Arkansas-Vanderbilt game suspended until Sunday

Arkansas' Cayden Wallace (7), Jace Bohrofen (8) and Jalen Battles (2) celebrate following Wallace's three-run home run in the fourth inning of a game against Vanderbilt on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE — The second game of Arkansas’ baseball series against Vanderbilt was suspended Saturday night following a weather delay. 

The game will resume at 11 a.m. on Sunday with the Razorbacks leading the Commodores 8-6 in the bottom of the sixth inning. 

The series finale between the teams, originally scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday, will begin approximately 45 minutes after the conclusion of the game that was suspended. The finale will be a seven-inning game, but the suspended game will be played through the ninth inning.

All of Sunday’s action will be streamed on SEC Network-Plus. Single-game tickets purchased for Saturday's game can be exchanged for general-admission tickets to both games Sunday, and all designated Sunday tickets will be honored for admission to both games.

Vanderbilt (33-15, 13-12 SEC) has a 1-0 lead in the three-game series. The Commodores won 9-6 in 10 innings Friday.

Arkansas fell behind 5-1 Saturday, but responded with seven consecutive runs. Cayden Wallace hit a three-run home run in the fourth inning to put the Razorbacks ahead 6-5, and Jace Bohrofen added a two-run double in the fifth inning to extend the lead to 8-5. 

Both hits were with two outs. Arkansas scored six runs with two outs prior to the suspension. 

Vanderbilt cut the lead to 8-6 on Tate Kolwyck’s one-out solo home run in the top of the sixth inning. The Commodores brought the tying run to the plate in the inning, but Arkansas reliever Zebulon Vermillion came out of the bullpen to strike out two-hole hitter Jack Bulger, which stranded a runner at first base. 

As the teams were coming onto the field for the bottom of the sixth at 8:46 p.m., game umpires told them to go back to their dugouts due to lightning within an 8-mile radius of Baum-Walker Stadium. 

Radar indicated a brief thunderstorm would pass through Fayetteville, but the storm stalled and heavy rain and lightning continued for more than an hour. 

The game remained in a delay until an announcement was made at 9:49 p.m. that the game would be resumed Sunday. 

Arkansas (36-13, 16-9) took a 1-0 lead on Wallace’s leadoff home run in the bottom of the first inning. 

Freshman left hander Hagen Smith kept that lead intact until the third, when Vanderbilt scored five runs against him. 

Enrique Bradfield led off with an infield single, advanced on a groundout and stole third base before he scored on Dominic Keegan’s sacrifice fly that was the second out of the inning. That tied the game 1-1.

From there, Javier Vaz doubled and T.J. McKenzie singled home runs to chase Smith after 2 2/3 innings. 

Smith allowed 4 hits and 4 walks, and threw 37 of 67 pitches for strikes. 

Zack Morris replaced Smith and allowed a two-run double to Kolwyck to put the Commodores ahead 5-1.

Morris settled in and pitched scoreless fourth and fifth innings as the Razorbacks mounted their comeback. Jalen Battles led off the bottom of the third with a walk and scored on a two-out fielding error by right fielder Spencer Jones following a single by Michael Turner. 

Vanderbilt starter Chris McElvain walked three consecutive batters with one out in the fourth. Braydon Webb scored on Zack Gregory’s sacrifice fly to trim the Commodores’ lead to 5-3, and Wallace followed with his second home run of the game. 

McElvain allowed 5 earned runs, 3 hits and 5 walks in a 4-inning start and is the pitcher of record for the Commodores. He struck out 3 batters, but he threw only 41 of 84 pitches for strikes.

Kolwyck’s sixth-inning home run came against Morris. It was the first earned run allowed by Morris since an April 5 game against Central Arkansas and snapped a 17-inning scoreless streak. 

Morris pitched three innings and is the pitcher of record for the Razorbacks.