Casey Martin felt he was robbed of a triple in the second inning Tuesday night, but it made his inside-the-park home run two innings later feel a little sweeter.
Martin and Trevor Ezell each came up with 3 hits and combined for 8 runs and 6 RBI as the University of Arkansas rolled to a 17-3 victory over Grambling State in their annual game at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock.
An inauspicious start for the No. 6 Razorbacks had a near-record crowd of 10,463 on edge. By the end of the first inning, however, Arkansas was clearly in charge.
Martin, a sophomore from Lonoke, belted his second inside-the-park home run of the year and Ezell, a senior from Bryant, went 3 for 3 with 3 walks and 2 RBI. Ezell tied a school record with six runs.
With the Razorbacks holding a 6-1 lead and Ezell at first, Martin drove a one-ball, two-strike pitch to the left-field corner off Kaelin Woodard. Ezell scored easily, but Martin was called out at third attempting to stretch a double into a triple.
"I didn't think he was out, and really the issue was whether there was a little bit of obstruction going on there," Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. "We don't have replay here. If we would have had replay, I would have asked first if he had beaten the tag and then maybe go to round two to see if there was obstruction."
"I told him it was obstruction and he didn't tag me, but no call is what it was," Martin said. "I just kind of flushed it."
Two innings later, Martin came to the plate with the same situation -- Ezell at first and no outs. Martin hammered a one-ball, one-strike offering from Bryan Delgado to the right-center-field wall. Grambling freshman center fielder Warren Laster slipped while trying to chase down the ball, and Martin easily motored around the bases for his 10th home run of the season.
"I went up there [in my next] at-bat looking for something in the zone," Martin said. "It just so happened I ran into one.
"I hit it to the gap, and they didn't quite pick it up when I was touching second, so I was just rolling after that. I looked up and they were just picking the ball up. I don't know what happened, but I'm kind of glad I could stretch it out."
"Casey's done a really good job the last two weeks of raising his batting average because he's hitting the ball the other way," Van Horn said. "He's staying through the middle of the field, and that ball was really hit hard to right center."
Arkansas also had two three-run home runs against the Tigers. Senior Zack Plunkett capped the Razorbacks' six-run first inning with a drive over the left-field wall. Heston Kjerstad launched his team-leading 13th home run in the eighth inning to cap the scoring.
Grambling (23-21) started the game with three consecutive singles, but the Tigers managed to push only one across the plate. Arkansas (35-11) responded with six runs in the bottom of the first, using three walks, a hit batter, an infield single and the three-run blast from Plunkett.
Starting sophomore pitcher Kole Ramage struck out a career-high seven batters, but he allowed the first three batters of the fifth inning to reach base. Sophomore Marshall Denton (2-0) struck out four in two innings and was awarded the win. Arkansas used five pitchers Tuesday, and Grambling managed only three more hits after its first-inning start.
The 17 runs more than doubled the largest output the Razorbacks have ever scored at the North Little Rock stadium. The previous high in runs was seven done twice, a 7-2 victory over Memphis in 2011 and a 7-6 victory over Grambling last season.
Arkansas finished with 15 hits, seven of which went for extra bases.
Grambling trotted out eight pitchers to face the Razorbacks. Starter D'Quan Matthews (0-2) faced only five batters. He walked 3, hit 1 and struck out 1.
Ezell reached base and scored in all six plate appearances. The last time a Razorback scored six runs in one game came on April 16, 1997, when Jeremy Jackson did it against Northeastern (Okla.).
"I just try to see some pitches," Ezell said. "I'm in the leadoff spot, and Coach Van Horn wants me to set the tone there. Some days that's jumping on a pitch early and getting on, but tonight I was able to see a lot of pitches."
The Razorbacks have won four in a row and 10 of their past 11 games.
"I don't feel like we're peaking; I think we're just winning," Van Horn said. "We've won games where we've outhit people. We've won games where we got a big hit. But I don't think 1 through 9 we're hitting the cover off the ball."
Tuesday's crowd was the second largest to attend a Razorbacks game at Dickey-Stephens Park. The Razorbacks' game with Louisiana Tech in 2012 drew 10,512.
Friday’s game
NO. 6 ARKANSAS AT KENTUCKY
WHEN 5:30 p.m. Central
WHERE Kentucky Proud Park, Lexington, Ky.
RECORDS Arkansas 35-11, 15-6 SEC; Kentucky 22-22, 5-16
SERIES Arkansas leads 41-25.
STARTING PITCHERS Arkansas: RHP Isaiah Campbell (7-1, 2.66 ERA). Kentucky:
RHP Jimmy Ramsey (2-4, 7.29 ERA) RADIO Razorback Sports Network
INTERNET SEC Network-Plus
SHORT HOPS Arkansas swept Kentucky in 2018, outscoring the Wildcats 39-15 in the three games at Fayetteville. … Kentucky has lost 6 of its past 8 games. … Shortstop Casey Martin and center fielder Dominic Fletcher are the only Razorbacks to start every game this season (46 games) at their respective positions. … With his second-inning RBI double, Casey Martin leads all SEC players in doubles with 19. … Arkansas improved to 7-0 all-time vs. Grambling, and to 9-1 in games played at Dickey-Stephens Park.
THE WEEK AHEAD
TODAY Off
THURSDAY Off
FRIDAY at Kentucky*, 5:30 p.m.
SATURDAY at Kentucky*, 1 p.m.
SUNDAY at Kentucky*, noon
MONDAY Off
TUESDAY Off
*SEC game
Sports on 05/01/2019