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LEXINGTON, Ky. — No. 12 Arkansas (36-19, 17-13 SEC) let an 11-run lead slip away before outslugging Kentucky (31-20, 14-17 SEC) with a pair of ninth-inning home runs to secure a 16-12 series-clinching win Saturday at Kentucky Proud Park.
The Razorbacks concluded the regular season with their fourth SEC road series win of the year, their most in a single campaign since the 2021 squad won all 10 of its conference series. With the win, Arkansas locked down the No. 7 seed for the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala., where the Hogs will play the winner of Tuesday night’s first-round game between 10th-seeded Tennessee and 15th-seeded South Carolina at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 20, at The Hoover Met.
Following a 40-minute weather delay, the Razorbacks sent 16 batters to the plate in a 10-run top half of the first inning that featured eight hits, including four doubles, three walks, two hit batsmen, an error and a wild pitch. Arkansas’ first 10 batters reached base before Kentucky’s third pitcher of the inning recorded the game’s first out.
When the dust settled, Arkansas had opened a commanding 10-0 lead. Damian Ruiz led off with a single and added a three-run double in his second at-bat of the inning to push the lead to 9-0 before Zack Stewart’s first of two doubles plated the 10th run.
Stewart’s second RBI double came in the third inning, extending the lead to 11-0. Kentucky cut into the deficit with a two-run homer in the bottom of the third, but a run-scoring wild pitch in the top of the fourth — following Camden Kozeal’s triple — pushed Arkansas back ahead by 10.
The Wildcats then scored 10 unanswered runs, including nine in the bottom of the fifth, to tie it at 12-12. After starter Tate McGuire (2.1 IP, 2 R, 4 SO) departed, Kentucky broke through against relievers Cole Gibler (2.0 IP, 7 R, 3 SO) and Steele Eaves (0.0 IP, 3 R, 1 ER).
Parker Coil (1.2 IP, 1 SO) and James DeCremer (SV, 3.0 IP, 2 SO) steadied the Hogs from there, combining for 4.2 shutout frames. Kozeal’s two-RBI single in the sixth put Arkansas ahead 14-12, before Stewart and Nolan Souza each launched solo shots in the ninth to put the finishing touches on the wild win.
Stewart finished with a team-leading four hits — two doubles and his third home run in as many games — and four RBI. He was one of three Razorbacks with multiple hits and multiple RBI, joining Ruiz (3-for-5, 2 R, 2B, 3 RBI) and Kozeal (3-for-5, 3 R, 2B, 3B, 3 RBI).
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