April 28, 2001
April 28, 2001 – Ryan Fox went 3-for-6 with five RBI and two runs scored as the Arkansas Razorbacks plated eight runs in the seventh inning and hung on to defeat the Kentucky Wildcats, 16-11, on Saturday afternoon at Cliff Hagan Stadium in a game televised on Fox Sports Net South.
With the win, UA improved to 22-26 overall, 7-16 in the Southeastern Conference, and evened the series with the Wildcats at one game apiece. UK fell to 19-28, 6-17 in conference play.
Seth Morris led the way for the Cats, going 4-for-5 on the afternoon with three runs scored. Spencer Preston drove in three runs on his seventh home run of the season, as the Cats totaled 14 hits in the game. Spencer Graeter added three hits, including his second home run of the year.
The Razorbacks pounded out 21 hits, with four of those leaving the ballpark. The Hogs connected on three round-trippers in their eight-run seventh inning, one each by Andrew Wishy, Scott Crossett, and Brian Kirby.
UA struck for two runs in the first inning on an RBI single by Fox. The Cats cut the lead in half with a run in the second on a single up the middle from center fielder Beau Moore.
The Razorbacks added two runs in both the third and fifth innings to go up, 6-1, before UK battled back with four runs in its half of the fifth, four of those runs resulting from UA errors. With one out and the Cats trailing by one in the fifth, Morris struck out swinging and took off for first when the UA catcher dropped the ball. When the catcher made the throw to first to get Morris, Gordon Tyler broke from third base toward home, attempting to score the tying run. Fox, the Razorback first baseman, fired a throw to home just ahead of Tyler’s slide for the third out. To make matters worse, Tyler, UK’s leading hitter, suffered a lower left leg injury and had to be helped off the field, not returning to the contest.
After the Hogs added a single run in the eighth, UK plated five runs in the bottom half of the inning. Both teams pushed runs across in the ninth to make the final, 16-11.
Razorback reliever Jeremy Rankin picked up the win, going 3 1/3 innings in relief of starting pitcher Gary Hogan Jr. Rankin improved to 3-3 on the year.
Cory Hahn did not fare well in his first SEC start, going 6 1/3 innings, allowing 10 hits and seven runs while striking out four.
The rubber game of the series will get underway at 12 p.m. EST tomorrow at Cliff Hagan Stadium.
