Clutch hits pace Hogs to series win over Crimson Tide

FAYETTEVILLE — A four-run sixth inning was the difference Saturday night at Baum Stadium as sophomore Jack Kenley’s two-out two-RBI single drove in the go-ahead runs to help lead No. 7 Arkansas to a 7-4 win and series victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide.

What was a pitchers’ duel early on between Arkansas’ Kacey Murphy and Alabama’s Jake Walters turned into a slugfest in the middle innings as the lead changed hands three times in the fifth and sixth innings.

The Hogs were able to take advantage of Alabama’s bullpen scoring all four of their runs in the sixth with two outs.

The Tide, which had hit back-to-back homers to start the sixth inning and force Murphy out of the game, led 3-2 going into the bottom half, but could not stave off the Razorback offense after retiring two of the first three batters in the inning.

The rally started with a four-pitch walk to junior Jax Biggers, then a walk to Grant Koch to load the bases. That brought up Kenley, who fouled off five-consecutive pitches after falling behind 0-2.

Kenley was able to put a good swing on a fastball and bloop it into shallow right-centerfield, scoring the tying and go-ahead runs. Kenley, later, singled again to finish the game 2-for-3 with a run scored and two RBIs. It’s his first multi-hit game of the season.

The win now gives Arkansas (31-13, 12-8 SEC) its fourth conference series victory of the year and keeps it a half game up on Ole Miss for the SEC Western Division lead. Alabama (23-22, 5-15 SEC) drops its ninth of its last 11 games.

The Hitting

Arkansas only recorded one hit through the first four innings, a two-out RBI single from Luke Bonfield to give the Hogs their first run of the game. Bonfield finished the game as the team’s top hitter, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a home run.

After the Razorbacks had taken the lead with their four-run sixth inning, Bonfield came up huge in the seventh with a monster solo shot to the Hog Pen in left field, his sixth of the year, to give the team a little more insurance. It’s the fourth home run of the series for the Hogs and the first for Bonfield since April 7 against Auburn.

Arkansas now has 67 home runs on the year, which is good for second in the league and only one behind SEC-leader Florida. It’s also 12 ahead of last year’s pace where the Hogs hit a league-best 83 home runs.

Joining Kenley and Bonfield with a multi-hit performance was sophomore Jordan McFarland as he finished 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored, his eighth multi-hit game of the year.

The Pitching

Before giving way to the bullpen, Arkansas starting pitcher Kacey Murphy had one of his best performances of the season, even after being forced to throw a lot of pitches in the early innings.

Murphy struck out a career-high 11 batters over five innings and scattered six hits, while allowing just three earned runs, two from solo home runs.

It’s the second time in his career that he’s tallied a double-digit strikeout total, topping his previous high of 10 set against Grand Canyon (April 5) last year.

Murphy is also the second Razorback pitcher this week to strike out 10 or more in the same game as tonight’s save recipient, Barrett Loseke, notched 10 against No. 4 Texas Tech on Tuesday.

Sophomore Evan Lee came on in relief in the sixth inning and pitched two perfect innings with the Hogs’ go-ahead rally sandwiched in between.

The outing earned him his fourth win of the year and second this week. In his last 3.2 innings, Lee hasn’t allowed a hit and struck out five.

Loseke finished off the final 1.1 innings to earn his second save of the year after entering the game with two runners on and the Hogs up 7-3.

He only allowed one hit and struck out two batters, giving him 37 strikeouts on the season.

Razorback Quotables

“First off, he’s such a good defender. He’s got a really good eye at the plate. He’ll take a walk, usually he gets bunts down. He’s very dependable in the little things that help you win. He’s been swinging the bat really good in batting practice, hitting balls out of the park and balls all over the field.” — Coach Dave Van Horn on what he saw from Jack Kenley to start him this weekend

“Well the pitching staff has done a great job. We’ve done it with a lot of different kids and that’s a good thing. I just told them in the outfield after the game, ‘That’s a good team win.’ We used a lot of people tonight. We’ve got guys sick, guys filling in, used more bullpen then we’ve used. Guys that maybe haven’t pitched in the league as much. If we’re going to play for a while, we got to have those guys.” — Van Horn on the pitching staff’s performance this weekend

“It’s a confidence booster. Knowing if I give up a run like I did or lose a lead like I did. I have all the confidence in the word in my offense on the other side to put us back, tie it up right off the bat. It helps me pitch and helps me keep a calm attitude on the mound.” — Kacey Murphy on how the strong offense helps his pitching

“I was excited, I was really excited. I knew I was going to get something to hit, get pitched pretty tough, but I felt confident in my swings today. Approach felt great, pretty much just go out there and execute.” — Jack Kenley on his go-ahead RBI single situation

“It was big to help the team win. I’ve been seeing the ball well of late. In our last series against Mississippi State, Zach Barr, one of our coaches, kind of just sat me aside and said ‘Hey, calm down. You’re a good player. Just let the game come to you and stop pressing.’ Ever since then, I’ve taken good swings and calmed down at the plate a little bit.” — Luke Bonfield on his three-hit game

Up Next

Arkansas will go for its seventh series sweep of the year and third in conference play when it faces off with Alabama one final time on Sunday at Baum Stadium.

First pitch is set for 1 p.m. and will be televised on SEC Network+.