NO. 8 OLE MISS 6, NO. 15 ARKANSAS 4, 13 INNINGS
Arkansas outfielder Matt Vinson had a big day at both the plate and in the field despite the Hogs losing a heartbreaker.
IN A NUTSHELL
Ole Miss scored two runs in the top of 13th inning to take a 6-4 victory over Arkansas in front of 3,011 fans at Baum Stadium on Sunday.
The win allowed Ole Miss to take the series two games to one. Ole Miss jumped out to a 3-1 lead, but then the Razorbacks scored three times in the bottom of the seventh to take a 4-3 lead. Ole Miss tied it up in the top of the eighth.
Arkansas committed five errors compared to none for Ole Miss. The two teams played in the rain much of the game in addition to cold temperatures. Brett Huber (2-0) got the win in relief pitching 1.2 innings while Brandon Moore (1-2) took the loss.
Arkansas' rally in the seventh was led by Matt Vinson's lead-off single and then Jake Wise's double down the left-field line. Eric Fisher walked to load the bases. Jacob Morris then singled to left to pull the Razorbacks within one at 3-2. Joe Serrano singled to center field with two outs to score Wise and Morris giving the Hogs their only lead of the game.
Arkansas scored once in the fourth when Serrano led off with a single to right. With two outs, Vinson then singled to center and Wise followed that with a single to left to score Serrano.
Ole Miss scored twice in the top of the 13th without the benefit of a hit. Tanner Mathis walked and then advanced to second when Auston Bousfield laid down a sacrifice bunt that Wise, slipping on the wet field, made a bad throw to second for an error. Austin Anderson then bunted and Moore threw wildly to first for another error and Mathis scored on the play. Stuart Turner then hit a sacrifice fly to score Bousfield.
STATS THAT MATTER
7,603 The paid attendance, but with the cold, rainy weather many fans stayed away.
11 Number of Arkansas batters who struck out.
10 Arkansas' hits for the day compared to nine for Ole Miss.
8 The number of pitchers in the game, four by each team.
4 The number of hours for Sunday's game.
NOTEWORTHY
***Arkansas second baseman Dominic Ficociello once again didn't play on Sunday. Ficociello has been very limited this season with an oblique injury. He played Friday night, but also missed Saturday's game.
***Arkansas' five errors was the most for the Razorbacks in a game this season.
***Ryne Stanek started for Arkansas and pitched 4.2 innings allowing four hits and three runs though only one was earned.
***Arkansas is off this week until they travel to South Carolina on Friday for a three-game series.
QUOTEWORTHY
Dave Van Horn on Arkansas' loss: “It was a tough game. I thought both teams played extremely hard. Both teams really wanted to win. We had our chances and they had their chances. Nobody could really get the big hit. Disappointing losing a game with a lead-off walk there. A sac bunt and the catcher has got the runner at second, but he slipped.”
Van Horn on the wet field: “The field was probably too wet to play on that last inning or two. We had to finish it because of where we were. When Wise threw the ball to second we knew we were in trouble a little bit. They laid down a perfect bunt and Moore just struggled with it and probably should have just held it. They scored two runs without getting a hit there in the top of that inning.”
Van Horn on Mahan's diving catch in left field: “That was a huge catch. They said it was fair (it was foul by two or three feet) and I couldn't tell from where we were. I thought it was foul. He made a great catch.”
Wise on the wet field: “They played in it too. They had zero errors, we had five. You can't blame it on the weather because both teams had to play in it. The conditions were the same for both teams.”
Vinson on if he thought the game might be halted due to weather: “Not really because the game was so intense. It was already in extra innings and I knew they weren't going to stop it just because of the rain. If it had rained any harder they would have had to just because of safety I guess.”
Van Horn on controversial call on Spoon in bottom of 13th: “He (umpire) said the ball hit him. If the ball hit him, he was still in the box. I don't know if it hit him. It was a tough call. Spoon said he didn't feel it hit him so I had to go off what he told me.”
