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SEC BASEBALL : Misplayed pop-up wins one for Hogs Published: Sunday, April 20, 2008 PRINT E-MAIL FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas beat Tennessee on Saturday, and the player who scored the winning run was likely the last to know. Ben Tschepikow scored from first base on a wind-blown popup in the 10 th inning to give Arkansas a 5-4 victory over the Volunteers at Baum Stadium. Tschepikow was running on the play with two outs and scored after a pop-fly single by Brett Eibner eluded Tennessee shortstop Danny Lima. Lima kept drifting back into short center field while tracking the ball, then double-pumped before throwing too late at the plate to get Tschepikow. Tennessee catcher Yan Gomes kicked the ball away in frustration while Arkansas players rushed from the dugout to swarm Tschepikow. “I didn’t even know we’d won until I slid into home plate,” said Tschepikow, who had two hits and reached on an error in the 10 th. “I had my head down and was running as hard as I could. I slid and somebody said ‘We won, we won’ and I said heck yeah.” Arkansas (22-16, 7-9 ) was two outs away from a victory in the ninth inning when Lima hit a home run to tie the game 4-4. Ryan Cisterna continued his hot hitting with two more home runs, including a two-run home run to give Arkansas a 4-3 lead in the seventh.
Scott Lyons struck out to lead off the 10 th for Arkansas, and Logan Forsythe was picked off after he walked and stole second. Tschepikow reached on a fielding error by Lima before giving a season-high crowd of 8, 070 at Baum Stadium a thrill with his hustle around the bases. “This is awesome to play Division I baseball in front of your hometown,” said Tschepikow, who was a three-sport standout at Fayetteville before joining the Razorbacks. “The SEC is the best league in the country, and it’s fun to go out and compete.” Arkansas handed Tennessee (22-16, 9-8 ) another frustrating defeat while being outhit 23-16 in two games. Tennessee Coach Todd Raleigh was particularly upset after Saturday’s game ended on a pop-up that should have been caught. Tennessee, which began the game 11 th in the SEC in fielding, committed all three errors in the game. “It’s a bad way to lose, and they got four of their five runs after errors on the infield,” Raleigh said. “It’s been a problem for us all year. I can’t teach someone how to catch a routine pop fly. We don’t have a drill for that.” Both starting pitchers turned in stellar performances with Arkansas’ Justin Wells throwing a career-high nine innings and Tennessee’s Bryan Morga-1 do striking out 11 in 8 / 3 innings. Wells was within reach of his fourth victory against no losses when Lima tied the game 4-4 with a home run in the ninth. Morgado was overpowering as he held Arkansas to seven hits and walked none while compiling at least 10 strikeouts for the fifth time this season. “[Morgado ] is one of the best pro prospects in the league, and we kept hoping he’d make a mistake somewhere,” Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. “We got a couple of big hits from Cisterna, and sometimes you have to live with that long ball. It didn’t look like we were going to be able to string hits together to score and we needed every bit of that.” Arkansas clinched its second consecutive SEC series victory after losing its first four. The Razorbacks will now go for the sweep with Cliff Springston on the mound against Ty’relle Harris for the Volunteers. Today’s game has been moved back an hour from its original start and will begin at 1: 05 p.m. “This is the first time in six [SEC ] series we’ve gone into Sunday with a chance to win three,” Van Horn said. “We’ve had a lot of extra-inning games this year, and it’s nice to win one at home in front of all of these people.” More Stories From: RICK FIRES · Second day sends Springston home · San Diego chooses UA third baseman · Hogs plan to host 5-team tournament · Hogs want to avoid major draft hit Yesterday's Most Popular 1. Pelphrey expects Monk to join team 2. Pelphrey: Early signees fill Razorbacks’ needs 3. Neck and neck : Brothers split snaps at quarterback in Tuesday practice 4. ARKANSAS AT MISSISSIPPI STATE : Brother vs. brother 5. Hogs’ signees pass eye test, coach says Today's Most E-mailed 1. LIKE IT IS : Arkansas made right choice in hiring Petrino 3. Razorbacks face Princeton clone 4. Richardson, 6 others to be inducted into College Basketball Hall of Fame 5. SEC report |
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