Arkansas small ball exploits also key in 4-3 Super Regional win over Tennessee

BY DUDLEY E. DAWSON

FAYETTEVILLE – There is no doubt that Ryder Helfrick’s two-run homer that gave Arkansas the lead over Tennessee for good in the fifth inning Saturday was a key blast.

But there were also some small ball offensive contributions that were key in the Razorbacks’ 4-3 opening game Super Regional win over the Vols.

Cam Kozeal’s daring second inning, two-out dash from third to home on a wild pitch, Logan Maxwell’s walk before Helfrick’s homer and Charles Davalan’s bloop RBI single all helped win the Super Regional contest.

Those all helped put the Razorbacks (47-13) one win over Tennessee (47-17) away from a College World Series berth that it can clinch Sunday at 2 p.m. or Monday if necessary.

Arkansas will start Gage Wood on th mound while Tennessee will counter with ace Liam Doyle.

“I think it’s the same thing,” Helfrick said. “I think every day you try to go out and win, so it doesn’t matter if we’re up one or down one. I think we just go out and compete our best and try to win the game.”

Arkansas had three hits and four baserunners in the first two innings, but only Kozeal crossed the plate.

Razorback head coach Dave Van Horn had no problem with Kozeal taking a chance.

“Even if he would have been out, I wouldn’t have been upset with him if it would have been bang bang because he made a commitment to do it and he did,” Van Horn said. He did a great job.”

Van Horn could sense the frustration of the fans that the Razorbacks had not scored despite the traffic on the bases

“It was real big,” Van Horn said. “We knew everybody in the stands was thinking the same thing. We left a lot of runners out there, we hit into a double play with the bases loaded, we hit a double play in the first inning.”

That run as standing up because Arkansas starting pitcher Zach Root did not allow a hit into the fifth inning, but an error and Dean Curley’s home run broke up the no-hitter and put Tennessee up 2-1.

“It looks good when you see that they’ve got no hits and we’ve got, what, six or seven at the time.

“But we only had a one-run lead and that was because Cam Kozeal made a great read and scored a run for us there.

“Usually it comes back to bite you, I feel real fortunate that we scored enough runs and that our pitchers did the job they did.” 

Root (8-5) went seven innings while allowing the one hit and Gabe Gackle finished up the final two inning for the save.

Tennessee starting pitcher Marcus Phillips had given up just the one run until he walked Maxwell with two outs in the fifth.

Helfrick then hit the next pitch 312 feet, just clearing the left field wall and giving the Razorbacks a 3-2 advantage.

It was Helfrick’s sixth home run in this last seventh game, but the one of least distance.

“Hitting it over there and sneaking out barely,” Helfrick said. “Today (bat speed) was hit 84 (mph). It shouldn’t have gone out, but it did. It all counts the same, I’d say.”

Arkansas then added and insurance run in the sixth when Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello used four different pitchers against four Razorback hitters.

That rally began when Brent Iredale and Reese Robinett delivered back-to-back, one-out singles.

But they were still at first and second with two outs when Davalan blooped a single into left field on the first pitch he saw to make it 4-2.

It stayed that way until the ninth when Tennessee’s Andrew Fischer hit a one-out solo homer in the ninth to cut it to 4-3.

Photo by John D. James