FAYETTEVILLE — The second-ranked University of Arkansas baseball team rallied to defeat Texas Tech again on Wednesday, but this time the Razorbacks didn't have to come back from such a wide deficit.
Peyton Holt and Ben McLaughlin scored on an RBI hit by Wehiwa Aloy and a sacrifice fly by Jack Wagner in the sixth inning to give Arkansas the lead, and the Razorbacks won 5-4 at Baum-Walker Stadium.
The University of Arkansas (32-5) has won 25 straight home games.
The Razorbacks swept the two-game midweek series against the Red Raiders (26 wins, 13 losses). Arkansas trailed 7-0 on Tuesday, but won 9-8.
“Obviously it was a really good win for us,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. “Last night was an emotional win, it was a quick turnaround, everyone went to class, ate lunch, and off we went.Today we played against some different players and gave them a different challenge. I gave him a chance, or maybe his first chance this week.
“It was just a big midweek win for us.”
With two outs in the 8th inning, Jason Jones was hit by a pitch and scored an extra point. That was the key in the ninth when Texas Tech's Cade McGee hit a two-out solo home run.
Left-hander Stone Hewlett of the University of Arkansas struck out right-handed pinch hitter Garrett Boehm to end the game. Hewlett recorded the final three outs and earned his third save.
Hewlett, who played as a pitcher for the University of Kansas last season, allowed a walk-off home run to Texas Tech in the bottom of the 10th inning of a game at the home of the Red Raiders.
“It feels good,” Hewlett said of pitching well in the next game against Texas Tech. “I’m really excited because it always feels good to win.”
In the sixth inning, with the Razorbacks trailing 3-2, Holt elected to walk before back-to-back singles by McLaughlin and Aloy. Aloy's RBI single tied the game at 3-3.
Arkansas took the lead in the sixth inning with small ball. Nolan Souza's sacrifice bunt advanced McLaughlin to third base and Aloy to second base, and Wagner's sac fly to center field scored McLaughlin and gave the Razorbacks a 4-3 lead.
“Usually if you're going to score a few points, something is going on. You get walked, you get hit, you get a free pass,” Van Horn said. “We took advantage of that in that inning and got two points instead of one. That was huge.”
Arkansas scored no hits in the 8th inning. Jones' hit by a pitch was followed by walks by Aloy, Wagner, and Ryder Helfrich.
In the ninth inning, Drew Woodcox gave up a walk to Arkansas relief pitcher Jake Faherty, but after being replaced by Hewlett, Landon Stripling hit into a double play at second base. McGee hit a 402-foot home run into the left field seats on his next pitch, closing the gap to 5-4.
After the Red Raiders took a 3-2 lead against left-handed starting pitcher Colin Fisher, the five University of Arkansas relief pitchers worked together to pitch a solid fifth inning. The only run the bullpen allowed was a solo home run in the 9th inning against Hewlett.
“The bullpen came in and did a great job of making sure we were able to fight back,” Arkansas second baseman Peyton Stovall said. “It was huge.”
Coty Frank pitched five scoreless innings, Cooper Dossett added 2 2/3 innings, and Jake Faherty scored the winning run in the eighth inning.
Dossett earned his second win in his longest appearance of the season. He threw 21 of his 39 pitches for strikes.
“I thought he looked like me the way he came in and pitched,” Texas Tech coach Tim Tadlock said of Dossett. “He threw a good ball. They obviously have a lot of arms and I thought he did a good job.”
Arkansas hit leadoff home runs in the first and second innings to take a one-run lead. Stovall's 406-foot home run sailed over Hunt Center in right field in the bottom of the first inning and appeared to score the first run of the game, while Souza hit a 376-foot home run to opposite left field in the second inning to take home the game. . The Razorbacks lead 2-1.
In the top of the second inning, Texas Tech's Austin Green (double) scored on an error by second baseman Stovall, tying the game at 1-1. McGee's high fly ball looked like shortstop Aloy was lost in the sun, and the ball hit Stovall's glove as he rushed to cover.
The Red Raiders led 3-2 in the third. Kevin Buzzell hit a ground-rule double, and Will Burns and Gavin Kash each singled to start the inning.
Fisher started the game with four innings and 61 pitches, allowing three runs (two earned), five hits, one walk, and three strikeouts.
Both of Arkansas' home runs were against right-handed starting pitcher Hudson Parker of Texas Tech University. Those were the only hits Parker allowed, as he pitched three innings with two walks and two strikeouts.
“He's not really a starter,” Tadlock said. “We ran him out and he scored three points, so that was good.”
Why Arkansas won
The Razorbacks made the Red Raiders' powerful offense look mediocre. Texas Tech's four points and six hits were well below its season averages of 9.8 points and 11.6 hits per game.
Most Valuable Player: Arkansas 2B Peyton Stovall
The junior took the lead with a home run in the bottom of the first inning and showed great defense despite committing his first error. It was a lucky mistake the second time I tried to find the ball of the sun.
Stovall made a catch to steal a hit from Buzzell with a runner on first base in the eighth inning, and in the ninth he converted Stripling's line drive into a double play with no bases on base. Without the double play, Texas Tech could have hit a home run on the next pitch to tie the game.
game play
Jones, a left fielder at the University of Arkansas, recorded an assist to first base in the fifth inning.
With two outs, the sophomore caught a fly ball from Buzzell and hit McLaughlin, the first baseman, with a beautiful fly. TJ Pompey, who tied the game with a one-out walk, was put out while trying to retreat from near second base.
passing skip
With his 871st win in 22 seasons at the University of Arkansas, Van Horn passed longtime former LSU coach Skip Bartman for fourth place on the all-time wins list among SEC coaches.
Bartman, a five-time national champion, won 870 games at LSU from 1984 to 2001.
Van Horn ranks only behind retired Mississippi State and Georgia coach Ron Polk (1,218 wins), current Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin (910 wins) and Ole Miss on the SEC wins list. Mike Bianco (899 wins).
next
The Razorbacks are scheduled to open a three-game series Friday at No. 21 Central South Carolina (26-11, 8-7) at 6 p.m.
