Fayetteville, Ark.– No. 21 Arkansas defeated Oral Roberts 6-1Tuesday evening in front of 3,184 at Baum Stadium.
Senior short stop Tim Carver led the Razorbacks in the win with two home runs. Junior designated hitter Jacob Mahan also had two hits and two RBIs.
“These last few games have been fun, Carver said. “The spirits are starting to get higher and higher, so as long as it keeps going and we keep on building off that, it’s huge.”
Freshman third baseman Jose Trevino is the only player to with a hit for the Golden Eagles.
Carver’s first home run opened the game for the Hogs. The homer is Carver’s first of the season. The last time a player hit a home run to lead off the game was Collin Kuhn on June 4, 2010.
“I don’t really want him to hit home runs to be honest with you, but I will take them tonight,” coach Dave Van Horn said. “I’ve never seen him hit a ball that far. He’s a lot bigger and stronger than he was last year, and he’s maintained his strength. That’s one reason he’s having such a good year.”
Senior designated hitter Sam Bates walked to start the second inning, and advanced to third when senior second baseman Bo Bigham singled through the right side. Bates scored on a single from junior center fielder Jacob Morris to give the Hogs a 2-0 lead.
Carver’s second home run in the fourth put the Hogs ahead 3-0.
“It’s not really my job to do that. I wasn’t trying to do that,” Carver said of either home run. “I was just trying to stay through the middle of the field and get a base hit.”
Senior third baseman Matt Reynolds gave the Hogs their fourth run of the night after he singled to left field and advanced home on a double from junior left fielder Derek Bleeker in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Arkansas (29-12, 9-9 Southeastern Conference) continued to shutout the Golden Eagles when Morris and sophomore catcher Jacob Wise scored on a single from Mahan in the seventh to stretch Arkansas’ lead to 6-0.
Oral Roberts (31-10, 11-7) scored their only run in the top of the ninth when redshirt senior first baseman Jared Schlehuber grounded out to first base, allowing junior shortstop Nate Goro to score.
Redshirt junior Trent Daniel started for the Hogs on the mound Tuesday. He has thrown in nine games this season, including one start. Daniel struck out five while allowing no runs or hits in his three innings pitched.
“I felt like I had pretty good command of three pitches,” Daniel said. “Keep them off balance for a little bit, and everything was down in the zone for the most part.”
Out of the bullpen, sophomore right-hander Nolan Sanburn relieved Daniel for two innings. Sanburn struck out two and walked two, but allowed no hits or runs.
Sophomore right-hander Brandon Moore and left-handed junior Tyler Wright threw for one inning each. They allowed no hits or runs, and Wright struck out all three batters he faced.
Right-handed sophomore Colby Suggs began pitching in the eighth, but was relieved shortly after by freshman lefty Michael Gunn. Both struck out one and gave up no hits or runs.
“I was real impressed with Gunn coming in,” Van Horn said, “because we were trying to put him in a situation where it’s a left-handed hitter, and I wanted him to feel like he needed to get this guy. He did a great job.”
Right-handed sophomore Barrett Astin closed the game for the Hogs. Astin struck out one, walked one and allowed one hit and run.
The Razorbacks will continue play as they face the Florida Gators on the road this weekend.
Arkansas Defeats ORU
