Kopps handcuffs Georgia rally

FAYETTEVILLE — Kevin Kopps entered Saturday's game against Georgia at a critical juncture.

The Razorbacks had scored seven runs in the second inning to take a 7-1 lead, but the Bulldogs were clawing their way back. Georgia had chased Arkansas starter Josh Alberius and reliever Kacey Murphy was hooked after a pair of situational at-bats, and the Razorbacks' lead had been trimmed to 7-3.

Kopps entered with the bases loaded and one out in the fourth. Georgia two-hole hitter Cam Shepherd waited at the plate representing the tying run.

But Kopps, a redshirt freshman right-hander, needed only one pitch to get out of the jam. Shepherd hit a ground ball to Arkansas shortstop Jax Biggers, who began a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.

Georgia never threatened again as Arkansas ran away with an 11-3 win.

"We had just scored seven runs...and then they came right back and it looked like they were going to be right back in this thing and score a couple more with a lot of momentum," Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. "For him to get that double play ball it threw the momentum back in our dugout. It was a huge pitch.

"That was the hitter of the game for us."

Kopps pitched the final 5 2/3 innings - all scoreless - to earn his second win. He scattered 5 hits and 2 walks, and struck out 3.

The one-pitch out gave Kopps some breathing room.

"It settled me down a little bit," Kopps said. "I've been working on some things and getting that success right away definitely helped."

Kopps said a point of emphasis has been to be more calm on the mound and to control his shoulder movement so that he doesn't throw too hard.

Kopps began the season as the Razorbacks' No. 3 starter, but he struggled in nonconference play and was relegated to the bullpen after two weekends.

He has continued to struggle in recent outings, including last Saturday against LSU when the Razorbacks blew a seven-run lead in the final three innings. Kopps had a wild pitch and gave up three hits - including a double and a home run - in the eighth inning to help the Tigers pull within three runs.

Prior to Saturday he had a 9.00 ERA and had allowed 10 hits and 4 walks in 8 innings against SEC opponents.

"A couple of those short outings were, in our opinion, he just wasn't mentally ready out there," Van Horn said. "He was nervous. (Pitching coach Wes) Johnson has had some pretty good conversations with him about when you take the mound in a game, whether we're up two or down two, you need to do it a certain way. I think it's helped him a lot.

"He's just going through some growing pains and hopefully he'll continue to do what he did today, which was pitch consistent and with a little bit of an attitude."