No. 5 Arkansas (43-13, 20-10 SEC) was overwhelmed by the No. 17 Ole Miss Rebels (39-18, 16-14 SEC) in the first inning and could not respond back, 5-2, on Friday evening at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinal round. The Razorbacks were not able to get a lot going offensively as they go into the postseason.
Arkansas vs Ole Miss: SEC Tournament
Ole Miss immediately got on the board in the top of the first inning with LF Mitchell Sanford leading off the game with a walk. 3B Luke Hill reached on a throwing error at short that allowed Sanford to reach third base. 2B Judd Utermark roped an RBI single to left field to score Sanford while Hill advanced to third. After 1B Will Furniss struck out swinging, RF Ryan Moerman drove in Hill with an RBI single to right to put the Rebels ahead, 2-0. DH Collin Reuter grounded into a fielder’s choice for the second out, but C Austin Fawley hit a three-run bomb to left to cap off the five-run rally.
Arkansas responded in the bottom of the first with SS Wehiwa Aloy drawing a one-out walk and RF Logan Maxwell following up with a single to left center to put runners on the corners. DH Kuhio Aloy drove in Wehiwa Aloy with an RBI groundout to short to cut the lead to four, 5-1. C Ryder Helfrick struck out looking to end the frame.
The Hogs put another run on the board in the bottom of the second with 2B Camden Kozeal hitting an inside-the-park home run to right center to lead off the frame. CF Isaac Humphrey and Moerman crashed into each other on the play. Hayden Federico replaced Moerman in right field after he was struck by Humphrey’s leg when they slid into each other.
LHP Zach Root went four innings in his 15th start of the season while allowing five runs (one earned), seven hits and two walks with four strikeouts on 78 pitches (51 strikes). RHP Gabe Gaeckle was placed on the mound in relief to begin the top of the fifth.
Arkansas had the chance to put up a big inning in the bottom of the sixth after loading the bases with two outs on a walk by Kuhio Aloy, a single by C Ryder Helfrick, and a walk by Kozeal. RHP Will McCausland struck out 3B Brent Iredale looking to get out of the jam.
1B Reese Robinett led off the bottom of the seventh by getting hit by a pitch. After CF Justin Thomas Jr. struck out looking, LF Charles Davalan laced a double down the right field line to put runners in scoring position. McCausland was relieved by RHP Mason Morris, who struck out Wehiwa Aloy for the second out of the frame. He forced Maxwell to fly out to right field to stop the Hogs from putting together a rally.
Gaeckle was relieved by LHP Cole Gibler to begin the top half of the eighth. Gaeckle tossed three scoreless innings in his 15th appearance of the year while allowing two hits and a walk with two strikeouts on 44 pitches (31 strikes). Gibler went 1.2 innings while carving up four batters and allowing a hit on 27 pitches (21 strikes). RHP Christian Foutch was brought in with two outs and a runner on first in the top of the ninth and struck out Utermark on three pitches.
RHP Connor Spencer was brought out of the bullpen in the bottom of the ninth to shut down the game. He retired the side in order on 15 pitches (10 strikes) to lift the Rebels to the semifinals.
The Razorbacks will wait and see where they will fall as a national seed in the NCAA Tournament on Selection Monday at 11 a.m. on ESPN2.