HOOVER, AL — The Arkansas Razorbacks used an explosive offensive performance to defeat the Tennessee Volunteers 8-4 on Wednesday afternoon in the Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.
The game was played in 87-degree, cloudy weather, beginning at 4:32 p.m. and lasting two hours and 58 minutes with an announced attendance of zero.
Arkansas jumped to a commanding 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Camden Kozeal opened the scoring with a solo home run to right-center field. Zack Stewart quickly followed with a two-run homer to right field, scoring Ryder Helfrick, and Nolan Souza capped the opening frame with an RBI double down the right-field line to bring home TJ Pompey. Stewart struck again in the bottom of the third inning, extending the Razorbacks’ lead to 5-0 with another solo shot to right field.
Tennessee broke through in the top of the fourth when Blaine Brown ripped a two-run double to right-center, bringing home Levi Clark and Trent Grindlinger. In the fifth inning, Henry Ford cut the deficit to 5-3 with an RBI double down the left-field line that scored Garrett Wright. However, Arkansas answered decisively in the bottom of the fifth when Pompey blasted a three-run home run to left-center, scoring Helfrick and Kozeal. Tennessee’s Blake Grimmer rounded out the scoring in the seventh inning with an RBI double to score Jay Abernathy.
Stewart led the Razorbacks offensively, going 2-for-4 with two home runs and three RBIs, while Pompey went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs. Brown led the Volunteers at the plate with two RBIs. A game-winning hit was not explicitly listed in the final book, though Kozeal’s first-inning home run gave Arkansas a lead they never surrendered.
On the mound, Arkansas starting pitcher Tate McGuire kept Tennessee off balance, pitching three scoreless innings and allowing just one hit. Relief pitcher Cole Gibler (5-2) earned the win, shutting out the Volunteers over the final two hitless innings. Tennessee starter Evan Blanco (7-4) took the loss after surrendering five earned runs on seven hits over three innings. There were no saves recorded by either team.
Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn highlighted his team’s power at the plate. “But the game for us was five swings,” Van Horn said. “I think all of our runs were driven in with those five swings”. Stewart added, “When I stay within the approach, good things happen”.
Tennessee head coach Josh Elander tipped his cap to the Razorbacks. “Not the result we were looking for today. But congrats to Arkansas,” Elander noted. “They really landed on some balls today. Those were hit a long way”.
Following the result, Arkansas improves to 37-19 and advances in the tournament to face Texas on Friday, with the game time to be determined. Tennessee falls to 38-20 and will head back to Knoxville to rest and await their NCAA postseason fate.
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