FAYETTEVILLE -- Three times Arkansas took the lead over Tennessee on Friday night, but the Razorbacks couldn't close out the Vols.
Tennessee rallied to beat No. 20 Arkansas 5-4 at Baum Stadium before an announced crowd of 5,540.
The Vols (20-24, 8-17), trying to be among 12 teams to qualify for the SEC Tournament, scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning to take a 5-4 lead.
"They're fighting for their lives," Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. "They played extremely hard and they did a great job."
Vols closer Andrew Lee -- who also was the team's designated hitter and went 2 for 5 -- pitched around a one-out single by Michael Bernal in the ninth inning for his eighth save.
Bernal got to second with two outs, but was stranded when Lee got Clark Eagan on a groundout to second to end the game.
"It was a tough night," Van Horn said. "We didn't play good. They played better than us. They fielded better, they pitched better, they hit better bottom line."
Tennessee roughed up reliever James Teague -- who replaced starter Trey Killian to open the seventh inning with Arkansas leading 4-2 -- for four hits, including an RBI double by Christian Stewart and RBI single by A.J. Simcox to tie it 4-4.
Zach Jackson replaced Teague (3-3) with one out and runners on first and third. Jackson struck out Jordan Rodgers, but Stewart scored on a wild pitch to put the Vols ahead 5-4.
Tennessee second baseman Nick Senzel, who went 4 for 5 including his second home run of the season, started the seventh inning with a single.
"I just tried to put a good swing on it, and then the runs started piling up," Senzel said. "It felt good to battle back and be on the winning end."
Van Horn said he brought Teague in to start the seventh inning -- rather than Jackson -- because Teague had warmed up with the game tied 2-2.
Arkansas right fielder Tyler Spoon hit a two-run home run -- after Andrew Benintendi doubled -- to put the Razorbacks ahead 4-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning with one out.
Tennessee starter Andy Cox (2-3) then struck out Bobby Wernes and Luke Bonfield to end the sixth before Jackson could get warmed up.
"We already had Teague hot," Van Horn said. "Killian was coming out. He was at (93) pitches. We just needed James to get us through an inning."
Tennessee sophomore reliever Kyle Serrano -- a son of Vols Coach Dave Serrano -- came into the game with two on and two outs in the bottom of the eighth to replace Vols reliever Jacob Westphal, who left the game holding his right elbow after walking Spoon and Bonfield. Serrano struck out Wernes looking to keep the Vols ahead by a run.
Killian went 6 innings and allowed 6 hits and 2 walks, but held the Vols to 1 earned run.
"He battled," Van Horn said. "He gave us some quality innings without having his best stuff. We didn't finish it for him."
Spoon said he was confident the Razorbacks (29-19, 14-11) would win after they took the lead on his fifth home run of the season.
"With the way our bullpen's been, leading going into the seventh inning, I figured we had it," Spoon said. "We needed to pick them up later in the game."
Tennessee tied it 2-2 in the top of the fourth inning. Lee singled with one out, then Simcox reached on a fielder's choice and Lee was safe at second on a throwing error by Wernes.
Jordan Rodgers walked to load the bases and Killian hit Chris Hall with a pitch to score a run. Killian struck out Benito Santiago and got Parker Wormsley on a popout to strand three runners.
"It was definitely tough, losing Friday night at our own place," Spoon said. "We feel like we just didn't show up.
"I feel like we could have played a lot better baseball tonight for sure. I think we'll take care of that tomorrow."
Benintendi hit his 16th home run with two outs in the bottom of the third inning to put the Razorbacks head 2-1.
Benintendi lost his glove over the center-field fence trying to catch Senzel's home run that made it 1-1 in the top of the third inning. Left fielder Joe Serrano jumped over the fence to retrieve Benintendi's glove.
Arkansas took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on three consecutive one-out singles by Serrano, Benintendi and Spoon.
The Razorbacks need to win tonight's game to have a chance to take their seventh consecutive SEC series.
"I think we'll be more prepared and learn from tonight," Spoon said. "We can't hang our heads or worry about this or that."
Sports on 05/09/2015