If the No. 22 Arkansas Razorbacks baseball team (23-13, 7-7 SEC) did not make a compelling statement in Game 1, snapping the No. 8 Alabama Crimson Tide's (26-10, 8-6 SEC) 18-game home winning streak, the Hogs' bats certainly sent a resounding message in the Game 2 15-6 series-clinching victory. Although this season has proven to be a metaphorical mixed bag for Dave Van Horn's team, it arrived in Tuscaloosa embodying his spirit of never getting too high or too low, helping to make the tough challenge of the Crimson Tide seem the least bit overwhelming.
Arkansas baseball overwhelms Alabama late
In Game 1, the Razorbacks rallied to defeat the Crimson Tide 7-5. The rallying in Game 2 for the Hogs was much more impressive. Although the game concluded in a blowout win for Arkansas, it did not begin on a positive note for Van Horn's team, as Alabama took a 3-1 lead into the fifth inning, which is the inning the Razorbacks began to seize the momentum in the game, scoring three runs to take a 4-3 lead over the Crimson Tide.
In the fifth inning, Nolan Souza doubled, TJ Pompey was hit by a pitch, Carter Rutenbar singled and drove in Souza, then Pompey scored on a throwing error, and Ryder Helfrick contributed a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Rutenbar. The three runs, two hits, and one error of this inning were almost all the Hogs needed to win this game, and the momentum never shifted, not even slightly, back to Alabama.
Although the fifth inning was pivotal for the Razorbacks, the most significant story of the game is the team scoring 10 runs across the final two innings, five in each. Alabama's bullpen was no match for the Hogs' batters. In the eighth inning, Arkansas scored its five runs on five hits: Cam Kozeal doubled, Damian Ruiz, Kuhio Aloy, Â and Reese Robinett singled, and TJ Pomey hit a three-run homer to left field. The eighth inning, therefore, essentially closed the door on the Crimson Tide's hopes for a comeback victory.
Arkansas' performance in the ninth inning, scoring five more runs, made it clear that the team did not intend to give Alabama any thoughts about a comeback. In the ninth inning, the Razorbacks' batters had three hits that produced the five runs.
In the final analysis, the most outstanding performer in the Arkansas Razorbacks' rout of the Alabama Crimson Tide was TJ Pompey, as he finished the game 3-for-4 with three runs scored and four RBIs, highlighted by his three-run homer that put the game far beyond reach.
The Arkansas Razorbacks will go for the series sweep in Game 3 on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.