LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Arkansas bats weren’t the problem Saturday.
After going quiet at times during the week, the Razorbacks came out swinging against Kentucky scoring 10 runs before the Wildcats could record three outs.
They still needed every last one of them to escape with a 16-12 win.
No. 12 Arkansas closed the SEC regular season with the victory, locking up seventh place in the standings and guaranteeing the Hogs a first-round bye at the SEC Tournament in Hoover.
The final record reads 35-19 overall and 16-13 in conference play. Seven SEC series wins.
It wasn’t a smooth finish, but it’s the kind of win that matters heading into October baseball in Alabama.
Ten runs, one inning and it still got scary
Arkansas sent 13 batters to the plate in the top of the first and didn’t stop until the lead read 10-0.
Damian Ruiz singled, Camden Kozeal doubled, Ryder Helfrick singled home the first run and Kozeal came around on a wild pitch. Zack Stewart singled in another.
Then the lineup kept churning. Kuhio Aloy doubled, TJ Pompey got hit by a pitch to force in a run, Carter Rutenbar singled home two more.
Ruiz came back up and cleared the bases with a double to left and suddenly it was 9-0.
Kentucky burned through three pitchers — Connor Mattison, Toby Peterson and Ira Austin — before the first inning was done.
The Hogs pushed the lead to 12-0 through four innings. Then the fifth happened.
Kentucky clawed back with a monster rally that still stings to think about.
Tyler Bell tripled, Luke Lawrence singled him home. Hudson Brown added an RBI single.
Then Carson Hansen who committed to Arkansas stepped up with the bases loaded and launched a grand slam to left. A 12-run lead had shrunk to three.
The Wildcats still weren’t done. Jayce Tharnish doubled and advanced to third on a throwing error by the right fielder, scoring two more.
Lawrence singled to plate Tharnish and tie it at 12-12.
The entire lead was gone in one half-inning and the fielding mistakes that helped Kentucky complete the comeback were a warning sign for a team headed to the postseason.
Kozeal, Stewart and Souza saved the day
Arkansas didn’t panic.
In the sixth, Pompey walked and stole second, Peck walked and Ruiz got hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Kozeal then lined a single to right that scored two runs and pushed the Razorbacks back in front 14-12.
James DeCremer came on and held the lead through the seventh and eighth.
The Hogs put it out of reach in the ninth. Stewart crushed a homer to right to make it 15-12.
Nolan Souza followed with another shot to right-center and the margin was four.
Kentucky went down in order and Arkansas walked out of Lexington with a series win.
Hoover is next
The throwing error in the fifth wasn’t the only defensive miscue of the afternoon.
Completing routine relay throws — the kind that should be automatic from second to first — was a recurring issue in a game that got messier than it needed to be.
Those mistakes get magnified in tournament baseball and the Hogs know it.
But Saturday also showed something worth keeping. When Arkansas needed its offense to answer, it answered.
When the bullpen needed to hold a two-run lead through two innings, it held.
When the game needed to be put away, Stewart and Souza delivered back-to-back.
Three straight series wins to close the regular season. A top-8 seed.
The SEC Tournament starts soon and the Razorbacks are headed there with momentum they had to earn the hard way.
