Box Score

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – No. 10 Arkansas scored multiple runs in four different frames en route to a 15-2 win over University of South Alabama baseball Saturday at Baum-Walker Stadium.

UA (8-5) held a 5-1 lead through 4 1/2 innings before plating five runs in the bottom of the fifth, and added five additional runs over the final three innings to even the series at one game apiece.

 GAME FACTS
- South Alabama jumped out to a one-run lead in the top of the first inning. Santi Montiel and Ethan Wilson reached on consecutive singles. Wilson stole second before Montiel scored on an RBI groundout off the bat of Reid Powers for a 1-0 Jag lead.
- Arkansas answered to tie the game in the bottom of the first. Christian Franklin and Heston Kjerstad reached on consecutive singles, and Matt Goodheart followed with an RBI single up the middle to score Franklin and tie the game 1-1. 
- The Razorbacks loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the second on a hit by pitch to Braydon Webb, single to right field by Casey Opitz and hit by pitch to Jacob Nesbit. Jaguar right-hander Miles Smith struck out Zach Gregory for the first out of the frame before Franklin drew a walk to plate Webb for a 2-1 UA lead. Kjerstad followed with a sacrifice fly to center field to score Opitz for a 3-1 Razorback advantage. Goodheart then delivered a two-out RBI double to left-center field to score Nesbit and extend the UA lead to 4-1.
- Arkansas pushed its lead to 5-1 in the bottom of the third on an RBI bunt single up the first base line by Nesbit that scored Robert Moore, who led off the inning with a walk.
- The Razorbacks took a 6-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single up the middle by Opitz that scored Webb, who led off the inning with a walk. UA loaded the bases with one out later in the inning following a hit by pitch to Cole Austin and one-out single to right field by Franklin. Kjerstad followed with a two-run single up the middle for an 8-1 Arkansas advantage. Goodheart followed with a walk to load the bases for Martin, who reached on a fielder's choice on a grounder back to the pitcher, which Jag left-hander Caleb Yarborough fielded and threw to home for the force out to record the second out of the frame. Robert Moore followed with a two-out, two-run single up the middle to score Kjerstad and Goodheart for a 10-1 advantage. Webb then drew a walk to load the bases for Opitz, who lined out to Hunter Stokes at second for the final out of the inning.
- USA cut the Arkansas lead to 10-2 in the top of the sixth. Powers led off the inning with a double to right field, and was lifted for pinch-runner Bennett Shell, who advanced to second one batter later on a single to center field by Sandle. Dakota Dailey then grounded into a 6-4-3 double play that allowed Shell to score from third.
- Arkansas pushed its lead to 12-2 in the bottom of the sixth on a two-run home run to left field by Austin.
- The Razorbacks took a 14-2 lead in the bottom of the eighth on a two-run pinch-hit home run by Curtis Washington Jr., and added the game's final run on an RBI infield single to first by Martin.

NOTES
- UA right-hander Caleb Bolden (1-0) allowed two runs on four hits with six strikeouts and three walks in six innings pitched in the win.
- Smith (0-2) allowed five runs on five hits with three strikeouts and a pair of walks in two innings pitched in the loss.
- The Jags committed one error in the game, which snapped a five-game errorless streak. 
- Powers finished with a double and one RBI, while Montiel, Wilson and Sandle added one hit apiece.
- Eight Razorback starters hit safely in the game, led by Opitz who finished 3-for-4 with one RBI and two runs scored.
- Arkansas snapped a five-game losing streak with the win.
 
QUOTES
Head Coach Mark Calvi
- On the loss:
"We gave so many free opportunities. We got some of their hitters in the first few innings in 0-2 and 1-2 counts, and we didn't put them away or came up with a hit by pitch with two strikes, which was disappointing. They (Arkansas) are a very good club and we know that. You can't give free bases to really anyone in college baseball, especially a team like Arkansas and on the road. It usually doesn't work out well for you, and it did not work out well for us today. But I thought Miles (Smith) competed and had a chance to put some guys away, he just didn't today; it wasn't his day. A couple of breaking balls got away from him, but I thought he had a pretty good changeup. But lesson learned – he has three good pitches and has to stick them in there and make them put the ball in play. We have one of the better defenses around behind him, so lesson learned today. We need to come out and attack and mix-in the strike zone, and not give free bases."

- On Sunday's rubber match:
"We have a lot of confidence in (Sunday starter) JoJo (Booker), we had a lot of confidence in Miles and we had a lot of confidence yesterday with Drake (Nightengale). In winning the first game, the good thing is we have the chance to win the series tomorrow. I told the team tomorrow is the most important game of the year. This one is over and you learn from it. We got some guys in there to get some at-bats, and got the chance to substitute some guys out. I thought our guys competed hard, it just didn't go our way today. We weren't good enough on the mound today, and ultimately we didn't push them (Arkansas) enough offensively. We came out of the gates pretty good, but we didn't sustain that level. I thought we let their guy (Caleb Bolden) settle in a little bit. We just didn't push as hard as we needed to in the first three innings of the game or get on the board as much to pressure them. I give their guy credit; he settled in and did a good job. We just didn't sustain that level of pressure offensively, which we needed to today, and they pressured all day long both offensively and defensively."

NEXT UP
South Alabama (8-8) will return to action Sun., March 8, at noon when it faces No. 10 Arkansas in the rubber match at Baum-Walker Stadium.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with USAJaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at Twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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