Stewart's Two Homers Power Hogs past Vols in Hoover

HOOVER, Ala. – Zack Stewart blasted a pair of home runs, his fourth consecutive game with a home run and his fourth and fifth long balls in that span, and finished with three RBI to power No. 12 Arkansas (37-19) past No. 23 Tennessee (38-19) 8-4 Wednesday afternoon at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in the second round of the SEC Tournament.

With the win, the Razorbacks advance to the quarterfinal round. Seventh-seeded Arkansas, seeking its first semifinal round appearance since 2023, will play fifth-ranked and second-seeded Texas at 2 p.m. Friday, May 22, on SEC Network with Tom Hart (play-by-play), Kyle Peterson (analyst) and Kris Budden (reporter) on the call from The Hoover Met.

The Hogs came out swinging and tagged Volunteer starting pitcher Evan Blanco for five runs on seven hits, including three homers. Two of those home runs came in the bottom of the first inning, thanks to Camden Kozeal’s one-out solo shot, his team-leading 18th of the season, before Stewart’s two-run dinger later in the frame put Arkansas ahead 3-0.

After TJ Pompey, who tallied a game-high three hits with three RBI in the win, singled to third and advanced to second on a throwing error, Nolan Souza ripped a double down the right field line to extend the Hogs’ lead to four in the first.

Stewart belted his second home run of the game in his very next at-bat in the third inning, growing the Razorbacks’ advantage to 5-0. After hitting three long balls in the final weekend series of the regular season at Kentucky, Stewart’s tear has continued into the SEC Tournament, raising his season slash line to .283/.409/.600 with 13 home runs and 35 RBI and becoming the 49th player in league history as well as the fourth Razorback to hit multiple home runs in Hoover.

Tate McGuire, meanwhile, was sharp on the mound for the Hogs. Making his second start in as many games, the right-hander fired three shutout innings with three strikeouts to help Arkansas jump out to an early lead against Tennessee.

In relief of McGuire, 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) emerged from the bullpen and combined for six innings of four-run ball (two earned) with seven strikeouts to hold down the Volunteers. After seeing its five-run advantage cut down to two, Arkansas turned to Pompey, who swatted a three-run shot – his 15th home run of the campaign – in the bottom half of the fifth inning to extend the lead back to five runs.

Arkansas would go on to secure an 8-4 win in Wednesday’s second-round matchup at The Hoover Met, marking its fifth consecutive victory against Tennessee and its 14th in its last 16 games against the Volunteers since the 2019 season.

For complete coverage of Arkansas baseball, follow the Hogs on Twitter (@RazorbackBSB), Instagram (@RazorbackBSB) and Facebook (Arkansas Razorback Baseball).