FAYETTEVILLE -- Instead of feasting on light-hitting South Alabama on Friday, the University of Arkansas got ripped by the Jaguars to extend the Razorbacks' funk to five consecutive losses.
South Alabama smacked three home runs, two by left fielder Ethan Wilson, into a friendly right-field wind, notched 11 hits, and ran and bunted on the No. 10 Razorbacks in a 13-6 rout before a crowd of 3,951 at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Today’s game
Arkansas vs. South Alabama
WHEN 2 p.m.
WHERE Baum-Walker Stadium
RECORDS South Alabama 8-7; Arkansas 7-5
STARTING PITCHERS South Alabama RHP Miles Smith (0-1, 6.92 ERA); Arkansas RHP Caleb Bolden (0-0, 0.00)
SHORT HOPS Arkansas RF Heston Kjerstad hit an eighth-inning single to extend his hitting streak to all 12 games. … Arkansas CF Christian Franklin made the top defensive play, getting his glove over the wall to rob Michael Sandle of an apparent home run in the third. … Arkansas RHP Mark Adamiak and PH Bryce Matthews made their college debuts, and LHP Evan Taylor made his season debut. … The Razorbacks streak of three one-run losses entering Friday was its longest since dropping four in a row in March 2014 (4-3 and 2-1 at Cal; 2-1 and 1-0 at Florida). … Sunday’s announced starters are Arkansas RHP Kole Ramage (1-1, 3.18) and South Alabama RHP JoJo Booker (1-1, 4.85).
THE WEEK AHEAD
TODAY South Alabama, 2 p.m.
SUNDAY South Alabama, noon
MONDAY Off
TUESDAY Grand Canyon, 6:30 p.m.
WEDNESDAY Grand Canyon, 3 p.m.
THURSDAY Off
FRIDAY at Mississippi State*, 6:30 p.m.
*SEC game
Arkansas (7-5) lost its fifth consecutive game, the first streak of that length since the 2016 team lost its final 13 games.
"We were behind the entire game, but that's not an excuse for the hitters not to do their job," Arkansas designated hitter Matthew Goodheart said.
The Jaguars (8-7) entered the game with a .200 team batting average, but they teed off on Arkansas starter Patrick Wicklander (2-2), whose control issues led to five walks, all of which scored, and right-hander Kevin Kopps.
"The thing is, hitting is hard, and it comes in waves," South Alabama Coach Mark Calvi said. "The old saying about there's nowhere to go but up? That was really true with our offense."
Wilson hit a pair of monstrous home runs over the right-field wall, a two-run shot off Wicklander in the second and a three-run blast as the first hitter faced by Kopps in the fourth after a pair of walks.
"They did damage," Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said.
Said Calvi: "We took a couple of walks, we had some good at-bats, and then we got into a couple of long balls. That's what we've been missing, the two or three runs on one swing."
The Jaguars knocked out Wicklander -- who was starting a day early while right-hander Connor Noland rested a strained oblique muscle -- in the fourth after he allowed 7 earned runs on 4 hits and struck out 3. His ERA more than doubled, from 3.00 to 6.32.
South Alabama senior right-hander Drake Nightengale (1-0) was effectively wild, walking a season-high 6, but he struck out 9 while throwing 119 pitches in 6 innings. Nightengale allowed four runs on six hits.
The Razorbacks roughed up reliever Jase Dalton for 2 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks in 3 innings, but he was credited with his second save.
Goodheart went 2 for 2 with a home run, 3 walks and 3 runs scored, and Casey Martin was 2 for 3 with a pair of doubles, 2 walks and 2 RBI for Arkansas.
Michael Sandle was 3 for 5 with a first-inning home run, 3 runs scored, 2 RBI. Wilson, Andrew Bates and Alden Davis had two hits each for the Jaguars.
The Razorbacks said hitting with runners in scoring position, which Illinois State and South Alabama have done to them the past two games, is the key to halting their skid. Arkansas went 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position and stranded 13.
"We had too many swings and misses with too many runners in scoring position," Martin said.
"We know how good we are," Goodheart said. "We know what we're capable of doing. Sometimes it just doesn't go your way and sometimes it doesn't go your way consecutively. Baseball is a humbling sport sometimes."
Wicklander retired the first two hitters before running into trouble. He walked Reid Powers, then the cleanup hitter Sandle launched an opposite-field home run over the right-field wall. Dakota Dailey walked, stole second base and scored on a single by Bates, who entered the game with a .143 average, to make it 3-0 in the first.
Arkansas drew within 5-3 in the third after striking for a pair of runs. Goodheart and Braydon Webb drew back-to-back one-out walks, then Martin rifled a hot shot over the third-base bag that tipped off the glove of Dailey for an RBI double. Webb scored on Casey Opitz's sacrifice fly to pull the Hogs within two.
The momentum didn't last. Wicklander induced a double play ball after a single from the .115 hitter Davis, but he followed that with a walk to nine-hole hitter Hunter Stokes. Santi Montiel drew another walk, then Wilson belted Kopps' 2-0 pitch for his three-run home run.
"A 2-0 count, and Kevin throws one right there and the ball's hit over the scoreboard," Van Horn said. "Just when we were kind of getting back off the canvas, we just got blasted again."
His teammates told Wilson his fourth-inning shot cleared the big "Baum-Walker" sign atop the right-field scoreboard.
"That's what I was told," Wilson said. "I just hit it and started running. I got a fastball on that one."
The Jaguars added two more runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to pump their lead to 12-4.
Van Horn shuffled his lineup a bit, moving freshman Robert Moore to leadoff, slotting Webb in the five-hole and starting Zack Gregory at first base. The Razorbacks produced 10 hits and 6 runs, but left 13 runners stranded.
Van Horn said he probably will lean more on veteran players in today's lineup behind sophomore right-hander Caleb Bolden, who has not allowed a run in 10 innings.
Sports on 03/07/2020