How Arkansas baseball lost its first SEC home series since 2019 to Vanderbilt
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas baseball lost its series to Vanderbilt, its sole possession of the SEC West and its slightly improving RPI on Sunday when the No. 4 Razorbacks dropped Game 3 against the No. 21 Commodores 5-0 in seven innings.
It was Arkansas' second shutout loss of the season and its first SEC series loss at home since 2019.
In a weekend affected by rain and lightning, Arkansas fell 9-6 in 10 innings in Game 1, won a Game 2 that was suspended in the sixth and completed on Sunday 11-6, then dropped the rubber match Sunday. Arkansas managed two hits in Game 3 as freshman lefty Carter Holton pitched a complete game.
Arkansas (37-14, 17-10 SEC) entered the weekend with an RPI of 20. Vanderbilt (34-16, 14-13) was at No. 5. By Sunday, Arkansas had fallen to No. 28. RPI plays a large role in determining seeding and regional hosts for the NCAA Tournament, and losing the series won't help Arkansas' resume.
The Razorbacks also started the series with a two-game lead in the SEC West, which turned into a tie with Texas A&M. The Aggies won the series against Arkansas in April, thus owning the head-to-head tiebreaker with one week left in the regular season.
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Big hitters on both sides
Arkansas hitters thrived on home runs. Brady Slavens launched a pair in Game 1 and now leads the team with 13. Cayden Wallace had two in Game 2.
"What I really liked to see from Cayden is him drive the ball to right field," Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. "I think he’s been a little too pull happy and it’s good to see him go the other way, because he can still pull the ball when he needs to ... This weekend was the best we’ve had him all year."
Ten of Arkansas' 17 total runs came on home runs, and the Razorbacks did it against a Vanderbilt pitching staff that has allowed the third-fewest home runs of any SEC team this season.
But Vanderbilt was showing power, too, and it was a home run by Tate Kolwyck that doomed Arkansas in Game 3. Kolwyck's two-run shot in the sixth inning gave the Commodores a 5-0 lead that Arkansas never overcame.
Vanderbilt totaled five homers in the series for nine of their 20 runs. The Commodores outhit Arkansas 25-15.
Starting pitchers up-and-down
One week after a much-improved start against Auburn, sophomore right-hander Jaxon Wiggins had one of his best outings of the season on Sunday. Wiggins' fastball touched the upper 90s as he struck out eight in 4⅓ innings. He allowed three runs, two earned, along with four hits and one walk.
"I’m very confident when he’s on the mound," Van Horn said. "Last weekend, he pitched against a really good team, like he did today, and he held them down ... He did a great job for us, and today I felt like he duplicated it."
Wiggins was credited with a loss after Vanderbilt scored two runs in the fourth inning to take a 3-0 lead. He put two Commodores on base with one out on a single and a walk. Evan Taylor came on in relief and gave up a two-RBI single to Dominic Keegan, and Arkansas couldn't overcome the deficit that grew with the Kolwyck home run.
Friday starter Connor Noland struggled in Game 1. He lasted five innings with five strikeouts but gave up six hits, five earned runs and three walks in the loss.
Freshman lefty Hagen Smith had a hard time, too, when he started Saturday. He had his second-shortest outing of the season with just 2⅔ innings, giving up five earned runs on four hits, four walks and striking out three.
Over his last two starts, Smith has given up seven hits and seven walks in less than seven innings. Arkansas' bullpen, along with offensive insurance, got the Game 2 win despite Smith's struggles.
The same couldn't be said for Game 3, when the Razorback bats failed to provide any assistance when the bullpen gave up more runs.
Will McEntire continues to dazzle
One bright spot for Arkansas was reliever Will McEntire. When Game 2 resumed on Sunday after the lightning delay, the Razorbacks turned to the redshirt sophomore right-hander.
McEntire made his first SEC appearance against Auburn after starting four midweek games. Against the Tigers, he went 3⅓ innings with one earned run, three hits, no walks and four strikeouts.
He had another quality showing against Vanderbilt, going three scoreless innings with two hits, no walks and three strikeouts. McEntire earned the Game 2 save, his first of the year.
Christina Long covers the Arkansas Razorbacks. You can email her at clong@swtimes.com or follow her on Twitter @christinalong00.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Arkansas baseball shut out in Game 3, loses series to Vanderbilt
