Spring Break
Razorback baseball takes two of three
Harold McIlvain II
Issue date: 3/3/08 Section: Sports
Arkansas took two of three games at the Domino's Pizza Classic over the weekend at Texas A&M.
The weekend didn't come without a minor loss, however. Junior third baseman Logan Forsythe pulled a hamstring and is expected to miss at least a week.
The Razorbacks started the weekend with a bang as senior Aaron Murphree sent the first pitch thrown to him out of the park Friday night. His two-run walk off home run gave Arkansas a 9-8 win over Louisiana Tech.
"I thought it had a chance off the bat," Murphree said. "But I knew it needed a little help from the wind, too. I'm glad it got out of the ballpark because we really needed to get this win."
Arkansas (6-1) found itself down by two runs after the Bulldogs rallied off freshman reliever Brett Eibner in the top of the eighth inning to take an 8-7 lead.
Arkansas started the ninth inning with junior Scott Lyons grounding out, but Eibner, who innings earlier allowed the lead change, drew a walk giving Murphree an opportunity to face closer Aaron Lorio.
Razorback starter Dallas Keuchel worked three innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits with four strikeouts and a walk.
On Sunday, Arkansas jumped out to an early 2-0 lead over Ohio State when Chase Leavitt hit a leadoff home run. Wilkins then doubled and was able to score on a single by freshman Jacob House. But junior starter Shaun Seibert allowed five earned runs in the second and third inning, that gave Ohio State a 5-2 lead.
Arkansas would mount a rally in the bottom of the fourth, fifth and sixth innings as junior Ryan Cisterna and Murphree each hit two-run homers to take a 6-5 lead. Murphree would add another two-run home run in the seventh to push the Arkansas lead to 8-5.
Hog Junior Cliff Springston, replaced Seibert in the third. He pitched six innings of one-run baseball and retired 12 straight batters, but needed help from closer Travis Hill to seal the 8-6 victory. Hill picked up his third save of the early season.
Arkansas' only loss came Saturday as Texas A&M took advantage of eight unearned runs and timely hitting Saturday to take a 15-7 win.
The Razorbacks were narrowly out hit by the hosting squad, 14-12, but the Aggies took advantage of their opportunity by leaving just six runners on base while the Hogs strained 10 runners.
Freshman Kendall Korbal (0-1) got the start for Arkansas and pitched 2.2 innings allowing seven runs, three of which were earned, on five hits with a strikeout.
Freshman Andy Wilkins was a bright spot offensively for Arkansas as he was 3-for-4 with a run and two RBIs. Leavitt was productive out of the leadoff spot as he went 2-for-4 with three runs.
The Razorbacks return home for a mid-week two-game series with South Dakota State starting Tuesday at Baum Stadium.
The first pitch Tuesday is scheduled for 3:05 p.m.
The weekend didn't come without a minor loss, however. Junior third baseman Logan Forsythe pulled a hamstring and is expected to miss at least a week.
The Razorbacks started the weekend with a bang as senior Aaron Murphree sent the first pitch thrown to him out of the park Friday night. His two-run walk off home run gave Arkansas a 9-8 win over Louisiana Tech.
"I thought it had a chance off the bat," Murphree said. "But I knew it needed a little help from the wind, too. I'm glad it got out of the ballpark because we really needed to get this win."
Arkansas (6-1) found itself down by two runs after the Bulldogs rallied off freshman reliever Brett Eibner in the top of the eighth inning to take an 8-7 lead.
Arkansas started the ninth inning with junior Scott Lyons grounding out, but Eibner, who innings earlier allowed the lead change, drew a walk giving Murphree an opportunity to face closer Aaron Lorio.
Razorback starter Dallas Keuchel worked three innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits with four strikeouts and a walk.
On Sunday, Arkansas jumped out to an early 2-0 lead over Ohio State when Chase Leavitt hit a leadoff home run. Wilkins then doubled and was able to score on a single by freshman Jacob House. But junior starter Shaun Seibert allowed five earned runs in the second and third inning, that gave Ohio State a 5-2 lead.
Arkansas would mount a rally in the bottom of the fourth, fifth and sixth innings as junior Ryan Cisterna and Murphree each hit two-run homers to take a 6-5 lead. Murphree would add another two-run home run in the seventh to push the Arkansas lead to 8-5.
Hog Junior Cliff Springston, replaced Seibert in the third. He pitched six innings of one-run baseball and retired 12 straight batters, but needed help from closer Travis Hill to seal the 8-6 victory. Hill picked up his third save of the early season.
Arkansas' only loss came Saturday as Texas A&M took advantage of eight unearned runs and timely hitting Saturday to take a 15-7 win.
The Razorbacks were narrowly out hit by the hosting squad, 14-12, but the Aggies took advantage of their opportunity by leaving just six runners on base while the Hogs strained 10 runners.
Freshman Kendall Korbal (0-1) got the start for Arkansas and pitched 2.2 innings allowing seven runs, three of which were earned, on five hits with a strikeout.
Freshman Andy Wilkins was a bright spot offensively for Arkansas as he was 3-for-4 with a run and two RBIs. Leavitt was productive out of the leadoff spot as he went 2-for-4 with three runs.
The Razorbacks return home for a mid-week two-game series with South Dakota State starting Tuesday at Baum Stadium.
The first pitch Tuesday is scheduled for 3:05 p.m.
Be the first to comment on this story