Arkansas rallies to sweep Vanderbilt and stay atop crowded SEC baseball standings

By DUDLEY E. DAWSON

The Diamond Hogs found out Sunday just how sweep it can be in Nashville on a weekend in late March.

No. 2 Arkansas used a five-run uprising in the eighth inning to rally past No. 14 Vanderbilt 7-3 on Sunday at Hawkins Field.

Charles Davalan hit two home runs, including a game-tying one in the eighth an out before Logan Maxwell launched a go-ahead blast, as the Razorbacks (26-3, 8-1) swept a three-games series from the Commodores (20-8, 4-6).

The win has Arkansas is a four-way tied atop the SEC standings with No. 1 Tennessee (26-2, 8-1) and No. 3 Georgia (28-2, 8-1) and No. 7 Texas (23-3, 8-1).

“Just like I said yesterday, another great win and had a chance to sweep a great team like Vanderbilt on the road,” Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said. “I don’t know if that’s been done in (Vanderbilt head coach) Tim (Corbin)’s time here, but we found a way to do it.

“Kept the game close and we just thought if we kept it close we could find a way to get them late and we did it.

“Charles Davalan had a great day with three RBIs and we got some production from the end of the order and that was really good again.”

It was the first time Vanderbilt had been swept at home since 1994.

“I’m not the only coach in the league that hasn’t swept them here,” Van Horn said. “ What did I hear, they haven’t been swept here since ‘94? Is that wrong or right? I don’t think Coach Corbin, since he’s been here, he started the same year I did, I don’t think he’s ever been swept at home.

“I just don’t remember it and I follow pretty closely every year, I think it would’ve stood out to me. I don’t say I savor it, I just appreciate the effort from the players. It was a really good win.

“Sweeps are hard to get. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing the best team in the league or the team with the worst record. You look at some of the teams that have bad records in our league, they’re really talented and they’re going through a rough time. So, I don’t get too high or low. I enjoy it for a few hours and then I move on to the next game, honestly.”

Vanderbilt had not lost a home in its first 16 games of the 2025 season before Arkansas arrived.

But the Razorbacks won 9-0 on Friday night and 6-4 on Saturday afternoon before completing the sweep on Sunday.

“It was hard fought baseball,” Corbin told the Vanderbilt Hustler student newspaper. “I mean certainly on their end there was really good pitching, too. The one inning kind of blew us up — and it was one inning yesterday, too. They were good baseball games up to a certain point and we lost it late.”

Bybee finished off Vandy with his third and fourth scoreless innings of the game in a outing where fanned a season-high 7 batters after taking over for Razorbacks starter Landon Beidelschies.

Beidelschies lasted five innings while giving up three runs om six hits, walking a pair and fanning four.“Ben came in just using three or four pitches and throwing most of them around the zone,” Van Horn said. “He threw his fastball for a strike, a change up to lefties, a few breaking balls, a cutter here and there.

“Really when we got the four-run lead going into the bottom of the eighth, we just said pound the zone with your heater and let them hit it…Did a great job.”

“I think a lot of it just comes out when I am trusting my pitches and knowing my pitches a little better this year,” Bybee said. “I also think the mentality of the weekend is do or die.”

Davalan, a transfer from Florida Gulf Coast University that hit 10 home runs last season, already has 11 this season.

“I don’t think (hitting more home runs) was that big of a focus,” Davalan said. “As a leadoff (hitter) I just have to get on for the big sluggers behind me.

“I think I got pretty lucky on a couple of home runs I’ve hit so far with the wind. I think I just have to keep doing what I am doing and it will go in the right direction.”

Arkansas trailed 3-2 entering he eighth inning, but Davalan led off with his second solo home of the day to deadlock it 3-3.

An out later, Maxwell hit his ninth blast of the season to surge the Razorbacks ahead 4-3.

Arkansas then loaded the bases as Brent Iredale singled and both Cam Kozeal and Ryder Helfrick walked.

Nolan Souza then capped the five-run uprising with a two-run single on which on which he was thrown out at second.

Davalan’s two-run homer in the top third put the visitors up 2-0 and came off Vandy starter Connor Fennell, who fanned 10 Razorbacks in five innigs.

“When your lead off guy is a really good on base guy, but can also hit the ball out of the park or over your head and hit some doubles, it’s a weapon,” Van Horn said.

But Vanderbilt’s Colin Barczi unloaded on a three-run shot in the fourth off of Beidelschies to put the hosts ahead 3-2.

Photo courtesy of Razorbacks Communcations