Razorbacks roll to series-opening win over Vanderbilt

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Second-ranked Arkansas (24-3, 6-1 SEC) handed No. 14 Vanderbilt (20-6, 4-3 SEC) its first home loss of the season, securing a 9-0 shutout victory in Friday night’s series opener at Hawkins Field in Nashville, Tenn., to win its sixth consecutive SEC game and shut out the Commodores in a home conference game for the first time since 2022.

The win marked Arkansas’ first shutout win against Vanderbilt since 2005, and the Hogs’ first shutout win against the Commodores in Nashville since 1994. Arkansas will go for the series win tomorrow when the two teams are scheduled to play at 2 p.m. Saturday on SEC Network+ with Kevin Ingram (play-by-play) and Andrew Harris (analyst) on the call.

With a series win this weekend, Arkansas would start SEC play with three straight series wins for the seventh time since joining the league in 1992. The Razorbacks also accomplished the feat in 2007, 2009, 2017, 2021, 2022 and 2024.

Cam Kozeal, a former Commodore, and Zach Root stole the show Friday night to help lead Arkansas to its 9-0 series-opening win. Kozeal went 3-for-5 with two home runs and five RBI in his return to Vanderbilt, where he played his true freshman season last year, while Root spun a career-long 7.2 shutout innings with seven strikeouts on the mound.

Arkansas opened the scoring in the top of the third on Nolan Souza’s RBI. Ryder Helfrick led off the inning with a triple, his team-leading second of the season, before coming home on Souza’s groundout to short to put the Hogs ahead, 1-0. Logan Maxwell, who finished Friday’s game with a pair of hits and a team-high three runs scored, cracked a leadoff home run, his career-high seventh of the season, in the fourth inning to extend the Razorbacks’ advantage to two runs.

After Brent Iredale, the next batter, drew a walk, Kozeal swatted his first of two homers to put Arkansas up, 4-0, before recording an out in the fourth. The Razorback first baseman’s third homer of the year traveled 398 feet to right center.

In Kozeal’s next at-bat in the sixth inning, he blasted a 368-foot solo shot, his fourth of 2025, to right to push the Hogs’ lead to five. The Omaha, Neb., native did not stop there, adding a two-run single in the ninth to collect his fourth and fifth RBI of the night and put the game out of reach as Arkansas’ advantage grew to a commanding nine-run lead.

Led by Root’s strong outing, the Razorback pitching staff combined for its first three-hit shutout since accomplishing the feat in the series opener at Auburn last season. Root, who became the first Arkansas pitcher to record back-to-back starts of at least seven innings since Connor Noland accomplished the feat in 2022, carried a no-hitter into the fifth.

The left-hander allowed three hits and issued three walks while racking up seven strikeouts during his 100-pitch start before turning the ball over to the Razorback bullpen. In relief of Root, right-handers Aiden Jimenez (0.1 IP) and Dylan Carter (1.0 IP) combined for 1.1 no-hit innings with a strikeout to lock down Arkansas’ series-opening 9-0 win.

Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.