AUBURN, Ala. – The ninth-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks and 15th-ranked Auburn Tigers split their doubleheader on Friday, but it took 15 innings to decide game two as Arkansas won a marathon, 9-6, salvaging a day that started with a 6-3 loss in game one.
Sophomore Heston Kjerstad, who was 0-for-7 in the game before leading off the top of the 15th inning, smashed a solo home run over the right field wall to break a 6-6 tie. The home run was his team-leading seventh of the year and was his second of the day as he homered in game one as part of a 1-for-4 performance.
Arkansas went on to score two more runs in the 15th as sophomore Matt Goodheart smacked a two-run double off the left field wall to complete a three-hit game of his own. The three-run lead was large enough for Kevin Kopps to hold in the bottom half as he set down the Tigers in order, giving the Hogs the 9-6 win.
After weather forecasts called for rain throughout the evening on Thursday, the Razorbacks (23-8, 7-4 SEC) and Tigers (23-8, 7-4 SEC) were forced to play two nine-inning games on Friday at Plainsman Park and as a result of the 15-inning game two, both teams spent almost 10 hours at the ballpark.
The 15-inning game was Arkansas longest in terms of innings since a 16-inning loss to Southeast Missouri State in 2004 and Fridays total game time for the extra-inning affair was five hours and 40 minutes.
Arkansas epic win Friday night snapped a four-game losing streak that started back in the second game of its series with Ole Miss last weekend, which was its longest losing streak since 2016. However, the win was the Hogs seventh in conference play, keeping them a half game back of division leader LSU.
Arkansas and Auburn will face off in a rubber match on Saturday starting at 1 p.m. at Plainsman Park. The original game time of 2 p.m. was moved up one hour due to the chance of inclement weather later in the day. The game will still be televised on SEC Network+.
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