finish with a wonderful slide, getting us that insurance run, was big.”

Arkansas returns to action in the winner’s bracket of the SEC Tournament at 4:30 p.m. Thursday against No. 6 Georgia, the No. 3 seed. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.

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