FAYETTEVILLE -- The University of Arkansas was having trouble squaring up -- even making contact at times -- against Gonzaga change-up artist Mac Lardner on Friday.
So the No. 5 Razorbacks turned to small ball in the fifth inning against the troublesome lefty to help score four runs en route to a 9-3 victory over the Bulldogs before a crowd of 3,765 at Baum-Walker Stadium.
UP NEXT
ARKANSAS BASEBALL
vs. Gonzaga
WHEN 2 p.m., today
WHERE Baum-Walker Stadium, Fayetteville
RECORDS Gonzaga 2-4; Arkansas 5-0
STARTING PITCHERS Gonzaga RHP Alek Jacob (0-0, 6.75); Arkansas LHP Patrick Wicklander (1-0, 0.00)
TV SEC Network-Plus
SHORT HOPS
UA football Coach Sam Pittman attended Friday’s game and sat behind the Razorbacks’ dugout. … The Razorbacks evened the all-time series with Gonzaga at 5-5. … Arkansas third baseman Jacob Nesbit had eight assists and played flawless defense, including charging in on a grounder and throwing to retire Tyler Rando in the third inning. … Gonzaga has announced RHP Nick Trogrlic-Iverson (0-1, 4.50 in 4 innings) as its Sunday starter, while the Razorbacks have not named a starter. … The UA announced 8,645 tickets distributed and 3,765 tickets scanned for Friday’s game.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
TODAY Gonzaga, 2 p.m.
SUNDAY Gonzaga, 1 p.m.
MONDAY Off
TUESDAY Off
WEDNESDAY Off
THURSDAY Off
FRIDAY vs. Oklahoma*, 3 p.m.
*Shriners Classic, Houston
Arkansas (5-0) evened the all-time series with the Bulldogs at 5-5 with the win and have a shot at a series-clincher in today's 2 p.m. game, which will match lefty Patrick Wicklander (1-0) against Gonzaga preseason All-America right-hander Alek Jacob (0-0).
Catcher Casey Opitz went 3 for 4 with a triple and a two-run home run, while Christian Franklin and Robert Moore had two hits each. Shortstop Ernie Yake had two of Gonzaga's five hits.
Arkansas right-hander Connor Noland (2-0) and Lardner (0-1) were hooked up in a pitcher's duel for three innings before the bats awoke.
Lardner, who had five strikeouts through three innings, hit Matt Goodheart with a pitch with one out in the fourth to give the Razorbacks their second base runner after Moore's walk in the third. Casey Martin bunted Goodheart to second base, then Franklin fouled off three pitches and worked a 3-2 count before ripping a single just past Lardner's head for the Hogs' initial hit and their first run.
"Franklin had a great at-bat and finally squared him up," Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said.
The Bulldogs (2-4) answered in the top of the fifth as Yake singled, stole second, moved to third on Opitz's throwing error, and scored on Brett Harris' single up the middle.
The Razorbacks really broke through in the fifth inning, and they did it mainly with bunts.
Opitz and first baseman Cole Austin opened the half-inning with singles through the middle. With the Bulldogs expecting a bunt -- having the third baseman Harris charging hard and Yake hustling over from shortstop to cover third -- Van Horn called Moore over for a conference before Lardner's 1-0 pitch.
"It's a sac bunt unless you see them open up the middle of the field," said Van Horn, who added he called timeout to make sure Moore knew the play. "Then you have the option to swing if it's a strike. It's not a hit and run."
Gonzaga showed the wheel play hard again and Moore laced a fastball into the vacated hole at shortstop for an RBI single.
"After the first pitch, [Van Horn] called me over and said, 'If it's there go for it. It's not a hit and run so you don't have to swing, so you've just got to get a strike.'" Moore said. "I knew they were going to throw the fastball up because that's a hard pitch to bunt. I got a pitch and just tried to chop it where the shortstop was."
After that, Braydon Webb laid down a bunt that Lardner had trouble picking up, bringing home Austin, then Heston Kjerstad bunted for a hit to Lardner to load the bases. A wild pitch brought home Moore, then Franklin capped the four-run frame with a sacrifice fly.
"They did a good job," Gonzaga Coach Mark Machtolf said. "They capitalized, and we didn't really do a good job fielding bunts, and that took a good game and allowed them to put a crooked number up there."
Said Van Horn, "The book on Lardner is that he's a very average fielding pitcher. We tried to take advantage of that."
The Razorbacks said facing the lefty before the fifth was trouble.
"He's that left-handed pitcher that you really don't want to see, because he can make you feel bad about yourself, honestly," Van Horn said.
"He was good," Opitz said. "He was kind of keeping it away. That was the game plan we knew coming in. He was working with that change-up, throwing the majority off-speed. Franklin did a good job of adjusting to it and kinda got the word out to the other hitters. We made the adjustment as well and started to put good barrels on balls."
Gonzaga answered again in the sixth, with first baseman Gabriel Hughes crushing a two-run home run to left field after Ryan Sullivan's walk to make it 5-3.
Noland gave up 3 runs in 6 innings on 5 hits and 3 walks to go along with 3 strikeouts.
"I didn't really have my stuff going," Noland said. "I just went out there and competed with the guys. They don't strike out much. They're swinging the bat and have a good eye. I was just trying to get as many innings as I could to help our bullpen for a four-game series. I wish I could take a couple of pitches back, but that's just baseball."
Arkansas relievers Marshall Denton, Zack Morris and Jacob Burton threw one hitless inning apiece as the Razorbacks were pulling away late.
"The bullpen was outstanding today," Van Horn said.
Opitz tripled off the yellow stripe at the top of the right-field wall to lead off the sixth and scored on Moore's second RBI single, while Austin walked and scored on Webb's sacrifice fly.
Opitz's no-doubt two-run home run in the seventh over the right-field wall came with two outs after a Franklin double and set the final score.
Sports on 02/22/2020
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