FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas third baseman Cayden Wallace shared SEC player of the week honors Monday after he hit three home runs and had 13 RBI during a series against Illinois-Chicago.
Wallace hit grand slams in consecutive games against the Flames, including Sunday’s game when he had a career-high 6 RBI. He finished the series 6 for 18 with 6 runs scored and 2 stolen bases, and helped key a pair of comeback victories.
His two-out single advanced the winning run into scoring position during the four-run eighth inning of Arkansas’ 5-4 victory over the Flames last Thursday.
On Sunday with the Razorbacks trailing by four runs, Wallace began a double play to erase a leadoff hit in the top of the seventh inning, and his two-out grand slam put Arkansas ahead 8-6 in the eighth.
UIC tied the game in the top of the ninth before the Razorbacks won 10-8 on Chris Lanzilli’s ninth-inning home run.
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn moved Wallace to the leadoff position for the series. Wallace previously hit second in the lineup.
“I was pretty excited to see that I was hitting leadoff,” Wallace said. “I feel like I can spark it early….I know I can take pitches and see the ball up and drive the ball. I just want to get on base for the guys behind me.”
Van Horn said he made the decision to move Wallace up in the order because several of the Razorbacks’ hitters in the bottom of the order had been successful getting on base, and he thought Wallace might have more RBI opportunities.
“It’s just an experiment a little bit to see how it goes,” Van Horn said. “He’s one of the best athletes, if not the best athlete on the team. He can run, he can steal a base. He looks like a three-hole hitter and a big leaguer physically, but there are a lot of guys in our league who look like that. I think he kind of likes it up there.”
In addition to the SEC award, Wallace earned one of Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s national player of the week honors Monday.
Wallace shared the SEC award with South Carolina's Brandt Belk, who had multiple hits during each game of the Gamecocks' series win over then-No. 1 Texas.