Razorbacks fall on senior day

FAYETTEVILLE – On a day when each of the six Razorback seniors were honored for their dedication prior to the game, the No. 16 University of Arkansas baseball team dropped a 16-3 decision to the No. 9 Ole Miss Rebels at Baum Stadium on Saturday afternoon, spoiling the festivities.

Arkansas (32-20, 14-15 SEC) finish the regular season as the No. 7 seed in the Southeastern Conference Tournament which begins next Wednesday afternoon while Ole Miss (40-15, 20-10 SEC) clinch a share of the SEC overall title with the victory.

Ole Miss got after the Razorbacks early with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning and another three in the third to take a 5-0 lead. The Razorbacks responded with a run in the bottom of the third on back-to-back two-out hits by Chase Leavitt and Ben Tschepikow.

The Ole Miss fourth is where the score got out of hand as the Rebels pounded the Razorbacks for seven runs on just four hits. Walks were the big problem for the Hogs in the inning as they allowed three free passes in the inning. A bases clearing double and a three-run home run capped off the scoring bonanza.

A one-out double by Tim Carver in the fifth inning set up a Collin Kuhn RBI single to score Arkansas’ second run and back-to-back-to-back singles in the sixth by Travis Sample, Andy Wilkins and Jarrod McKinney accounted for the final Razorback run.

The Razorbacks ended Saturday’s game with eight hits led by Carver’s two. Kuhn, Leavitt, Tschepikow, Sample, Wilkins and McKinney provided the rest of the Razorback offense.

On the mound for Arkansas, Justin Wells was credited with the loss. The Razorbacks did get solid outings from freshman Zack Cox and junior Stephen Richards as the tandem combined to throw three shutout innings, allowing two hits and striking out four.

The Razorback seniors that were honored prior to the game included Ryan Cisterna, Andrew Darr, Leavitt, Scott Lyons, Tschepikow and Wells. The University also honored Arkansas’ 1999 SEC Championship team prior to Saturday’s competition.

Arkansas now prepares to face the Florida Gators in the first round of the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala. The two squads face off at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, May 20, at Regions Park. For more information regarding Razorback baseball or University of Arkansas athletics please visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com.