Friday follies: Hogs outlast Vols during 'circus'

Arkansas first baseman Trevor Ezell runs past third base coach Nate Thompson after Ezell hit a home run during a game against Tennessee on Friday, April 26, 2019, in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Friday nights usually don't work like the slugfest put on by the No. 7 Arkansas Razorbacks and No. 18 Tennessee at Baum-Walker Stadium.

The Volunteers came in with the nation's best earned run average (2.68) and hard-throwing lefty Garrett Crochet on the mound, and University of Arkansas ace Isaiah Campbell had not allowed more than three earned runs in eight consecutive starts.

ARKANSAS BASEBALL

vs. Tennessee

WHEN 6:30 p.m., today

WHERE Baum-Walker Stadium, Fayetteville

RECORDS Tennessee 31-12, 9-10 SEC; Arkansas 32-11, 13-6 SEC

PITCHING MATCHUP Tennessee RHP Garrett Stallings (7-2, 1.82 ERA); Arkansas LHP Patrick Wicklander (3-1, 4.25)

RADIO Razorback Sports Network. Not all games will be carried by all affiliates. Check local listings.

TV None

STREAMING SECN Plus

SHORT HOPS

Trevor Ezell’s go-ahead home run in the sixth inning was his first at home since March 6 vs. UNC-Charlotte. … Arkansas DH Matt Goodheart reached base for the 21st consecutive game with his first-inning RBI single. … Tennessee DH Evan Russell’s leadoff walk in the second was the first allowed by Isaiah Campbell in 13 innings, dating to April 5 at Auburn. … Arkansas RF Heston Kjerstad’s 14-game hitting streak came to an end.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

TODAY Tennessee, 6:30 p.m.

SUNDAY Tennessee, 4 p.m. (SEC Network)

MONDAY Off

TUESDAY Grambling State, 6:30 p.m. (NLR)

WEDNESDAY Off

THURSDAY Off

FRIDAY at Kentucky, 5:30 p.m.

But the Razorbacks piled up 16 hits, and freshman Jacob Nesbit went 3 for 3 and drove in a career-high 6 runs as Arkansas outlasted the Vols 11-9 before a crowd of 11,787 at Baum-Walker Stadium, the fourth-largest crowd in school history.

The Razorbacks (32-11, 13-6 SEC) improved to 23-5 at home and 24-4 vs. SEC teams at Baum-Walker the past two seasons. Arkansas is 1½ games ahead of Ole Miss, and two games up on LSU in the SEC West.

The first matchup between Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn and his former assistant Tony Vitello turned into a wild one as Van Horn improved to 21-12 at Arkansas against five former assistants.

Nesbit and Trevor Ezell hit home runs, and the Razorbacks overcame a pair of three-run deficits in the back-and-forth affair, which included 12 hits for the Vols, a ball lost in the lights that led to three runs, a booted tailor-made double play ball, five errors and a tag-eluding Matt Goodheart slide into home plate that opened the door for three Arkansas runs.

"Well, not your typical Friday ball game. I don't think either coach saw that coming," Van Horn said.

"It was a circus, really," Vitello said. "Both teams just had to grind through it, and they did a better job of it than we did."

The Razorbacks rocked the Volunteers for 10 earned runs, and Tennessee scored all of its runs with two outs.

Nesbit walked in the second, hit a sacrifice fly in the third, cracked a three-run home run in the fifth, added a two-run double in the sixth and singled in the eighth.

"Great night," Nesbit said. "I got a fastball and just put my best swing on it, and thankfully it went out. The team really put together a good offensive showing today, and it was really good to see. It was a fun one for sure."

Vitello helped recruit Nesbit before taking the Tennessee job prior to last season.

"He's hitting lower in the order because he's got about three or four big leaguers ahead of him," Vitello said. "He's fully capable of being an impactful player on offense, too, but you know he did a lot of damage tonight."

Kevin Kopps (4-3) picked up the win with two innings of relief, and Matt Cronin posted his ninth save with a perfect ninth inning, breaking up a streak of three consecutive games with a home run allowed.

Campbell and Crochet had been involved in a series of low-scoring games all season, but both struggled with a tight strike zone by home plate umpire Matthew Wilbanks and allowed seven runs in 4⅔ innings.

Campbell had a strange night while giving up three earned runs out of seven, including a few instances of frustration with Wilbanks' strike zone. He gave up 6 hits and a season-high-tying 3 walks while striking out 3 on 81 pitches.

"I think at the beginning of the game, it seemed like the zone was smaller and it kind of moved around a little bit," Van Horn said. "Both pitchers were struggling."

"I made the comment when they did the TV interview, it appears the plate is thin," Vitello said. "And that's not my opinion, because I'm over on the side, but according to the fans. But it just seemed thin."

Crochet threw 107 pitches and allowed 9 hits, 4 walks and 6 earned runs while striking out 7.

The teams matched scoring lines through five innings, with both striking for a single run in the first and three runs in the third and fifth.

Andre Lipcius opened the scoring with a home run to left field for Tennessee in the first, his 11th of the year and only the second allowed by Campbell.

The Razorbacks matched it with their first three batters: Ezell's single, a four-pitch walk by Casey Martin and Goodheart's RBI single. Crochet escaped the inning with a pair of strikeouts and a comebacker.

The Vols grabbed a 4-1 lead in the third, which opened with .174 hitting catcher Landon Gray's single. Campbell retired the next two batters on fly balls before Lipcius singled and Alerick Solaric walked. Evan Russell delivered a two-run single that left fielder Christian Franklin bobbled, then threw wildly to third base to allow the third run to score.

Arkansas answered with three in the bottom of the inning on Dominic Fletcher's RBI single, Nesbit's sacrifice fly and Casey Opitz's single for a 4-4 tie.

The Vols went up by three again in the fifth with the help of a ball lost in the lights. Fletcher had just made a gold-star catch on Alerick Soularie's liner into the right-center gap when he lost Evan Russell's routine fly ball in the lights for a two-run single. Pete Derek's follow-up single made it 7-4 and chased Campbell.

The Hogs matched Tennessee with their own three spot in the fifth. Fletcher led off with a single, and after Crochet struck out Heston Kjerstad, Jack Kenley hit what looked like a double play ball. Second baseman Jake Rucker booted the ball and both runners were safe. Nesbit launched his third home run to left field on an 0-1 pitch to make it 7-7.

The Razorbacks strung together four runs in the sixth inning off Tennessee right-hander Andrew Schultz (2-1), who repeatedly touched 98 and 99 mph on the stadium radar gun.

Schultz struck out Martin before the Razorbacks rallied. Goodheart singled and moved up on Kjerstad's two-out walk. Kenley singled to left field, and Soularie's throw beat Goodheart to the plate, but the sophomore eluded the catcher's tag. Nesbit ripped a two-run double just inside the third-base bag to make it 11-7 and chase Schultz.

Sports on 04/27/2019