That’s All Folks – Virginia Takes Out Arkansas 9-2

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Despite a valiant effort by junior Brian Anderson the University of Arkansas baseball team was eliminated from postseason play with a 9-2 loss at Virginia in the Charlottesville Regional Sunday.

The Razorbacks finish the season with a 40-25 overall record after a 1-1 day in Regional action.  Arkansas defeated Bucknell in the opener before falling to the host Cavaliers (47-13) in the nightcap.

Anderson had a big day with six hits and was hit by a pitch twice reaching base in eight of his nine plate appearances over the two games. Anderson was 8-for-13 in Regional play and hit .615 for the weekend.  Anderson earned Regional All-Tournament Team honors at secondbase for his play this weekend.

Michael Bernal was also selected to the All-Tournament Team at shortstop.  Bernal hit .231 with three hits, one double and a sacrifice for the Razorbacks.

The Virginia offense was the first to get started in the top of the third inning.  The Cavaliers pounded out three hits and took advantage of two walks and a hit batter putting four runs on the board and forcing an Arkansas pitching change early in the game.

Zach Jackson, in just his second start of the year, was chased after 2.2 innings pitched after allowing four earned runs and getting three strikeouts. Jackson opened the game with back-to-back three-up, three-down innings but ran into trouble in the third frame.

Arkansas had a couple of defensive miscues in the inning and the Virginia offense continued to fire on all cylinders banging out a hit off reliever Landon Simpson as two more runs came home giving the Cavaliers a 6-0 lead in the third inning.

The Razorbacks had men on in the second, third and fourth innings but waited until the seventh frame to push a pair across.  With one out, Tyler Spoon reached on a fielder’s choice and was aboard with two gone. As the pitch count stretched over 100 for the Virginia starter Brandon Waddell, Arkansas’ Krisjon Wilkerson was patient and waited on a 3-2 pitch lifting it over the left center fence.

The 370-foot home run was the first time in 21.2 innings that the Virginia starting pitchers had allowed a run.  The two-run shot sparked senior Jake Wise who followed up with a double to deep left and Virginia made a pitching change at that point in the game stalling the Arkansas rally.

Virginia would get back on the board in the top of the ninth inning as the Cavaliers touched the Arkansas bullpen for the first runs of the Regional.  Arkansas’ bullpen went 18.0 consecutive innings without allowing a run.  The Cavs got two hits and two walks and took advantage of a Razorback error, the second of the evening, to plate three runs and take a 9-2 lead into Arkansas’ final at bat.

Anderson singled to deep short to start the final frame but the Cavaliers got a ground ball, fly ball and strikeout to secure the win.

ARKANSAS NOTES
* The Razorbacks finish the season 40-25 overall.
* Arkansas has won 40 or more games 19 times in 48 seasons and five times in the last six seasons.  It is the seventh 40-win season under head coach Dave Van Horn.
* The Arkansas bullpen was solid all weekend with 18.0 of the final 19.0 innings allowing no runs and striking out 16 batters.
* Arkansas advanced to its sixth straight NCAA Regional final against Virginia.
* The Razorbacks were making their 13th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and 27th overall.
* Arkansas is 66-58 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
* Arkansas is 48-39 in NCAA Regional action.
* Arkansas is 2-2 in elimination games this season, defeating Ole Miss 8-7 in the SEC Tournament after trailing 6-0, and falling 11-1 to LSU, before the win today over Bucknell and the loss to Virginia.
* Virginia was the 26th ranked opponent Arkansas has played this season, and the 15th ranked inside the top 10.
* Arkansas has won three of its last six NCAA Regionals, and gone on to the College World Series two of those three years. The Razorbacks have posted a 15-7 record in the last six NCAA Regionals, including a pair of perfect 3-0 marks, which came on the road.
* Arkansas’ shutout of Bucknell in game one was the 10th of the season.  That mark is tied for second all-time for single-season shutouts.
* Arkansas has only been shutout three times this season.  The first, a 0-1 loss at Florida and twice to Virginia this weekend.

Junior Brian Anderson reached base five times leading the Razorbacks to a 10-0 win over Bucknell in an elimination game at Davenport Field in the 2014 NCAA Charlottesville Regional earlier Sunday afternoon.

Arkansas posted a season-high 16 hits and the Razorback pitching staff combined for a season-best 14 strikeouts in the win.

For the game, Arkansas scored 10 runs on 16 hits, took advantage of four walks and three hit batters and had three extra base hits.  It is the 10th shutout of the season, tying for second all-time in single-season shutouts.

Clark Eagan and Anderson both pounded out three hits with Anderson going 3-for-3 and getting hit twice.  Eagan was 3-for-6 and Eric Fisher, Tyler Spoon and Alex Gosser had two hits each.

Arkansas ended a 12-inning scoreless drought in the first inning of Sunday’s opening game. Arkansas sent 10 men to the plate scoring four runs on six hits in the first frame.

The inning began with an infield single off the bat of Eagan followed by a four-pitch walk to Joe Serrano.  Anderson loaded the bases with a single through the left side with one out for the Razorbacks.

With the bases loaded, Arkansas got four consecutive singles plating a run each time. Fisher blooped a 3-2 pitch into shallow center scoring Eagan.  Spoon laced a hard-hit ball into leftfield plating Serrano with the second run.  Krisjon Wilkerson, in his first NCAA Regional action of the year, hit the first pitch he saw to almost the same location scoring Anderson.  Gosser, also playing in the Regional for the first time this season, followed with the third consecutive single to shallow left to score Fisher with the fourth run.

A strikeout and ground ball ended the inning with the bases loaded but Arkansas had a four-run lead heading into the bottom of the first inning.

Jalen Beeks, who was sidelined for 29 days with shoulder soreness, took the ball to start Sunday and responded with a strikeout of the first man he faced.  He worked a 1-2-3 first inning thanks to a great defensive play by Spoon to throw out Joe Ogren at third base.  Beeks went five innings allowing just three hits and tying his season-best with nine strikeouts.

Arkansas’ offense produced two more runs in the third inning and chased the Bison starter from the contest.  Spoon reached on an infield error followed by the second hit of the game for Gosser. Michael Bernal loaded the bases with a single to left – Arkansas’ favorite area of the field in today’s game.

Eagan got his second hit of the afternoon and the first off of Bucknell’s second pitcher, Xavier Hammond, ripping a shot out to center field plating Spoon. Serrano next lifted a fly ball to left that allowed Gosser to score the sixth run of the game for the Hogs.

The Razorbacks extended the lead to 8-0 with a pair of runs in the fourth inning as they pushed their hit total to 12 for the game.  Anderson was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning.  He moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on a double to right off the bat of Fisher.

Spoon recorded his second hit of the game on an infield single.  He was part of a double play off the bat of Wilkerson but the ground ball let Fisher come home.

Arkansas pushed runs across in the sixth and seventh innings as the Bison changed pitchers trying to slow down the Razorback onslaught. In the sixth inning, Eagan doubled and scored on an RBI base knock to center off the bat of Andrew Benintendi.

Wilkerson was hit by a pitch with one out in the seventh frame.  Gosser was walked and both runners moved up on a wild pitch. Eagan hit into a fielder’s choice and Wilkerson was able to score on the play.

Bucknell mounted a rally in the bottom of the sixth inning loading the bases against Arkansas reliever Jackson Lowery. Lowery rallied however, getting a strikeout as the Bison stranded three runners.  Bucknell sent four hitters to the plate in the final three innings but couldn’t push a run across.