FAYETTEVILLE -- The No. 10 Arkansas baseball team put its final touches on SEC prep by winning its second game in as many days over an old rival.
The Razorbacks rallied from a two-run deficit to outlast Texas 7-5 before a crowd of 4,718 at Baum Stadium on Tuesday to complete a two-game sweep of the Longhorns, formerly the Hogs' chief adversary in the Southwest Conference.
Arkansas opens SEC play at home with a three-game series against Kentucky on Friday-Sunday.
Sophomore Matt Cronin escaped a bases-loaded jam in the eighth inning and polished off Texas with a tidy ninth, then flashed the downward 'Horns sign as he left the mound to join his celebrating teammates.
"It's a huge win," Cronin said. "I know it's a big rivalry with a bunch of the older fans, so it felt good to get two from them."
"These were two good wins for us," Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. "A split would've been OK, but winning two is really a good thing for us."
Freshman Casey Martin kept up his hot hitting for the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, launching his third home run in as many games and going 2 for 3 with 3 runs and 2 RBI.
"I'm just looking for pitches up in the zone, trying not to chase too many down," Martin said.
Arkansas (13-4), which won 13-4 on Tuesday, had 10 hits, drew 7 walks and a hit batter and hit .364 (4 of 11) with runners in scoring position.
Texas (9-9) lost its fifth game in a row.
"They're a very quality team," Texas Coach David Pierce said of the Razorbacks. "They can swing the bat and put pressure on you. I think we ended up giving them eight free passes, seven base on balls and one hit batter. You can't give a good opportunistic offense extra chances."
Arkansas sophomore Jordan McFarland, batting clean-up for the first time, went 2 for 3 and earned his 10th RBI in the past three games. Evan Lee, inserted at designated hitter in the seven hole, also went 2 for 3 and had a two-run double.
The Razorbacks used six pitchers, and three stood out: Freshman Caleb Bolden (2-0), who got the victory with three innings of one-hit relief; freshman Kole Ramage, who got a critical double-play grounder to snuff out a Longhorns' rally in the fifth inning; and Cronin, whose fastball topped out at 94 mph.
Cronin came on for Jake Reindl with a run in, two runners on and one out in the eighth, and gave up an RBI single to Duke Ellis as Texas pulled within 6-5. After getting a pop up from pinch hitter Jake McKenzie, he hit Masen Hibbeler with a pitch, then struck out pinch hitter Michael McCann.
In the ninth, Cronin got Kody Clemens on an 0-2 pop up, struck out cleanup hitter Zach Zubia looking on three pitches and ended the game with a routine ground out.
"Just trying to throw fastballs down the middle and a little bit up, trying to get them to swing through it," Cronin said.
"We had the bases loaded twice," Pierce said. "We ended the fifth inning with the ground ball double play and ... then just today we were overmatched by Cronin."
The Razorbacks turned double plays in the fifth and sixth innings.
"Our defense in the middle did a great job," Van Horn said. "We turned a bases-loaded double play with one out to end the inning and turned another double play that gave us the first two outs of an inning. ... It was a real good job by Ramage. He threw the ball with a little sink, and I thought he threw extremely well."
Arkansas left-hander Hunter Milligan opened the game with control problems and the Longhorns took advantage after Masen Hibbeler and David Hamilton drew five-pitch walks. Clemens bunted the runners over, then Zubia drove in a run with a ground ball to shortstop. Milligan uncorked a wild pitch that allowed the second run to score and his day was done after one inning.
Martin's two-out, home run over the left field wall in the second inning gave Arkansas its first run and extended Martin's hitting streak to 10 games.
The Razorbacks chased Texas freshman starter Nico O'Donnell (1-1) in the fourth inning with a four-run rally.
McFarland opened the inning with a four-pitch walk and Dominic Fletcher's single to the right field corner moved him to third. Martin reached on a throwing error by Clemens at third that brought McFarland in and moved the runners to second and third.
Lee cleared the bases with his second double, a flare down the left-field line to Arkansas a 3-2 lead. After Grant Koch drew a walk, Hunter Wilson's sacrifice put both runners in scoring position. Jax Biggers walked to load the bases.
Eric Cole grounded to first base, but Ryan Reynolds threw wildly to home, allowing Lee to score the fourth run. Koch was thrown out trying to score on the play and Heston Kjerstad flied out to end the inning.
Texas climbed closer on Clemens' RBI double inside first base against Barrett Loseke in the fifth. The Longhorns loaded the bases when Zach Zubia drew a walk from Ramage, but Ramage coaxed a 6-4-3 double play off the bat of Austin Todd to end the threat.
Arkansas scored on two doubles in the seventh to make it 6-3, with McFarland's shot to the gap in right center scoring Cole, who had doubled over third base.
Wilson, getting a start at second base, provided an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth with a two-out single to center to bring in Martin, who opened the inning with a walk.
Up next
NO. 4 KENTUCKY
AT NO. 10 ARKANSAS
WHEN 6:30 p.m., Friday
WHERE Baum Stadium, Fayetteville
RECORDS Arkansas 13-4; Kentucky 14-3 STARTING PITCHERS Kentucky RHP Sean Hjelle (4-0, 1.35 ERA); Arkansas RHP Blaine Knight (2-0, 0.78)
RADIO Razorback Sports Network. Not all games will be carried by all affiliates. Check local listings.
TV None
INTERNET SEC Network Plus
SHORT HOPS Arkansas is 4-3 against Texas since leaving the Southwest Conference in 1991, including three victories in a row. … The schools have agreed to play again next March in Austin, Texas, and are in negotiations for more games. … Arkansas 2B Hunter Wilson made one of the game’s best defensive plays when he charged and scooped a throw to first with his glove to beat speedy David Hamilton in the third inning. … Kole Ramage induced a 6-4-3 double play from Austin Todd to end the fifth after four consecutive Longhorns had reached base in a one-run inning. … Former Texas All-American and seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens was at Baum Stadium to watch his son Kody, the Longhorns’ second baseman.
THE WEEK AHEAD
TODAY Off
FRIDAY Kentucky*, 6:30 p.m.
SATURDAY Kentucky*, 2 p.m.
SUNDAY Kentucky*, 1 p.m.
MONDAY Off
TUESDAY vs. Charlotte#, 6:05 p.m.
WEDNESDAY at Charlotte (CST), 3 p.m. *SEC game #BB&T Park, Charlotte, N.C.
Sports on 03/15/2018