Alabama
Arkansas
Baseball Falls in Back-and-Forth Contest with No. 6 Arkansas, 9-6
4/1/2023 6:13:00 PM | Baseball
The two teams traded leads late with the Razorbacks coming out on top by day’s end
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Alabama baseball traded blows with sixth-ranked Arkansas on Saturday, with the Crimson Tide coming up short, 9-6, in a back-and-forth contest at Baum-Walker Stadium. The Tide is now 21-7 on the season and 3-5 in Southeastern Conference play.
Alabama got out to a 4-0 lead with one in the second and three in the fourth. Arkansas answered with a three-run home half of the fourth to cut the lead to one. The Hogs tied things up with one in the sixth, but the Tide countered with one in the seventh to retake the lead at 5-4. Following the stretch, a two-run frame put Arkansas back in front, but, once again, Alabama was able to even things up with a run in the eighth. In the home half of the eight, a pair of home runs staked the Razorbacks to a 9-6 advantage, the eventual final.
The Tide offense was solid once again, totaling 15 hits, including five for extra bases. Drew Williamson and Tommy Seidl tied for the team lead in hits with three apiece while Dominic Tamez led in RBI with two. Jim Jarvis and Andrew Pinckney rounded out the bats, each delivering a solo home run. Jarvis added a double, an RBI and a team-high two runs scored to his stat line.
Arkansas reliever Hagen Smith (5-0) picked up the win while Tide reliever Kade Woods (2-1) suffered the loss. Luke Holman was solid in his start, allowing four runs on three hits and two walks with eight strikeouts for Alabama.
From Head Coach Brad Bohannon
"We did a lot of good things. We out-hit them 15-9, had a lot of good at-bats and Luke Holman gave us a really good start. But we're still making way too many mistakes for an older team at this point in the year. When you play a really good team like Arkansas at their place, you have to play your A-game. They did a good job of taking advantage of our mistakes late."
How It Happened
- T2 | Jim Jarvis got the Tide on the board with a solo home run. (1-0, Alabama)
- T4 | Ed Johnson singled and was followed by a Jarvis double to put the pair in scoring position. Dominic Tamez recorded a third straight hit, this one a two-run single to left. After a wild pitch moved Tamez to second, William Hamiter brought him in with a double down the right field line. (4-0, Alabama)
- B4 | Kendall Diggs cut the lead to one with a two-out, three-run home run. (4-3, Alabama)
- B6 | With runners on the corners, a single through the right side for the Hogs tied things up. (4-4)
- T7 | Andrew Pinckney sent the first pitch he saw over the wall in center for a solo homer. (5-4, Alabama)
- B7 | A double with runners in scoring position crossed the tying and go-ahead runs for the Hogs. (6-5, Arkansas)
- T8 | Tommy Seidl led off with a single up the middle and made his way to third thanks to a sac bunt and an infield groundout. After an intentional walk to Pinckney, Drew Williamson singled past the third baseman to score the tying run. (6-6)
- B8 | Jace Bohrofen led off the inning with the go-ahead solo home run. After a walk, Caleb Cali hit a second home run in the inning to widen the gap. (9-6, Arkansas)
Postgame Notes
- Alabama finished with 15 hits and has totaled double-digit hits in 21 games this season, including each of the last three contests and eight of the last 11 overall.
- The Crimson Tide has homered in 23 games while posting multiple home runs 16 times.
- Jim Jarvis extended his hitting streak to nine games dating back to March 17. Over that stretch, the senior is batting .371 (13-35) with two doubles, a home run, seven RBI, nine runs scored, seven walks and two hit-by-pitch.
The Crimson Tide and Razorbacks will meet on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT to decide the series. Alabama will look to junior left-handed Grayson Hitt for the start with Arkansas' starter still to be announced. The weekend finale will air nationally on SEC Network.
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