Pitching by committee, Arkansas struck out 16 batters Wednesday to prevail 2-1 over Kansas before a Baum Stadium crowd of 1, 334.

Six pitchers combined for the most strikeouts by Arkansas (4-0 ) since fire-baller Jess Todd fanned 17 South Carolina batters during the SEC Tournament last May. Starter James Mahler’s six punchouts led the way.

Mahler didn’t earn the win after pitching 3 1 / 3 innings but did avert the loss thanks to the Razorback bullpen. The 6-7 freshman right hander from Sandy, Utah, gave up one hit and walked two in 49 pitches, allowing no earned runs. The opening-day starter performed much better than he did during his debut, when Wright State’s five hits and four earned runs chased him after an inning and a third.

“ I was really proud to see Mahler have a good outing, ” said Dave Van Horn, Arkansas coach. “ Now he can go to bed tonight and relax and start thinking about how good he is instead of how he’s got to make a move to get back in the rotation.

ADVERTISEMENT

“ He did a good job. He came out and spotted his fastball, threw that good downer and had them swinging and missing. He got us off to a good start and gave us a chance to get in the game. I’m just really happy for him, because he’s going to be valuable for us later down the road. ”

Sophomore Mike Bolsinger worked scoreless fifth and sixth frames to earn the decision, his first as an Arkansas Razorback. Three of his five strikeouts came in the fifth when he fanned the bottom third of the Jayhawk (2-4 ) lineup in order.

He’s part of a bullpen that’s allowed two earned runs in 25 innings. This season Razorback relievers have 33 strikeouts against eight walks, posting a 0. 72 ERA and. 125 opponent batting average. All four of the team’s wins have been authored by the bullpen.

“ I think we have one of the best bullpens around, ” Bolsinger said. “ The starting pitchers only have to go four innings. Our bullpen can come in and finish off the rest of the game. ”

Prior to Bolsinger’s entrance, sophomore southpaw Stephen Richards extricated Mahler and Arkansas from a precarious fourth inning. A walk, stolen base and throwing error put Kansas ’ John Allman on third base with one out. Making his first appearance of the year, Richards struck out the next two batters to rescue the Razorbacks.

Travis Hill came on in relief of Justin Wells in the eighth inning and pitched around a two-out double in the ninth to earn his second save of the year.

“ I have to give all the credit to our pitchers, ” Van Horn said. “ It was just one right after the other that had a very good outing. ”

A single off the bat of freshman center fielder Brett Eibner accounted for all of Arkansas’ offense. His two-out liner off the glove of Kansas third baseman Tony Thompson plated Logan Forsythe and Casey Coon in the home half of the sixth, giving Arkansas a 2-0 lead. In the bottom half of the inning, his over-theshoulder catch robbed Nick Faunce of extra bases.

A pair of double plays snuffed out promising scoring opportunities in the second and fourth innings.

Arkansas now heads to College Station, Texas, to participate in the Dominos Pizza Classic. The Diamond Hogs open play Friday against Louisiana Tech. The Razorbacks will play Texas A & M Saturday and Ohio State Sunday.