The No. 4 Arkansas Razorbacks earned a 6-5 extra-innings walk-off win over the Texas A&M Aggies in their first game of the SEC tournament in Hoover, Ala. The two-seeded Hogs improve to 40-15 this year and will take on the three-seeded LSU Tigers tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. CDT.
The Razorbacks only completed 1 of 10 with the runners in goal position but got two big swings when they needed them. Jared Wegner gave Arkansas a first lead in the seventh inning with a grand slam to left field, his 13th home run of the season. Kendall Diggs finished the game with a solo home run at the bottom of the 11th inning, his 11th home run of the season.
“We had a little trouble going forward,” the Arkansas head coach said Dave VanHorn called. “I felt like we started making better bats in the second half. I was hoping we could get an inning. We were down four or three runs and we had an interference from a catcher, a walk in and then Jared got a fastball in him and I’m sure he was chasing him after his last shot and he got it and didn’t miss it.
“An exciting way to end the game. Walk-off homer is as good as it gets and I’m just proud of the boys for persevering.”
Veteran left-hander Zack Morris provided a major relief for the Razorbacks as they climbed out of an early hole. The Cabot (Ark.) native pitched five career innings, conceding a run with three hits while notching five strikeouts before leaving with a 5-4 game.
“I felt like I mixed really well today,” said Morris. “I would say a little bit of everything, all four of my throws worked, especially the fastball, split and curveball were all good early in the game and towards the end I kind of found my slider. I just felt.” Like all of them, I was starting to find the groove with each of the four.
Will McEntire secured the mound win for the Hogs after coming on in the eighth inning. The junior right-hander from Bryant, Ark., allowed a two-hit run and hit three in four innings.
THE OVERVIEW
Cody Adcock got the go-ahead for the Hogs, earning a two-out walk in his first working inning while also scoring a strikeout. The Razorbacks got two runners in the first inning after a one-out single from Kendall Diggs and a walk to Jace Bohrofen, but both fell by the wayside.
The second inning looked similar to the first as Adcock took turns pulling the team back and the Hogs left two players on base. Caleb Cali and Parker Rowland provided the second and third Razorback hits of the day, but a 4-6-3 doubleplay kept the Hogs off the scoreboard.
Adcock’s performance came to an abrupt end in the third inning when the first three Aggies came after a double from Brett Minnich, a single from Max Kaufer and a walk against Hunter Haas. From there, Zack Morris took the lead and set up a groundout that secured the first run of the game. Trevor Werner made it 3-0 with his two-run single down left field before Morris hit two strikeouts to end the frame.
The Razorbacks threatened again in the third round, but still couldn’t break through. Bohrofen was run and Jared Wegner was hit by a pitch with an out, but the Aggies got away unscathed after fielding LHP Shane Sdao in place of starter Nathan Dettmer.
Ryan Targac extended Texas A&M’s lead early in the fourth inning with a solo home run into left midfield on Morris. The Razorbacks came on the field in the bottom half after Harold Coll hit his second walk of the day, Parker Rowland was hit by a pitch and Josenberger hit a sacrificial fly wide to the left to level the game 4-1.
Morris kept the Hogs in the game and kept the Aggies scoreless for the next three innings while sidelined the last ten batsmen he faced. Sdao eliminated the Hogs back-to-back in the fifth and sixth innings before getting into trouble in the seventh.
Parker Rowland started the frame with a walk, and Kendall Diggs got to base through catcher’s interference before Bohrofen’s third walk loaded the bases with an out. Jared Wegner vaulted the left field wall on the first pitch he saw and scored a grand slam that gave Arkansas their first lead of the day, 5-4.
Will McEntire pitched for the Hogs in the eighth inning and fought a one-out walk to deliver a scoreless frame. He returned in the top of ninth and attempted to end the game, but a solo home run from Austin Bost leveled the game 5-0.
The Razorbacks had the best opportunity to end the game at the bottom of the 10th inning after Cali went into the frame on foot and reached Peyton Holt with an infield single. Coll put down a sacrificial bunt to put the runners in second and third place, and then Rowland put down another bunt that resulted in an out at the plate before a groundout ended the inning.
McEntire returned for another inning early in the 11th, pulling the team back in turn while scoring his third strikeout. Diggs took the lead in the bottom half and quickly ended the game by sending a 2-1 fastball over the right field wall.
NEXT
The two-seeded Arkansas Razorbacks will take on the three-seeded LSU Tigers in a non-elimination game tomorrow night at 4:30 p.m. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.