Arkansas can’t get key hits in regular season finale

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ATHENS, Ga. – The fifth-ranked Razorback baseball team had the tying run on third base in the ninth inning with one out Saturday afternoon against 13th-ranked Georgia. However, a fly ball by Dominic Fletcher to left field was not deep enough as Heston Kjerstad was thrown out at home trying to score on the sacrifice attempt, ending the game and giving the Bulldogs a 3-2 victory in the 2018 regular-season finale.

Arkansas (37-17, 18-12 SEC) took the lead on two separate occasions in the game with both runs being driven in by junior catcher Grant Koch in the second and fourth innings. Unfortunately, the Hog bats went silent over the final four and a half innings, getting only four baserunners, two coming in the ninth inning.

The defeat is the Razorbacks fifth series loss of the conference season and fourth of their last five games decided by two runs or less. However, Thursday’s win over Georgia solidified their top-four seeding going into the 2018 SEC Tournament next week in Hoover, Alabama, earning them a bye straight into the double-elimination portion of the tournament.

Even with the series loss, Arkansas is also guaranteed at least a share of the SEC Western Division title, depending on the final score of the Ole Miss-Alabama game, which is still in progress. The division title will be the first for Arkansas since 2011 and fifth in school history. Four of those division titles have come under head coach Dave Van Horn.

Arkansas will play its first game of the 2018 SEC Tournament on Wednesday with its opponent still to be determined as the rest of the day’s games play out as well as the single-elimination games from the first round of the tournament on Tuesday. The game will be televised on the SEC Network with a first pitch time still to be determined.

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