ROUND ROCK, TEXAS — Connor Noland had never pitched in long sleeves before he took the mound on a frosty Friday night at Dell Diamond.
It turned out to be one of the best outings of his career.
Noland battled the elements and struck out 10 over six innings of one-run ball to lead No. 2 Arkansas to a 5-2 win against Indiana in the Karbach Round Rock Classic.
He finished one strikeout shy of matching his career best, turning in Arkansas’ fourth consecutive start of at least five innings.
Noland teamed up with Kole Ramage, who earned his second save of the young season, to fan 16 Hoosiers on the evening. Ramage came out of the bullpen for the final three innings and punched out six en route to his multi-inning save.
Noland and Ramage had plenty to work with as the Arkansas offense did its part providing run support.
Cayden Wallace doubled down the left field line before coming around to score on Robert Moore’s single through the right side, giving the Razorbacks’ an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning.
Arkansas later tacked on three runs in the top of the fourth to open a 4-0 advantage.
Brady Slavens’ one-out double set the table for Michael Turner’s run-scoring triple before Wallace’s bases-loaded walk kept the line moving.
Wallace’s first-inning double was his first of a career-high four hits. He powered Arkansas’ offense all game long, finishing with two doubles, two runs scored, an RBI, a walk and a stolen base.
Moore also did much of the heavy lifting, driving in a team-leading two runs on two hits. The Razorback second baseman’s multi-hit game was his third in four games this season.
Arkansas gets back to work tomorrow against No. 6 Stanford in a clash between two top-10 programs. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. on FloBaseball with David Saltzman (play-by-play) and Mike Hardge (analyst) on the call.
