Arkansas rallies late to take series, SEC lead

Arkansas first baseman Brady Slavens is shown during a game against Tennessee on Sunday, May 16, 2021, in Knoxville, Tenn. (Photo courtesy Tennessee Athletics)

Arkansas has sole possession of the SEC lead with one week remaining in the regular season.

The No. 1 Razorbacks rallied to defeat No. 5 Tennessee 3-2 on Sunday in the series finale between teams that entered the game tied atop the SEC standings.

Arkansas (39-10, 19-8 SEC) became the third SEC team to win nine consecutive series to start a season, joining the 2013 Vanderbilt and 2018 Florida teams.

The Razorbacks also finished with wins in all six of their road series, including five in SEC play. Arkansas has won road series over Louisiana Tech, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Tennessee — all teams that are among 20 being considered to host an NCAA regional.

Zack Gregory’s one-out RBI double scored Casey Opitz to give the Razorbacks a 2-1 lead in the eighth inning, and Arkansas added a run to go ahead 3-1 in the ninth when Robert Moore singled to score Brady Slavens.

Tennessee (39-13, 18-9) brought the go-ahead run to the plate after Connor Pavolony hit a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the ninth, but Arkansas’ Kevin Kopps got Liam Spence to fly out to end the game in a showdown between the NCAA’s ERA leader and the SEC’s best hitter.

The Razorbacks struggled against Tennessee freshman right hander Blake Tidwell for much of the game. Matt Goodheart and Cayden Wallace reached on a walk and a double in the first inning, but Arkansas went scoreless when Goodheart was thrown out at home plate by Vols left fielder Jordan Beck trying to score on a fly ball.

Arkansas didn’t threaten against Tidwell again until the seventh inning when Brady Slavens doubled with one out in the inning. Slavens advanced to third base on a wild pitch and scored on Moore’s sacrifice fly to tie the game 1-1.

Tidwell was taken out after he walked Opitz on his 103rd pitch to lead off the eighth. The Vols brought in their top reliever, Shawn Hunley, who allowed the double to Gregory, the first batter he faced.

Tennessee took a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning when the Vols chased Arkansas starter Lael Lockhart with consecutive one-out singles from the bottom of the order off the bats of Pete Derkay and Pavolony.

Caden Monke, who threw 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief Friday, struggled in his second outing of the weekend and was pulled after five consecutive balls that were well outside the strike zone.

Zebulon Vermillion, who inherited a 1-0 count against Saturday’s hero Max Ferguson, limited the damage with a groundout and a fly out. Ferguson was credited with an RBI on his fielder’s choice to the shortstop that gave the Vols a 1-0 lead.

Tennessee put two on again in the sixth inning before Arkansas decided to bring on Kopps, who threw 66 pitches Friday. Kopps got out of the sixth-inning jam by getting Beck to fly out and pinch hitter Kyle Booker to strike out — the first two of eight consecutive outs before Luc Lipcius doubled against him to lead off the ninth.

Lipcius scored on Pavolony’s single, which snapped Kopps’ streak of 28 consecutive scoreless innings — one shy of David Walling’s school record of 29 set in 1998.

Kopps threw 59 pitches in 3 2/3 innings Sunday. He allowed two hits and struck out four, and earned his ninth win of the season.

Lockhart was strong through three hitless innings. He struck out seven in 4 1/3 innings.

Tidwell took the loss with a 7-inning start in which he allowed 2 runs on 2 hits and 4 walks, and he struck out 8.

EARLIER

Arkansas 3, Tennessee 2 — FINAL

Liam Spence flied out to end the game. Arkansas has won the series and regained sole possession of first place in the SEC with one week to go.

It appeared Dave Van Horn and Tony Vitello got into a verbal confrontation at the end of the game.

Kevin Kopps pitched the final 3 2/3 innings to earn the win for Arkansas.

Much more coming at WholeHogSports.com.

Arkansas 3, Tennessee 2 — Bottom 9th Inning

Connor Pavolony's two-out RBI single scored Luc Lipcius from third base. Liam Spence, the SEC's top hitter, is now at the plate.

Arkansas 3, Tennessee 1 — Bottom 9th Inning

Luc Lipcius doubled to right field to lead off the ninth inning. Jordan Beck struck out in three pitches in the next at bat for the first out of the inning, then Kyle Booker grounded out to advance Lipcius to third.

Lipcius' hit was Tennessee's first against Kopps. He is the Vols' first base runner against Kopps.

Arkansas 3, Tennessee 1 — Middle 9th Inning

Jalen Battles flied out to right field to strand two runners. The Razorbacks have stranded six today.

Kevin Kopps will come back for the ninth. He will face the Vols' 6-7-8 hitters, beginning with Luc Lipcius. Lipcius is the only Tennessee batter yet to face Kopps today.

Arkansas 3, Tennessee 1 — Top 9th Inning

Robert Moore's RBI single scored Brady Slavens from second base. Moore went to second base on the throw home.

Jacob Nesbit flied out to deep center field for the second out. Casey Opitz then hit a sharp grounder to third base and reached on an error.

There are runners on the corners with two outs for Jalen Battles.

Arkansas 2, Tennessee 1 — Top 9th Inning

Brady Slavens beat out a throw for an infield hit to lead off the ninth, and he advanced to second base on a groundout from Christian Franklin.

Tennessee is going back to the bullpen for left hander Redmond Walsh, who pitched the final two innings yesterday.

That will move Robert Moore to the right side for his one-out at bat with a runner in scoring position.

Arkansas 2, Tennessee 1 — End 8th Inning

Kevin Kopps is giving another Herculean effort. He has retired all eight Tennessee hitters he has faced, including Jake Rucker (strikeout), Drew Gilbert (fly out) and Evan Russell (groundout) in the eighth.

Kopps has thrown 41 pitches today and 107 for the weekend. There is no reason to believe he won't come back for the ninth.

Arkansas 2, Tennessee 1 — Middle 8th Inning

Matt Goodheart grounded into the shift and Cayden Wallace popped up to the second baseman to strand Braydon Webb at third base. Webb was pinch running for Zack Gregory after his go-ahead double.

Kevin Kopps will face the heart of the Vols' order in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Arkansas 2, Tennessee 1 — Top 8th Inning

Zack Gregory's one-out RBI double has given Arkansas the lead in the eighth inning. Casey Opitz scored from second base. He advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Jalen Battles.

Opponents only hit .190 against Tennessee reliever Sean Hunley, so that was a notable achievement.

Arkansas 1, Tennessee 1 — Top 8th Inning

Blake Tidwell walked Casey Opitz to lead off the eighth inning. Tennessee has gone to the bullpen for right hander Sean Hunley, who threw 4 2/3 innings and was the losing pitcher Friday.

Jalen Battles will bat first against him.

Arkansas 1, Tennessee 1 — End 7th Inning

Kevin Kopps retired the Vols' 9-1-2 hitters in order to end the seventh inning. He has retired all five hitters he has faced today, including two by strikeout.

Arkansas will send the 8-9-1 hitters to the plate in the eighth inning.

Arkansas 1, Tennessee 1 — Middle 7th Inning

Cullen Smith struck out at the end of a lengthy at bat against Blake Tidwell, fanning on a 3-2 pitch to end the inning. That stranded Christian Franklin at third base.

Arkansas is probably going to force Tennessee to go to the bullpen in the next inning. That long inning pushed Tidwell's pitch count to 96.

Arkansas 1, Tennessee 1 — Top 7th Inning

The Razorbacks have tied the game on Robert Moore's sacrifice fly to score Brady Slavens. Slavens reached on a hustle double and went to third base on a wild pitch by Blake Tidwell.

Arkansas has Christian Franklin at third with two outs. He walked, stole second and went to third when Tennessee's catcher threw the ball into the outfield trying to catch him.

Tennessee 1, Arkansas 0 — End 6th Inning

Kevin Kopps got Arkansas out of the jam in the sixth. Jordan Beck flied out on the first pitch of the inning and pinch hitter Kyle Booker struck out swinging at a 3-2 pitch to end an eight-pitch at bat.

The Razorbacks will bring the heart of the order to the plate in the seventh.

Tennessee 1, Arkansas 0 — Bottom 6th Inning

Sensing the game and series is on the line, Arkansas is going to Kevin Kopps with two Vols on base and one out in the sixth.

Evan Russell and Luc Lipcius singled in consecutive at bats against Zebulon Vermillion. Kopps will face the bottom of the Tennessee order, beginning with seven-hole hitter Jordan Beck, who singled earlier in the game.

Kopps threw 66 pitches Friday.

Tennessee 1, Arkansas 0 — Middle 6th Inning

Arkansas can't do anything against Blake Tidwell. The right hander has retired 13 in a row and has not allowed a base runner since the second inning.

Tidwell struck out Jalen Battles for the second time today to lead off the sixth. Zack Gregory flied out and Matt Goodheart fouled out.

Cayden Wallace's one-out double in the first inning is the only hit for the Razorbacks.

Tennessee 1, Arkansas 0 — End 5th Inning

Caden Monke threw five straight balls well outside the zone. Zebulon Vermillion inherited the bases loaded and a 1-0 count to Max Ferguson, but he got out of the inning by allowing one run on Max Ferguson's fielder's choice RBI.

Jake Rucker flied out to end the inning.

Given the situation he inherited and the part of the Vols' lineup he faced, that was big-time damage control by Vermillion.

Arkansas 0, Tennessee 0 — Bottom 5th Inning

This game is at a big moment. Lael Lockhart has given up consecutive one-out singles to Pete Derkay and Connor Pavolony in the fifth inning, and he is being replaced by Caden Monke.

Monke pitched well Friday night. He will face the top of the Vols' order, beginning with the SEC's top hitter, Liam Spence.

Arkansas 0, Tennessee 0 — Middle 5th Inning

The Razorbacks have not had a base runner since the second inning. Blake Tidwell has retired 10 consecutive hitters, including Robert Moore, Cullen Smith and Casey Opitz in the fifth inning.

Moore and Opitz struck out — Moore looking and Opitz swinging — and Smith flied out to right field.

Tidwell has needed as many pitches (32) to get through the last three innings as he threw in the first two innings. He has struck out six.

Arkansas 0, Tennessee 0 — End 4th Inning

Drew Gilbert and Evan Russell singled against Lael Lockhart with two outs in the fourth, but he got out of the jam by getting Luc Lipcius to pop up to first base.

This has been the point in the game when teams have started to solve Lockhart this season. It wouldn't surprise to see Connor Noland or Zebulon Vermillion up in the bullpen soon.

Arkansas 0, Tennessee 0 — Middle 4th Inning

Arkansas has not looked as patient the past couple of innings. They were patient and were drawing a lot of balls on borderline pitches in the first two innings.

In the fourth, Cayden Wallace flied out on the second pitch and Brady Slavens flied out on the first.

Christian Franklin went down on four pitches. He swung through a pitch, fouled off a pitch and took strike three looking.

Blake Tidwell threw 32 pitches through the first two innings, but he has only needed 19 pitches to get through the last two innings.

Arkansas 0, Tennessee 0 — End 3rd Inning

Pete Derkay drew a one-out walk in four pitches, but Lael Lockhart bounced back to strike out Connor Pavolony and Liam Spence to end the inning. He also struck out Jordan Beck to begin the inning and has five strikeouts today.

Arkansas 0, Tennessee 0 — Middle 3rd Inning

The Razorbacks went down in order for the first time today. Jalen Battles and Matt Goodheart both struck out on 1-2 pitches from Blake Tidwell — Battles looking and Goodheart swinging. Zack Gregory flied out.

That was the best Tidwell has looked today.

Arkansas 0, Tennessee 0 — End 2nd Inning

Lael Lockhart has retired all six batters he has faced, including two by strikeout.

The Vols are not getting good contact against him. Drew Gilbert and Evan Russell hit soft grounders for the first two outs of the second inning, and Luc Lipcius struck out to end the inning.

Lockhart has been efficient and has needed only 26 pitches to get through six outs.

Arkansas 0, Tennessee 0 — Middle 2nd Inning

Arkansas couldn't do anything with Cullen Smith's two-out walk. Tennessee left fielder Evan Russell made a great catch against the wall in foul ground to make the final out of the inning on a ball hit by Casey Opitz.

Blake Tidwell is not throwing a lot of strikes for the Vols — just 16 on 32 pitches. The Razorbacks are doing a good job of taking him deep into counts.

Arkansas 0, Tennessee 0 — End 1st Inning

Lael Lockhart retired the Vols in order in the first inning. That is the first time in this series Tennessee did not have a big first inning at the plate. The Vols scored five runs in the first Friday and two runs in the first yesterday.

Liam Spence and Jake Rucker grounded out in the inning, and Max Ferguson — yesterday's hero — struck out on a 3-2 pitch.

Lockhart threw 11 pitches in the inning.

Arkansas 0, Tennessee 0 — Middle 1st Inning

Matt Goodheart was thrown out at home plate trying score in a sacrifice fly situation to end the top of the first inning. Jordan Beck threw him out from right field after a fly ball off the bat of Brady Slavens.

That killed a great scoring opportunity for the Razorbacks. Goodheart walked with one out and Cayden Wallace followed with a double.

Arkansas' hitters seemed to see the ball pretty well out of the hand of Tennessee right hander Blake Tidwell in that inning. Zack Gregory and Goodheart both took Tidwell to a 3-2 count, and Wallace hammered a pitch off the wall in left field.

Slavens got good contact on the pitch he swung at, but it was caught in shallow right and Beck made a perfect throw to the plate.

Pregame

Today's game is the biggest of the year in the SEC so far.

The winner will take the SEC lead into the final week of the season. Both teams are tied at 18-8 in conference play.

Arkansas will start left hander Lael Lockhart today. Lockhart had one of his best outings in weeks a few days ago when he threw two scoreless innings against Arkansas State.

Tennessee will start freshman right hander Blake Tidwell, who has been good this year for the Vols.