FAYETTEVILLE -- As they deemed Arkansas aces Hunter Hollan and Hagen Smith "1 and 1A" but weekend spent from combining six and three excellent innings beating Tennessee, 5-2, Friday night's SEC telecast crew surmised pitching advantage Tennessee for the Saturday and Sunday remainder of the 3-game SEC series at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Even ardent Arkansas fans would have conceded the logic.
Coach Tony Vitello's defending SEC champion Volunteers had starting aces Chase Dollander and Drew Beam and among the SEC's deepest bullpen up their sleeves.
Coach Dave Van Horn's Razorbacks, somehow 29-7 overall and the SEC West leading 11-4 despite major injury induced absences, crossed fingers that up and down 5.20 ERA Saturday starter Will McEntire and a to be announced from the grab bag Sunday starter could pitch enough decent early innings for Arkansas remaining competitive by the summons for relievers Gage Wood and Dylan Carter.
Turns out that Arkansas, even minus three key injured pitching pieces, added a 1B through 1F to the Hollan-Smith 1 and 1A.
Hollan, now 6-1, and Smith combined a 6-hitter. Smith struck out seven with one hit for his scoreless three frames save.
On Saturday McEntire threw six complete handing a 3-2 lead to freshman Wood starting the seventh. Arkansas' 3-run seventh easily sufficed for Tennessee's lone ninth-inning run. McEntire upped to 5-1 with the 6-3 win. Wood netted his third save.
On Sunday, freshman Ben Bybee, the losing 3-inning starter in Wednesday's 11-4 nonconference thrashing administered at Baum-Walker by Arkansas-Little Rock avenging the Hogs' Tuesday trouncing the Trojans, 21-5, started against Tennessee. He lasted 31/3 innings of the 7-2 victory handing Carter a 6-0 lead with runners at first and second and one out.
Carter yielded a walk and 2-run single but otherwise vexed the Vols. He held them otherwise scoreless through 42/3 as the 6-0 winning pitcher. Carter, 73 Sunday pitches and warmed up though not used Friday and Saturday, "ran out of gas" Van Horn said starting Sunday afternoon's ninth yielding a single and double. Freshman reliever Christian Foutch 1-2-3 stranded the runners.
Vitello's Vols vegetate, 5-10 in the SEC East yet sport such talent off last year's 57-9 team to arrive nationally No. 12 at Baum-Walker. Like Friday's SEC telecasters opined, ample cause favored Tennessee Saturday and Sunday even with Arkansas nationally fifth. Especially with Arkansas minus (broken thumb) right fielder/leading power hitter Jared Wegner, 12 home runs and 44 RBI.
Yet Arkansas reigned decisively defensively and on the base paths, 9 steals in 10 attempts. Though Tennessee outhit Arkansas, 21-18 for the series, the Hogs hit more timely like Brady Slavens' Sunday second-inning bases-loaded triple beaming Beam's exit.
"Just a big, big win for us, to finish this thing off," Van Horn said Sunday. "Especially when we're facing a pitcher who had been as hot as Beam had been."