McElvain's three innings save the day for Arkansas to even series against Kentucky
No. 12 Arkansas (35-19, 16-13 SEC) used more eighth-inning magic to even the series against Kentucky (31-19, 13-16 SEC) with a 5-4 win. The Razorbacks manufactured a run in the top of the eighth. Maika Niu led off the inning with a walk and stole second before coming around to score on a Nolan Souza double.
After committing 2 errors Thursday, the Razorbacks committed 3 more Friday, but great pitching from Ethan McElvain avoided a second straight loss due to poor defense. In the bottom of the eighth. McElvain looked to secure an easy 1-2-3 inning before Reese Robinett dropped a can of corn popup that hit off the heel of his glove. Ethan Hindle doubled to right center, but Niu cut the ball off before it got to the wall and forced Kentucky head coach and third base coach Nick Mingione to hold the tying run at third.
McElvain then struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth for the fifth win of the season.Â
After Kentucky brought in starter Jaxon Jelkin to close down game 1, Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn went to Ethan McElvain for a nine out save with the tying run at second and no outs in a 4-3 game after the first two reached against Steele Eaves. Although McElvain allowed an inherited runner to score, he stranded the go-ahead run at third.Â
Arkansas scored its first 2 runs of the game on a pair of solo home runs from Zack Stewart in the third and Camden Kozeal in the fourth. Both are in the double-digit club with Stewart hitting his 10th of the season and the second in as many games. Kozeal extended his team lead to two with his 17th of the season.
Kentucky got a run back in the home half of the third. Braxton Van Cleave hit a seeing-eye single up the middle to score a run but ran straight into Kozeal, who was standing in the basepath between first and second. Van Cleave remained on the ground and the game entered a long delay as Van Cleave needed the stretcher to be helped off the field.
Gabe Gaeckle worked into the sixth inning for the first time since March 13, striking out 7 in 5 â…“ innings on 2-run ball.Â
Arkansas closes the regular season against Kentucky 1 p.m. Saturday. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+.Â
Live Updates:
No. 12 Arkansas (34-19, 15-13 SEC) looks to avoid its first series loss since April 18 with a bounceback win in the middle game of the series against Kentucky (31-19, 13-15 SEC) after dropping the series opener 4-3. The Razorbacks are also down to No. 8 in the SEC standings, the last single bye for the SEC Tournament next week in Hoover, Ala. Ole Miss and Tennessee both came into Friday’s play one game behind Arkansas. The Razorbacks hold the direct tiebreaker over the Rebels by virtue of their series win earlier this year.Â
The Razorbacks also slipped two spots in the Rating Percentage Index (RPI) down to No. 28 and were leapfrogged by Kentucky. Attached below is an RPI rooting guide with teams 16-32 coming into Friday. It is in Arkansas’ best interest for all the teams listed on the left to lose.Â
Kentucky sends lefty Ben Cleaver (2-3, 3.57 ERA) to the mound while Arkansas sends righty Gabe Gaeckle (5-3, 4.47 ERA).
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Starting Lineups:
Arkansas:
LF Damian Ruiz
3B TJ Pompey
C Ryder Helfrick
DH Kuhio Aloy
SS Camden Kozeal
CF Maika Niu
2B Nolan Souza
1B Alexander Peck
RF Zack Stewart
RHP Gabe Gaeckle
Kentucky:
CF Jayce Tharnish
SS Tyler Bell
2B Luke Lawrence
DH Ethan Hindle
RF Braxton Van Cleave
LF Will Marcy
1B Hudson Brown
C Owen Jenkins
3B Caeden Cloud
LHP Ben Cleaver
Live Updates:
Bottom 9th:
- Marcy struck out swinging, 1 out
- Brown struck out looking, 2 outs
- Jenkins struck out swinging, 3 outs
Top 9th:
- Helfrick grounded out to third, 1 out
- Aloy struck out swinging, 2 outs
- Kozeal singled to center
- Kozeal advanced to second on a wild pitch
- Niu walked
- Kozeal to third on a wild pitch, Niu to second
- Souza struck out swinging, 3 outs
Bottom 8th:
- Christian Turner to right field
- Tharnish grounded out to the pitcher, 1 out
- Bell reached on a missed catch error by the first baseman
- Lawrence struck out swinging, 2 outs
- Hindle doubled to right center, Bell to third
- Campbell struck out swinging, 3 outs
Top 8th:
- Niu walked
- Nile Adcock replaced Harris
- Niu stole second
- Souza doubled to left center, Niu scored, Arkansas 5, Kentucky 4
- Robinett grounded out, pitcher to second to first, bunt, sacrifice, Souza to third, 1 out
- Stewart walked
- Landon Schaefer replaced Stewart at first base
- Ruiz struck out swinging, 2 outs
- Schaefer stole second
- Pompey struck out swinging, 3 outs
Bottom 7th:
- Reese Robinett replaced Peck at first base
- Lawrence singled to center
- Hindle doubled to center, Lawrence to third, Lawrence scored on an error by the center fielder, Arkansas 4, Kentucky 3
- Ethan McElvain replaced Eaves
- Tagger Tyson replaced Hansen
- Tyson struck out swinging, 1 out
- Hindle advanced to third on a pickoff error by the pitcher
- Marcy walked
- Brown reached on a fielder’s choice, sacrifice, bunt, Hindle scored, Marcy to second, Brown to first, Kentucky 4, Arkansas 4
- Jenkins grounded out to the pitcher, Marcy to third, Brown to second, 2 outs
- Cloud struck out looking, 3 outs
Top 7th:
- Stewart struck out swinging, 1 out
- Burkley Bounds replaced Soucie
- Ruiz doubled to right
- Pompey grounded out to third, 2 outs
- Helfrick walked
- Aloy doubled to left, Ruiz scored, Helfrick to third, Arkansas 4, Kentucky 2
- Leighton Harris replaced Bounds
- Kozeal grounded out, pitcher to first, 3 outs
Bottom 6th:
- Marcy struck out swinging, 1 out
- Brown singled to right
- Jenkins singled to right, Brown to second
- Steele Eaves replaced Gaeckle
- Cloud struck out looking, 2 outs
- Tharnish singled to second, Brown to third, Jenkins to second
- Bell struck out swinging, 3 outs
Top 6th:
- Jackson Soucie replaced Austin
- Kozeal flied out to center, 1 out
- Niu struck out swinging, 2 outs
- Souza walked
- Peck grounded into a fielder’s choice, Souza out at second, short to second, 3 outs
Bottom 5th:
- Lawrence flied out to right, 1 out
- Hindle struck out swinging, 2 outs
- Hansen lined out to center, 3 outs
Top 5th:
- Peck grounded out to third, 1 out
- Stewart walked
- Ruiz singled to left, Stewart to second
- Pompey walked, Stewart to third, Ruiz to second
- Ira Austin replaced Cleaver
- Helfrick grounded into a fielder’s choice, second to short, Stewart scored, Ruiz to third, Pompey out at second, 2 outs, Arkansas 3, Kentucky 2
- Helfrick stole second
- Aloy struck out swinging, 3 outs
Bottom 4th:
- Brown homered to left center, Kentucky 2, Arkansas 2
- Jenkins struck out swinging, 1 out
- Cloud walked
- Tharnish struck out swinging, 2 outs
- Bell flied out to right, 3 outs
Top 4th:
- Hansen replaced Van Cleave in right
- Aloy struck out looking, 1 out
- Kozeal homered to right, Arkansas 2, Kentucky 1
- Niu struck out swinging, 2 outs
- Souza flied out to center, 3 outs
Bottom 3rd:
- Tharnish hit by a pitch
- Bell flied out to left, 1 out
- Tharnish stole second
- Lawrence walked
- Hindle flied out to right, 2 outs
- Van Cleave singled to center, Tharnish scored, Lawrence to third, Van Cleave to second, Kentucky 1, Arkansas 1
- Carson Hansen replaced Van Cleave at second
- Marcy grounded out to first, 3 outs
Seeing-eye single gets through with 2 outs between Kozeal and Souza. Braxton Van Cleave didn’t see Kozeal in the baseline and got trucked. He’s been down for a while but at least was sitting up for a while. Kozeal is okay. Van Cleave left on a stretcher.
Top 3rd:
- Stewart homered to right center, Arkansas 1, Kentucky 0
- Ruiz flied out to right, 1 out
- Pompey struck out swinging, 2 outs
- Helfrick flied out to right, 3 outs
Bottom 2nd:
- Marcy walked
- Brown singled to right, Marcy to second
- Jenkins struck out looking, 1 out
- Marcy out at second on a pickoff, pitcher to second, 2 outs
- Cloud struck out swinging, 3 outs
Top 2nd:
- Kozeal grounded out to second, 1 out
- Niu popped up to second, 2 outs
- Souza singled to short
- Peck flied out to right, 3 outs
Bottom 1st:
- Tharnish flied out to right, 1 out
- Bell struck out swinging, 2 outs
- Lawrence singled to left
- Hindle singled to center, Lawrence to third, Hindle to second
- Van Cleave flied out to left, 3 outs
Top 1st:
- Ruiz grounded out to the pitcher, 1 out
- Pompey grounded out to short, 2 outs
- Helfrick doubled to left center
- Aloy popped up to second, 3 outs
RPI Rooting Guide:
Below is an RPI rooting guide for the rest of Thursday with the scores at time of publication. Arkansas needs the teams on the left to lose to help them in the RPI.Â
No.16 Wake Forest @ Duke (93) (Wake Forest wins 7-2)
No. 17 Oregon State v. Air Force (156) (Air Force leads 8-5, T7)
No. 18 West Virginia v. TCU (49) (TCU wins 4-0)
No. 19 Kansas @ BYU (78) (Kansas leads 7-6, T9)
No. 20 Cincy v. TTU (131) (5 p.m. doubleheader, ESPN+) (Texas Tech wins game 1 6-5, Cincinnati wins game 2 8-7)
No. 21 Oregon v. USC (8) (Oregon leads 4-2, T7)
No. 22 Virginia @ Louisville (94) (Louisville wins 12-2)
No. 23 Oklahoma neut. Tennessee (26) (Tennessee leads 3-1, B7)
No. 24 Missouri State @ Kennesaw State (83) (Missouri State wins 5-3)
No. 25 Coastal Carolina @ Louisiana (42) (Coastal Carolina wins 6-0)
No. 26 Tennessee neut. Oklahoma (23) (Tennessee leads 3-1, B7)
No. 28 Arkansas @ Kentucky (27) (Arkansas wins 5-4)
No. 29 Mercer v. East Tennessee State (86) (Mercer wins 9-7)
No. 30 UCF v. Kansas State (59) (Kansas State wins 5-4)
No. 31 Jacksonville State @ DBU (75) (DBU wins 10-6)
No. 32 Boston College v. GT (2) (Georgia Tech wins 14-1)
SEC Standings Guide:
17-12 Florida @ LSU (Florida wins 11-1)
16-13 Mississippi State @ Texas A&M (Texas A&M wins 11-9)
16-13 Arkansas @ Kentucky (Arkansas wins 5-4)
15-14 Ole Miss @ Alabama (Ole Miss wins 9-0)
14-14 Tennessee neut. Oklahoma (Tennessee leads 3-1, B7)
14-14 Oklahoma neut. Tennessee (Tennessee leads 3-1, B7)
