FAYETTEVILLE — Not even a perfect day at the plate could get outfielder Heston Kjerstad out of his freshman duties.
Kjerstad was hard to find following Game 3 of the Cardinal and Gray series Sunday at Baum Stadium because he was busy sweeping the dugout - a rite of passage for newcomers at Arkansas.
"Still gotta do the basics," Kjerstad said after his postgame chores.
The basics made Kjerstad easy to spot on the field. He went 5-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBI, helping the Gray to a 15-2 win in seven innings. The Gray took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series.
"I've just been seeing the ball well and focusing on keeping it simple," said Kjerstad, a native of Amarillo, Texas. "...Some days you show up to the field and you can just hit everything and other days it's just not there for you. You've got to get through the highs and lows, and ride it out."
Kjerstad also drew a walk, scored four runs and finished a triple shy of the cycle, continuing an impressive fall in which Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said he has been the team's best hitter, with an average around .350 entering the final week of practice.
"He's a good hitter and a tough out because he's hard to pitch to," Van Horn said. "If you throw away, he can go the other way, and if you throw in you better get it way in there because he can hit it out of the park like he did today. It just shows that he's an advanced hitter for his age.
"He'll be battling to be in the lineup, whether he's playing right field, center field or left field. Obviously if the season started tomorrow he's a starter. He's earned it and it doesn't matter how old you are, if you're the best player you'll play, and he's one of the best right now."
Kjerstad, who bats left-handed, delivered the highlight of the afternoon with a towering two-run home run off freshman right-hander Zebulon Vermillion that landed in the trees beyond the bullpen in right field.
"You could tell he had hit one a time or two before in his life because he knew he hit it," Van Horn said. "He crushed it and stood there for a second and watched it. I don't mind it. He kind of earned it."
Kjerstad's home run was one of three for the Gray team. Ben McClain's two-run homer off Bryce Bonnin in the second inning extended the lead to 7-0, and Jax Biggers' three-run shot off Jacob Kostyshock in the seventh to extended the lead to 15-1.
The Gray team recorded 17 hits, and also benefitted from six walks and three errors. Every hitter in the lineup reached base at least twice.
"We just saw it well as a team," Kjerstad said. "It was a good day for the hitters."
Bonnin, a highly-recruited freshman right-hander, allowed 7 runs on 7 hits in 3 innings, and also issued 3 walks.
"He was pitching around 93, 95 (mph)," Van Horn said. "I don't know if people watching in the stands could tell...he had pretty good stuff. When he kept his slider down it was almost unhittable - it's like an 85, 87 slider - but he made a couple of mistakes.
"He's learning now that you've got to throw the ball in spots and you've got to change it and move it. But he's going to be fine and be really good."
Freshman right-hander Caleb Bolden earned the win with four scoreless innings in which he allowed three hits and walked two. Like Bonnin, Bolden is at Arkansas after turning down a professional offer this summer.
"He had a couple of good innings," Van Horn said. "He wasn't as sharp as he's been, but when he got into a jam he worked out of it. He can really command his fastball and one of his best pitches is his slider.
"I think Caleb has a bright future."
Cardinal outfielder Jordan McFarland had a pair of RBI hits off sophomore reliever Angus Denton to account for his team's only runs. McFarland's double off the base of the wall in center field scored Fletcher in the fifth inning, and his RBI single in the seventh also scored Fletcher, who went 2-for-4.
The teams are scheduled to play again at 1 p.m. Tuesday. Scrimmages are open to the public free of charge.
