FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The sixth-ranked Razorback baseball team rallied from three different deficits Friday night to defeat the No. 18 Tennessee Volunteers in a slugfest, 11-9, at Baum-Walker Stadium. It’s the fifth-straight conference win for Arkansas and gives it a game and a half lead in the SEC Western Division.
Redshirt freshman Jacob Nesbit came away with a blistering line, going 3-for-3 with a career-high six RBIs including a double and a home run. His three-run home run in the fifth tied the game at 7-7 and followed it up with a two-run double in the sixth to help build Arkansas’ lead to 11-7 at the time.
Nesbit’s home run was his third of the year and second in three games. Over his last four games, Nesbit has driven in 12 runs on seven hits and is now hitting an even .300 on the year.
Arkansas (32-11, 13-6 SEC) was in a hole early against Tennessee (31-12, 9-10 SEC) as the Volunteers jumped on starting pitcher Isaiah Campbell for a run in the first and three runs in the third inning. Campbell didn’t have his best stuff as he finished with seven runs allowed over 4.2 innings, but only three of those runs were earned.
However, the Razorbacks came back swinging each time as they matched the Volunteers with a run in the first, three in the third, and again, three in the fifth after Tennessee took a 7-4 lead. The Hogs finally got the big inning in the sixth once Tennessee went to its bullpen as redshirt senior Trevor Ezell hit a lead off homer to give Arkansas an 8-7 lead. That was followed by a Jack Kenley RBI single and Nesbit’s double.
Matt Cronin closed the door for his ninth save of the season after pitching a scoreless ninth and striking out the final two batters.
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