FAYETTEVILLE — When Southeast Missouri State scored two runs against Arkansas relief pitcher Caden Monke in the top of the eighth inning Thursday, it ended an impressive early-season run for the Razorbacks’ bullpen.
Beginning with last week’s season opener against Texas Tech, Arkansas’ relievers had recorded 58 outs — the equivalent of 19 1/3 innings — without allowing a run.
After holding both Texas and TCU without a run for 4 2/3 innings on Sunday and Monday, the Razorbacks’ bullpen was stout again in a 6-5 victory in 10 innings over the Redhawks. Arkansas relief pitchers recorded 29 of 30 outs during the game, and allowed 2 runs in 9 2/3 innings.
SEMO quickly staked a 3-0 lead against Arkansas starter Caleb Bolden, but Patrick Wicklander threw four innings of scoreless relief to stabilize things.
Monke was also good until the eighth when Tyler Wilber and Andrew Keck singled in the first two at-bats of the inning, and advanced on a balk. Danny Wright’s two-run single came on the final pitch Monke threw.
Ryan Costeiu retired the final two batters of the eighth inning, and Evan Gray and Jaxon Wiggins pitched an inning apiece before the Razorbacks completed the comeback victory in the bottom of the 10th inning.
“It was a tremendous job by our bullpen, giving us the opportunity to climb back in the game,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said.
“I’m just real proud of those guys. Hopefully our pitching staff will keep it rolling until we get our bats going.”
Arkansas relievers struggled in the season opener against Texas Tech when they allowed 7 runs on 6 hits and 5 walks, and hit 2 batters.
The bullpen season ERA is 3.38, but the ERA over the past three games is 0.95.
Another comeback
Arkansas won for the third time this season when trailing in the eighth inning or later.
The Razorbacks were behind 5-2 in the ninth inning Thursday. Arkansas also trailed Texas Tech 9-8 before scoring five runs in the ninth inning last Saturday, and trailed TCU 1-0 before scoring twice in the eighth inning Monday.
“Once you’ve done it and gained that experience, you think you can do it,” Dave Van Horn said. “We’ve done it a couple of times now — maybe not to this extreme, but we’ve fought back.
“I know in the ninth inning the guys in the dugout were rallying and talking. It was loud in there. It wasn’t like we were just waiting to get the game over with. They felt like we had a chance to come back and win.”
The three-run deficit was Arkansas’ second largest to overcome this season. The Razorbacks trailed Texas Tech 5-1 in the sixth inning.
“We always know we’re never out of games,” said Jalen Battles, the shortstop who hit the game-winning single in the 10th inning. “I told them, ‘We’re going to come back and win this game.’ We just had to stay locked in the whole time.”
Lineup change
After using the same lineup for all three games at the College Baseball Showdown, the Razorbacks shook things up Thursday.
Brady Slavens (first base), Cullen Smith (third base), Zack Gregory (left field) and Braydon Webb (designated hitter) all started at a position for the first time this season.
In Arlington, Slavens was the team’s DH, Smith played first base and Webb was the left fielder. Gregory was a pinch hitter in two games and had not started prior to Thursday.
Gregory went 1-for-3 against SEMO and was hit by a pitch twice, including in the 10th inning to load the bases for Jalen Battles’ game-winning hit. Gregory singled and scored a run during the Razorbacks’ three-run ninth inning.
No Goodheart
Arkansas designated hitter Matt Goodheart did not play for the fourth consecutive game.
Goodheart had been cleared to play after sitting out the Texas trip last week with what was described as “stomach issues” by Dave Van Horn.
It is not known when Goodheart will return to the lineup.
Wallace walk
Freshman right fielder Cayden Wallace had a 14-pitch at-bat in the 10th inning to chase SEMO relief pitcher Kyle Miller from the game.
Following a first-pitch ball, Wallace fouled off four consecutive pitches. Then after the count went to 3-2, Wallace fouled off five consecutive pitches from Miller.
“It was really a tough at-bat in a really tough situation,” Dave Van Horn said.
Wallace, who is batting .077, was robbed of a hit in the ninth inning when SEMO third baseman Peyton Leeper made a diving stop to his right and threw out Casey Opitz at second base for a fielder’s choice.
“It robbed him of a double,” Van Horn said. “He didn’t let it bother him and when he got another opportunity to try to win the game, he fought and fought and fought.”
Still perfect
Arkansas improved to 26-0 in home openers at Baum-Walker Stadium and won its home opener for the 27th consecutive season.
The Razorbacks’ last loss in a home opener came in 1994 when Kansas won 5-3 at George Cole Field.
Arkansas played its opening game at Cole Field in 1996, then moved to what was then known as Baum Stadium in April of that year. The Razorbacks swept a doubleheader against Auburn on its first day at Baum.
Dave Van Horn is 19-0 in home openers as Arkansas’ coach.
Dodd strong again
SEMO left hander Dylan Dodd struck out 10 Razorbacks and allowed only 3 hits in 6 innings.
Two of the hits allowed by Dodd were solo home runs by Christian Franklin in the third inning and Brady Slavens in the fourth. The final hit against Dodd came in the sixth when Cullen Smith led off with a single.
Through two games, Dodd has struck out 18 in 12 innings. His ERA increased from 1.50 to 2.25 after Thursday’s start.
“Dodd is a really good pitcher,” Dave Van Horn said. “He kept us down (with) 92, 93 — 94 every now and then, down, away, in. He mixed in a couple of great breaking balls. We didn’t do a very good job with him.”
New seats
Fourteen new loge boxes were in use for the first time during Thursday’s game.
The luxury seats were added as part of the construction of the Hunt Performance Center in the right-field corner of Baum-Walker Stadium. The Hunt Center is scheduled to open later this year.
The 14 loge boxes add 58 seats to the stadium’s capacity.
Franklin near HR
Christian Franklin’s third-inning home run into the left-field bullpen was his first of the season.
Franklin nearly has two more in 2021.
He flied out just in front of the 407-foot sign at Globe Life Field last Saturday against Texas Tech, and flied out to deep center field to end the fifth inning Thursday against SEMO.