FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. Luke Bonfield hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth to score Jax Biggers and give No. 15 Arkansas a 4-3 victory over No. 25 Vanderbilt Friday night in Baum Stadium. It was Bonfields second walk-off hit of the season, with the first coming against Rhode Island on March 10.
The win is Arkansas (36-13, 15-9 SEC) first in game one of a weekend series in four weeks and fifth walk-off win of the year. The Hogs stay in the hunt for the SEC Western Division title, just a game and a half back of leader Mississippi State.
Junior pitcher Trevor Stephan had another stellar outing Friday, striking out 10 and only allowing three runs through seven innings of work. It is the second-straight strong start from Stephan as he retired 21 of the 26 batters he faced last week against Tennessee and then set down the first four Vandy players he faced tonight.
The Magnolia, Texas native recorded his fourth game this season with 10 or more strikeouts. It was also the fourth time this season that he pitched seven innings or more. Combined, Stephan and redshirt freshman Kevin Kopps struck out 13 batters as Kopps picked up his third victory of the season.
Bonfield led the way, offensively, with two hits and two RBIs, including a home run in the first inning. It was his team-leading 20th multi-hit game this year.
Freshman Dominic Fletchers only hit of the night was a home run that provided the other two runs for Arkansas offense. Fletcher now has nine home runs and 28 RBIs in his freshman campaign. His home run total continues to lead all freshmen in the SEC.
Grant Koch and Jax Biggers also managed two hits each, as seven Razorbacks recorded hits against the Commodores. Arkansas offense managed 10 hits against Vanderbilt, their most since April 23 against Auburn.
Arkansas and Vanderbilt will continue with game two of their three-game series Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Saturdays game can be viewed online on the SEC Network+.
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