FAYETTEVILLE — Freshman Brett Eibner continues to deliver big hits for Arkansas.

Eibner hit a home run and a two-run double to lead Arkansas to a 5-1 victory over Georgia on Friday in the SEC opener before 5, 137 at Baum Stadium.

Georgia took a 1-0 lead in the fifth before Ryan Cisterna and Eibner answered in the bottom of the inning with home runs to give the Razorbacks (12-3 ) the lead for good.

Arkansas added three runs in the eighth inning on Eibner’s double and an RBI single by Tim Smalling. Cliff Springston (4-0 ) earned the victory and Kendall 1 Korball followed with 3 / 3 innings of scoreless relief. Eibner, Korbal, Andy Wilkins and Jacob House are freshmen who made their SEC debuts Friday. Eibner leads Arkansas with a. 457 average while playing center field and pitching in some games for the Razorbacks. “I was a little nervous my first series here [vs. Wright State ], but I’ve settled in,” Eibner said. “It’s not nervousness now. It’s just about going out there and playing baseball. That’s all it is.” Logan Forsythe had three hits and led Arkansas’ defensive effort with some standout plays at third base. Forsythe’s best play came in the fourth inning when he stabbed a hard grounder, then threw from his knees to second base to start a double play.

“That’s one of the best doubles play I’ve ever seen, and I don’t care if we’re talking big leagues or not,” Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. “He made a great play and a perfect throw to Ben [Tschepikow ]. I stood up and cheered in the dugout on that one because it was an incredible double play.” Cisterna tied the game with a line-drive home run into the Arkansas bullpen in left and Eibner put the Razorbacks ahead with a home run to right-center field. The home runs were the third of the season for both players.

2 Springston pitched 5 / 3 innings in his second start and stayed in the game after taking two hard ground balls off his leg. The junior left-hander allowed 1 run on 5 hits before Korbal took over in the sixth. Korbal hit a batter to load the bases, then struck out Matt Cerione to end the inning. “It was a great ball game,” Van Horn said. “They pitched well, we pitched well, and it was big for us to bounce back. They’re excited after taking the lead and we bounced back with a leadoff home run [by Cisterna ] and Eibner, who went the other way. That was impressive, then getting those runs in the eighth inning was definitely huge.” Georgia (6-7 ) broke a scoreless tie with one run in the fifth on consecutive doubles by Cerione and Ryan Peisel. The inning started quietly when Springston struck out Bryce Massanari and Adam Fuller for two quick outs. But Cerione, the No. 9 hitter, rounded first base aggressively after a hit to center and beat Eibner’s throw for a double. Peisel then lined a double into the right-field corner to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. Georgia starter Trevor Hold-2 er also pitched 5 / 3 innings before Alex McRee took over and struck out Tim Smalling to end the sixth. Arkansas loaded the bases without a hit in the seventh inning but Jacob House flew out to left to end the inning. Shaun Seibert (1-0, 7. 56 ERA ) will start for Arkansas against Stephen Dodson (2-1, 2. 65 ERA ) in today’s game at 12: 05.