Van Horn earns 1,000th win as UA sweeps DH
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. –
Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn earned his 1,000th career win on
Saturday as No. 19 Arkansas swept a doubleheader vs. San Diego State at
Baum Stadium. The Razorbacks won game one of the doubleheader, 8-2, and
completed the sweep with a 4-1 win in the nightcap.
With the
doubleheader sweep, the Razorbacks won all four games of their weekend
series vs. San Diego State. Arkansas improves to 11-5 with the twinbill
sweep, while San Diego State dropped to 7-9 with the pair of losses.
Coach
Van Horn reached a major career milestone with the win in the first
game of the doubleheader. Coach Van Horn earned his 1,000th career
victory in Arkansas’ 8-2 victory. The Razorback skipper now has a
career record of 1,001-468 in 25 years of coaching, while his record at
the UA is 416-228.
Tyler Spoon had a hit in each game of the
doubleheader to extend his hitting streak to 16 games. Spoon went
3-for-4 with a homer, two RBI and two runs scored in the first game and
1-for-4 in the second game. Jacob Mahan went 4-for-6 in the
doubleheader with a RBI and a run scored, while Eric Fisher went
3-for-7 with a RBI and two runs scored.
Game 1 Recap: Killian tosses seven no hit innings as Arkansas wins 8-2
Freshman
right hander Trey Killian worked seven no hit innings and struck out
seven as Arkansas defeated San Diego State, 8-2, in the first game of
Saturday’s doubleheader.
Killian (2-1) was outstanding on the
mound en route to earning his second win of the season. Killian opened
the game by retiring the first 17 batters he faced until a two-out walk
in the top of the sixth. In the seventh, Killian had a runner reach via
an error, but he induced a 4-6-3 double play from the next batter and
then struck out the last batter of the seventh to keep the no hitter
intact. He left after the seventh, striking out seven and just issuing
the one walk in seven innings.
Tyler Wright retired both batters he faced in the top of the ninth, including one strikeout.
San Diego State starter Ryan Doran (2-2) took the loss, giving up three runs on eight hits and striking out two in five innings.
At
the plate, Arkansas recorded 12 hits, its most hits in a game since the
Razorbacks had 15 hits in the series finale vs. Evansville on Feb. 24.
Four different players had multiple hits in the game, led by Jacob
Mahan and Tyler Spoon, who each had three hits. Mahan was a perfect
3-for-3 at the plate with a RBI and a run scored, while Spoon was
3-for-4 with his third homer of the season, two RBI and two runs
scored. Brian Anderson went 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Eric Fisher
also had two hits and scored a run.
San Diego State managed just two hits in the game. Tim Zier had a hit and a RBI, while Mitch Bluman also added a hit.
Arkansas
struck first with two runs in the bottom of the second. With one out,
Fisher doubled to the right-center field gap and he advanced to third
on a ground out by Jordan Farris. Brett McAfee drove home Fisher with
an RBI infield single. Mahan then sliced a double down the left field
line and into the corner, scoring McAfee from first base to put the
Razorbacks on top 2-0.
The Razorbacks added another run in the
bottom of the fifth when Spoon led off the inning with his third homer
of the season, a solo blast over the wall in left field.
Arkansas
broke the game open with five runs in the bottom of the sixth. Farris
drew a leadoff walk. McAfee laid down a sacrifice bunt, but the third
baseman couldn’t field it, allowing McAfee to reach on an E5. Farris
was able to take third on the play when the Aztecs failed to cover the
bag after the error. A walk to Mahan loaded the bases for Joe Serrano,
who was hit by a pitch to make the score 4-0. Spoon then grounded a
single into left field to score McAfee and keep the bases loaded for
Anderson, who followed with a two-RBI single to center field to stretch
the lead to 7-0. Jake Wise closed the scoring in the inning with a
sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Spoon.
The Aztecs didn’t
manage their first hit in the game until one out in the top of the
eighth when Bluman singled to right field off Colby Suggs. San Diego
State would avoid the shutout by scoring twice in the top of the ninth
on a RBI single by Zier and a RBI groundout by Justin Gheorghe.
Game 2 Recap: Four-run seventh lifts Arkansas to doubleheader sweep
Arkansas
broke a scoreless tie with four runs in the bottom of the seventh as
the Razorbacks defeated San Diego State, 4-1, in the second game of
Saturday’s doubleheader.
Randall Fant, Michael Gunn and Barrett
Astin combined to allow just one run on seven hits in the contest.
Michael Gunn (1-0) earned his first win of the season, retiring all
three batters he faced in his one inning of relief.
Randall Fant
started on the mound for the Razorbacks and pitched well, tossing six
shutout innings and giving up four hits with three strikeouts. Barrett
Astin closed the game by giving up a run on three hits and striking out
a pair in two innings.
San Diego State reliever Bubba Derby
(1-1) took the loss after allowing four runs on five hits in 1.2
innings. Aztec starter Ethan Miller threw six scoreless innings and
struck out five, but received a no decision.
Along with earning
the win, Gunn also reached base all three times at the plate, going
2-for-2 and also drawing a walk. Jacob Morris had a two-RBI triple and
scored a run, while Eric Fisher and Brett McAfee also had a RBI in the
victory.
Danny Sheehan had two hits and drove in a run to lead the Aztecs offensively. John Spirk added a hit and scored a run.
Neither
team was able to get much going offensively until the bottom of the
seventh, when Arkansas broke through with four runs. With one out, Gunn
walked and Jake Wise singled to right to put runners on first and
second. Fisher then lined a single to center field, scoring Matt
Vinson, who had pinch ran for Gunn, from second base and advancing Wise
to third. Fisher was able to take second on the throw to the plate.
Morris then ripped a triple into the left-center field alley, scoring
both Wise and Fisher to make the score 3-0. McAfee then laid down a
perfect safety squeeze bunt back to the pitcher. The SDSU pitcher
attempted to bare hand the ball and throw home, but he was unable to
make the play as Morris was safe at home and McAfee reached on an
infield bunt single.
San Diego State didn’t go quietly in the
ninth, scoring a run and getting the tying run to the plate. Spirk led
off the inning with a single to right and then stole second with one
out. Jake Romanski lined a single to center field to advance Spirk to
third. Sheehan drove in a run with a single to right-center to trim the
lead to 4-1. With Tyler France at the plate as the tying run, Astin
induced a 6-4-3 double play to end the game and give Arkansas the
series sweep.
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