COLLEGE BASEBALL

Hogs wait out ace, pounce in sixth

Arkansas Razorbacks pitcher Blaine Knight allowed 3 runs in 5 innings Friday against Bryant, but the Razorbacks used a 10-run sixth inning to erase a 3-0 deficit and pull out an 11-8 victory in front of a crowd of 6,921 at Baum Stadium in Fayetteville.
Arkansas Razorbacks pitcher Blaine Knight allowed 3 runs in 5 innings Friday against Bryant, but the Razorbacks used a 10-run sixth inning to erase a 3-0 deficit and pull out an 11-8 victory in front of a crowd of 6,921 at Baum Stadium in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Bryant All-American James Karinchak shut down the Arkansas Razorbacks for five innings Friday.

It was when the right-hander came back for the sixth inning that things unraveled for the Bulldogs.

The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville scored 10 runs in the sixth to earn an 11-8 victory in front of 3,019 at Baum Stadium. The Razorbacks (4-0) will go for the series victory today at 2 p.m.

Fifteen batters went to the plate for Arkansas in the sixth, including 11 consecutive before an out was recorded. Bryant led 3-0 going into the inning but trailed 10-3 when it was over.

"That was the inning that won us the ballgame," Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. "We put together some really good at-bats."

Karinchak came back for the sixth with his pitch count at 80. He had allowed only four base runners before the inning, but he allowed three consecutive batters to reach before he was pulled in the sixth.

Evan Lee led off the sixth with a double, Luke Bonfield followed with a walk, and Grant Koch tripled to chase Karinchak and pull the Razorbacks within 3-2.

"They have really good approaches, and they stayed off a lot of my curveballs in the dirt," Karinchak said. "When I missed they hit me, and they hit me hard."

Bryant (2-3) used four pitchers in the inning. Carson Shaddy and Eric Cole had RBI hits, and Dominic Fletcher had a sacrifice fly. The Razorbacks also scored two runs on bases-loaded walks, two runs on a fielding error and a run when Lee was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

Karinchak allowed 3 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks in 5-plus innings. He struck out five.

"All our guys throughout the lineup had good at-bats and got his pitch count up kind of high," said Koch, Arkansas' catcher who finished with 4 RBI. "I think we could see it with his velocity and location.

"I think as more hitters come up and we start talking, it just carries over -- momentum from hitter to hitter to hitter."

Bryant scored two runs off Kacey Murphy in the seventh and added two more on Tyler Panno's pinch-hit home run off Cannon Chadwick in the eighth to pull within 10-7.

Koch's solo home run in the bottom of the eighth extended Arkansas' lead to 11-7, but Bryant brought the game-tying run to the plate with no outs in the ninth when Razorbacks reliever Cody Scroggins walked a batter, hit a batter and allowed a single.

Redshirt senior Josh Alberius got Gaby Cruz to hit into a double play on his first pitch out of the bullpen. Alberius then struck out James Cliento to end the game and earn his first save.

"It was nice to see Josh come in the game and show a little senior leadership," Van Horn said. "He kind of righted the ship there at the end when it wasn't looking great."

Ryan Ward and Nick Angelini had two-out RBI singles off Arkansas starter Blaine Knight in the third inning to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead. Knight allowed a leadoff home run to Chris Wright in the fourth to push the Bulldogs' lead to 3-0.

Knight allowed allowed 3 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks in 5 innings. He struck out four.

Dominic Taccolini earned the victory for Arkansas by striking out two in a scoreless sixth. The Razorbacks used five pitchers over the final three innings.

"It wasn't pretty, but we found a way to hang in there against one of the top pitchers in the country," Van Horn said. "We found a way to get a win."

Up next

ARKANSAS BASEBALL VS. BRYANT

WHEN 2 p.m., today WHERE Baum Stadium RECORDS Bryant 2-3; Arkansas 4-0 RADIO Razorback Sports Network. Not all games will be carried by affiliates. Check local listings. PITCHING MATCHUP Bryant LHP Steve Theetgee (1-0, 5.06 ERA); Arkansas RHP Trevor Stephan (1-0, 2.25 ERA) SHORT HOPS Arkansas’ 10-run sixth inning was the Razorbacks’ most runs in an inning since scoring 14 in the first inning against St. Louis in April 2010. … Evan Lee’s leadoff double in the sixth inning was his first career hit. … At least 15 scouts were in attendance to watch Bryant starter James Karinchak, who is projected to be a high round draft pick this year. … Bryant Coach Steve Owens fell to 0-2 all-time at Baum Stadium. Owens was head coach at Le Moyne in 2004 when his team lost 4-1 to Arkansas during an NCAA regional.

THE WEEK AHEAD

TODAY Bryant, 2 p.m. SUNDAY Bryant, 1 p.m. MONDAY Off TUESDAY at La. Tech, 6 p.m. WEDNESDAY at La. Tech 3 p.m. THURSDAY Off FRIDAY Arizona, 4 p.m. Frisco College Baseball Classic in Frisco, Texas

SUN BELT

PURDUE 6, UALR 4

The Purdue Boilermakers (3-2) scored two runs in the fourth inning Friday and four more in the fifth to hand the UALR Trojans a loss in their home opener at Gary Hogan Field.

Dalton Thomas hit an RBI double in the first inning and an RBI double in the third inning to give the University of Arkansas-Little Rock (0-5) a 2-0 lead before Purdue took control. The Boilermakers got consecutive RBI doubles from Jacson McGowan and Logan Poisall in the fourth inning to tie the game at 2-2. In the fifth inning, Mike Madej had a two-run double and scored on an RBI groundout to give Purdue a 5-2 lead. Nick Dalesandro then scored on a wild pitch to increase the lead to 6-2. Cameron Knight had an RBI double for UALR in the bottom of the sixth and scored on Hunter Owens’ double through the right side to set the final margin.

Bryce Dimitroff led the Trojans by going 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored. Thomas and Knight both went 2 for 4. Starter Matt McDowell (0-2) took the loss after allowing 4 earned runs on 3 hits with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings.

ARKANSAS STATE 3,

NW (LA.) STATE 2

Joe Schrimpf’s RBI single with two outs in the fifth inning proved to be the difference Friday as Arkansas State University (5-2) took the series opener from Northwestern (La.) State (2-2) in Natchitoches, La.

Schrimpf hit a sacrifice fly in the first inning that gave the Red Wolves a 1-0 lead. Drew Tipton, who was hit by a pitch to start the third inning, scored when Jake Bakamus reached on a fielding error to give ASU a 2-0 lead. Northwestern State tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the third when David Fry hit a two-run home run to center field.

Schrimpf finished 2 for 3 with 2 RBI for Arkansas State, while Derek Birginske was 2 for 4 with 1 run scored. Starter Bryan Ayers picked up the victory after allowing 7 hits and 5 walks with 9 strikeouts in 5 innings.

SOUTHLAND

CENTRAL ARKANSAS 10,

EASTERN ILLINOIS 6

The University of Central Arkansas (3-1) jumped out to an early lead Friday, scoring three runs in the first inning and leading 5-1 after the fourth, but the Bears had to withstand a late rally to take the series opener against Eastern Illinois (0-4) at Bear Stadium in Conway.

The first inning was highlighted by William Hancock’s three-run home run to right field. Rigo Aguilar hit an RBI double in the third inning for a 4-1 lead, and Keaton Presley hit a home run to left field in the fourth to increase the lead to 5-1. The lead grew to 10-1 after scoring two runs in the sixth on a sacrifice fly and a fielder’s choice, then scoring three runs in the seventh on a two-run single by Aguilar and Hancock’s RBI single. Eastern Illinois made things interesting in the ninth inning with a grand slam to left field by Dougie Parks, followed by another home run from Matt Dunavant, both coming with one out. Will Brand came in to pitch for Logan Clark and got the game’s final two outs on a ground out and fly out.

Michael Haun was 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored to lead the Bears, while Hancock was 2 for 3 with 4 RBI and 1 run scored. Aguilar was 2 for 5 with 4 RBI. UCA starter Ty Tice earned the victory after allowing 1 earned run on 3 hits with 3 walks and 5 strikeouts over 5 innings.

SWAC

TENN.-MARTIN 10, UAPB 8

The UAPB Golden Lions built a 4-1 lead after 2½ innings Friday, but the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks (3-1) scored four runs in the third inning and four more in the fourth to take the series opener at Elam Stadium in Union City, Tenn.

The University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-4) committed three errors in the game, with one error in the third inning scoring three runs for Tennessee-Martin. The fourth run came on a sacrifice fly. The Skyhawks loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth on a single, a fielder’s choice and a walk before Ryan Helgren hit a grand slam to left field to take a 9-4 lead. Each team scored a run in the fifth, giving Tennessee-Martin a 10-5 lead, before UAPB added three runs in the ninth inning when Jerimiah Figueroa hit a two-out double to left-center field. Sergio Esparza was 3 for 4 with 3 runs scored to lead the Golden Lions, while Aderly Perez was 2 for 3 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. UAPB starter Nathan Sawrie (0-2) took the loss after allowing all 10 Tennessee-Martin runs — 6 earned — on 8 hits with 4 walks and 3 strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings.

— Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Sports on 02/25/2017

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