FAYETTEVILLE — A series of two-out hits swung momentum to Arkansas’ dugout Tuesday night.
The Razorbacks scored 5 two-out runs in the fourth inning to take the lead, and the sixth-ranked Arkansas baseball team defeated UNLV 13-7 at Baum-Walker Stadium. The teams are scheduled to play their final game of their series Wednesday at 3 p.m.
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Arkansas (14-2) has won nine consecutive games and is 12-1 during an 18-game homestand.
With the Razorbacks trailing 4-2, six consecutive hitters reached with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Kendall Diggs, Jared Wegner, Jace Bohrofen and Reese Robinett all had RBI singles that combined to score five runs to give Arkansas a 7-4 lead.
Harold Coll doubled to lead off the fourth and scored when Diggs outran relief pitcher Nick Rupp on a roller to the right of the first baseman. That cut Arkansas’ deficit to 4-3 but opened the floodgates.
"I always want to go up there and battle," Diggs said. "Coach [Dave] Van Horn is big on two outs — we have to build on it and the inning's not over. It felt good. It wasn't necessarily a barrel, but I was going to give it all I had and it worked out good."
After a pitching change to Sam Simon, Jayson Jones walked on a full-count pitch to load the bases. Robinett followed with a two-run single to put Arkansas ahead 7-4.
The Razorbacks scored 6 two-out runs Tuesday to bring their season total to 54.
"When their pitcher didn't get over and cover the bag right away and Kendall Diggs beat it out, that drove in a big run," Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. "And then Wegner got a big hit, Bohrofen gets a big hit to give us the lead. We just kept scoring."
Arkansas won while five primary starters sat out for rest purposes. Coll, who played second base, finished 3 for 4 with 4 RBI in his second start since transferring from San Jacinto (Texas) College.
Coll homered in the the second inning to tie the game 1-1 and also doubled twice.
“He had a great game," Van Horn said. "We're losing 1-0 and we've got a freshman [pitcher] out there, got a bunch of different guys in the lineup and [UNLV was] swinging the bats pretty good, and he hit that home run that tied it up. I think it gave us an opportunity to kind of catch our breath and relax, and realize it's just baseball and we've got a lot of at-bats ahead of us."
Coll's homer was the only run Arkansas scored against UNLV starter Joey Acosta, who pitched two innings. The Hustlin' Rebels (5-9) were playing their first game since last Wednesday at Oklahoma. Acosta, a right-hander, is the team's Sunday starter.
The Razorbacks out-hit UNLV 14-10. Diggs went 3 for 3 with 1 RBI and 3 runs hitting leadoff for the first time. Bohrofen and Hunter Grimes had two hits apiece.
"For the most part we got some big hits and got something out of everybody," Van Horn said.
UNLV took a 1-0 lead against Arkansas left-handed starter Parker Coil in the first inning. Rylan Charles singled to lead off the inning and scored on a one-out RBI single by Jacob Sharp.
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The Hustlin' Rebels added three more runs against Coil in the top of the third to send Arkansas to the bullpen. Sharp's single scored Santino Panaro, and another run came home on the play when shortstop John Bolton bobbled and booted the relay throw from left field. Sharp scored later in the inning on a sacrifice fly to put UNLV ahead 4-1.
Coil allowed 4 runs on 4 hits and 1 walk, and struck out 4 in 2 1/3 innings.
"I thought Coil's stuff was pretty good," Van Horn said. "They just got some hits on him and the one walk came back to haunt him to lead off an inning."
Right-hander Dylan Carter earned his third win with 1 2/3 scoreless innings for the Razorbacks. Right-handers Cody Adcock and Gage Wood also had scoreless outings. Adcock stranded the bases loaded after replacing Austin Ledbetter in the seventh, and pitched the eighth. Wood worked around a walk in the ninth.
Ledbetter, a right-hander, allowed 3 runs on 4 hits and 1 walk, and struck out 5 in 2 2/3 innings beginning in the fifth.
“Ledbetter threw the ball really well, especially starting out," Van Horn said. "He was spotting his fastball to both sides of the plate, had a pretty good breaking ball going and kind of settled it down for us a little bit. I think he got a little tired there in the third inning he was out there, but I also think there were a couple of calls he should have got and it would have saved him some pitches and us some a couple of runs, but we didn't get it."
UNLV got to within 7-5 against Ledbetter in the top of the sixth, but the Razorbacks responded with four runs in the bottom of the inning. Bohrofen and Coll each had RBI doubles, and Grimes scored on a passed ball by catcher Chase Gallegos.
The teams traded runs late in the game. Edarian Williams and Braden Murphy had RBI singles against Ledbetter in the seventh inning to cut Arkansas' lead to 11-7.
Grimes tripled to score Jayson Jones after a lead-off walk in the eighth, and Grimes scored on Coll's RBI groundout.
CORRECTION: Harold Coll's previous college was incorrectly listed and has been corrected.