Cardinal wins series with 4-3 victory
FAYETTEVILLE – A big inning and good pitching gave the Arkansas baseball team’s Cardinal squad a 4-3 victory over White in the annual Cardinal-White series at Baum Stadium on Monday afternoon. The Cardinal win was its fourth straight after losing the first two games and clinched the best of seven series ending the Razorback’s fall practice schedule.
A 0-0 game in the top of the third, the Cardinal’s nine-hole hitter, freshman Seth Gardner opened the inning by getting hit by a pitch on a 1-2 count. Gardner stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a double by redshirt freshman Houston Slemp. Fellow redshirt freshman Tim Carver singled Slemp home to make it a 2-0 game. Cardinal’s next batter, sophomore Brett Eibner, hit a 2-2 pitch off the wall in deep center field for a triple to score Carver and scored on a wild pitch to give the Cardinal pitching staff all the run support it needed.
The junior trio Scott Limbocker, Dallas Keuchel and Mike Bolsinger would keep team White’s batters off base just enough to preserve the one-run victory despite allowing nine hits and walking two. Limbocker got the start and the win, his second of the series, by throwing five innings and giving up two runs. The lefty struck out five batters in the process before handing the ball to Keuchel who threw three innings and allowed one run. Bolsinger shut the door in the ninth, facing three batters and striking out one.
The White team was led by freshman Jarrod McKinney who collected three hits. Senior Chase Leavitt, sophomore Jacob House and freshmen Zack Cox, Zac Russell, Travis Sample and Kendall Wehrle had one hit each to round out the White hit parade.
Looking splendid in relief for team White was freshman Geoffrey Davenport who entered the game in the third inning and pitched seven innings with just one hit and two walks while striking out four.
Down by four in the third, White would cut the lead in half in the fifth when Leavitt hit a two-run opposite field home run. White tacked on another run in the sixth when they loaded the bases with no outs, but a key strike out by Keuchel and a sacrifice fly led to a two-out fly out and only one run across the plate.
White would again look to score in the eighth with back-to-back two out singles, but Keuchel induced a harmless ground out to the next batter to get out of the jam.
The end of the Cardinal-White series concludes the baseball team’s fall practice schedule. They return to the field on Feb. 20, when they host Washington St. at Baum Stadium in the season opener. For more information regarding Razorback baseball or University of Arkansas athletics please visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com.
