FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. ? Arkansas jumped out to an 8-1 lead through four innings and held on to clinch the series victory with a 10-6 win over Kentucky on Saturday afternoon at Baum Stadium.
One day after pounding out 14 hits in a heartbreaking 10-9 loss, the Wildcats started slow and couldn?t overcome an early deficit to lose their second straight game. It is just the second time this year the Wildcats have dropped consecutive outings.
Kentucky (25-10, 7-7 Southeastern Conference) attempts to avoid the sweep on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET. The Wildcats send right-hander Greg Dombrowski (6-1, 1.75) to the mound against Shaun Seibert (2-0, 1.50). Dombrowski has the lowest earned-run average among starters in the conference.
Arkansas (27-9, 8-6 SEC) struck first with a pair of runs in the home half of the first inning. Craig Gentry and Wayne Hrozek started with back-to-back singles. Chris Hollensworth doubled home the first run and the second scored on the play when left fielder Shaun Lehmann misplayed the ball off the wall.
It was 4-0 after the Razorbacks plated two more in the second. Blake Parker singled to open the inning and Gentry was hit by a pitch with two outs. Hrozek and Danny Hamblin followed with two straight singles through the left side to score the runs.
After pounding out 14 hits on Friday night, UK could not find the holes early on Saturday. Trey Holloway retired the first 10 batters he faced and allowed a single baserunner through the first four innings.
John Shelby finally got Kentucky on the board in the fifth with a monstrous home run to left field. The solo shot was his ninth of the year and ended an 0-for-15 slump.
However, the Hogs answered with four runs in their half of the inning to blow it open. Danny Hamblin drew a leadoff walk, and Hollensworth and Matt Willard followed with consecutive singles, the latter of which plated the first run of the frame. Arnold then powered a 1-2 pitch over the wall in left for an 8-1 lead.
Ryan Strieby cut the deficit to four for Kentucky with his own three-run home run in the sixth. After Antone DeJesus reached on an error, Collin Cowgill singled to put two on for Strieby, who hit a towering shot just fair down the left field line on the first pitch he saw. The home run is the 10th of the season for Strieby and his third in as many games.
In the seventh, Arkansas? leadoff man reached for the fourth time in the game when Willard was hit by reliever Dewayne Oxford. Willard eventually came around on a sac fly by Walker for a 9-4 Arkansas lead. Each time the leadoff batter reached, the Hogs scored on Saturday.
The Wildcats pushed two across in the eighth to make it 9-6. After two men were hit by pitches, Strieby and Sean Coughlin laced consecutive run-scoring singles to the tying run to the plate in the form of Matt McKinney with one out. However, McKinney chopped one up the middle only to see Willard go behind the bag at second, backhand it to Forsythe, who caught it bare-handed and turned the double play to end the threat.
Arkansas answered with a single run to make it 10-4 in the bottom of the eighth. Hrozek blooped a single to leadoff and the run scored all the way from second on a single on the infield grass when Ryan Wilkes throw sailed to the backstop.
Wildcat starter Craig Snipp lasted six innings and was tagged with the loss to fall to 4-3. He allowed eight runs ? all earned ? on 11 hits while striking out two and walking two.
Trey Holloway started and worked 7 1/3 innings to earn the win. He gave up five runs on just five hits while striking out one and walking none.
