Kentucky regained a share of the overall SEC lead Saturday with an 11-3 victory over Arkansas baseball at Kentucky Proud Park.
The eighth-ranked Wildcats (34-10, 17-6 SEC) tied the series with the second-ranked Razorbacks (40-8, 17-6) at a game apiece. The series and the overall SEC lead will be on the line Sunday when the teams are scheduled to play at noon Central.
Kentucky took the lead with three runs in the bottom of the second inning and tacked on four-run innings in the fourth and the eighth. The Wildcats out-hit Arkansas 11-8, drew 6 walks and were hit by 3 pitches.
The Razorbacks allowed a double-digit run total for the first time this season.
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said his team did not play its best game.
“We were playing uphill pretty much the whole game because we got behind so far,” Van Horn said.
Kentucky had success against all three Arkansas pitchers who took the mound. Starter Brady Tygart allowed 5 runs, 6 hits and 3 walks in 3-plus innings. He left the game after a walk and a single to start the bottom of the fourth inning.
Van Horn said Tygart was not able to throw a fastball for a strike. He threw 37 of 66 pitches for strikes.
“He didn’t throw it where he wanted it and it made it very difficult to pitch,” Van Horn said, “because they just started sitting on off-speed pitches.”
Gage Wood inherited two-on, no-out jam from Tygart and did not fare much better in the inning. He allowed a walk, an RBI double, an RBI sac bunt and an RBI single to the first four batters he faced.
“We just couldn’t get through that inning without cutting that down a little bit,” Van Horn said.
Wood pitched 4 1/3 innings and gave up 3 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks. Van Horn was pleased with the sophomore's performance on the heels of a strong start against Missouri State earlier in the week.
“I loved what I saw,” Van Horn said. “I thought he did a great job pitching Tuesday night. I mean really if you look at it he had one pitch going today. The breaking ball wasn’t there for him and he got them out with that fastball. It had good carry on it. They were having trouble hitting it and I thought he threw great.
“At the same time, he did save our bullpen for tomorrow and we’ve got them lined up. If things don’t go right early we’ll go straight to it.”
A one-out hit batsman by Wood in the eighth began the Wildcats’ third big inning. Nick Lopez’s three-run double on a 3-2 pitch from Koty Frank blew the game open, and Devin Burkes added an RBI single to score Lopez.
Frank allowed 3 runs, 2 hits and 1 walk while recording 2 outs.
Arkansas went ahead 2-0 in the top of the second inning when Hudson White hit a two-run home run to left field against Kentucky starter Dominic Niman. The 431-foot blast was White’s first homer since the first game of the season on Feb. 16.
“I’ve been making a few adjustments and just trying to stick with my approach and put a good swing on it,” said White, who has a four-game hit streak.
White led off the ninth with a walk and scored on Peyton Stovall’s RBI ground out. Stovall had multiple hits for the third consecutive game.
Tygart allowed a one-out walk and a single in the bottom of the second, but it appeared he would get out of the inning unscathed when Emilien Pitre lifted a fly ball to left. Left fielder Ross Lovich misplayed the ball, though. He backed into the fence, which allowed the ball to hit the wall, and both runners scored.
Pitre also scored on Burkes’ two-out RBI double to give the Wildcats a 3-2 lead.
“About the time he was about ready to catch the ball he hit the fence,” Van Horn said. “It ended up being a mistake and it was a tough one.”
Pitre, Burkes and Lopez — the Wildcats’ 2, 3 and 4 hitters — also drove in runs in the fourth. That trio combined to go 6 for 12 with 10 RBI, led by 4 RBI from Pitre and Lopez.
“The at-bats were there — the tough at bats with two strikes, bunting, doubles, balls in play,” Kentucky coach Nick Mingione said. “That was Kentucky baseball. We were a team today.”
Kentucky starting left-hander Dominic Niman allowed 2 runs, 5 hits and 2 walks and struck out 4 in 5 1/3 innings. He threw 52 of 84 pitches for strikes.
“Their pitcher today did a nice job,” Van Horn said.
Arkansas had chances offensively but stranded nine base runners. The Razorbacks were 3 for 19 with runners on base and 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position.
Kentucky went 8 for 21 with runners on and 6 for 12 with runners in scoring position.