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HOOVER, Ala. — Zack Stewart blasted a pair of home runs — his fourth and fifth in four consecutive games — and drove in three runs to power No. 12 Arkansas (37-19) past No. 23 Tennessee (38-19) 8-4 Wednesday at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in the second round of the SEC Tournament.
With the win, the Razorbacks advance to the quarterfinals. Seventh-seeded Arkansas, seeking its first semifinal appearance since 2023, will play fifth-ranked, second-seeded Texas at 2 p.m. Friday at The Hoover Met on SEC Network.
The Hogs came out swinging, tagging Tennessee starter Evan Blanco for five runs on seven hits, including three home runs in the first inning alone. Camden Kozeal opened the scoring with a one-out solo shot — his team-leading 18th of the season — before Stewart’s two-run homer put Arkansas ahead 3-0. TJ Pompey then singled, advanced on a throwing error, and scored on a Nolan Souza double down the right-field line to make it 4-0.
Stewart added his second homer of the game in the third, pushing the lead to 5-0. The blast extended his remarkable run — four consecutive games with a home run, five long balls in that span — and raised his season slash line to .283/.409/.600 with 13 home runs and 35 RBI. He became the 49th player in SEC history and the fourth Razorback to hit multiple home runs at The Hoover Met.
Tate McGuire was sharp in his second start in as many games, firing three shutout innings with three strikeouts before giving way to the bullpen. Parker Coil (1.2 IP, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 SO), James DeCremer (2.1 IP, 1 R, 4 SO) and Cole Gibler (2.0 IP, 0 R) combined for six innings of four-run ball with seven strikeouts to hold down the Volunteers.
After Tennessee trimmed the lead to two, Pompey answered with a three-run homer in the fifth — his 15th of the season — to push the lead back to five and put the game away.
The 8-4 win was Arkansas’ fifth consecutive victory over Tennessee and its 14th in the last 16 meetings between the programs since 2019.
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