COLLEGE BASEBALL: Eibner makes Mississippi pay

OXFORD, Miss. — Brett Eibner needed one big swing to ruin Ole Miss’ big gamble in the seventh inning Friday night.

Eibner hit a three-run home run following an intentional walk to Zack Cox as Arkansas defeated Ole Miss 11-4 at Oxford-University Stadium.

Eibner’s home run put Arkansas ahead 4-2 and came after the Rebels decided against pitching to Cox, who hit three line-drive singles before coming to bat in the seventh.

Tim Carver added a tworun home run in the eighth inning, and Travis Sample hit a grand slam in the ninth to give Arkansas a 10-4 lead.

The Razorbacks (36-10, 15-7 SEC) regained sole possession of first place in the SEC West while ending the Rebels’ 10-game winning streak.

Drew Smyly (8-0) and Drew Pomeranz (6-1) were matched in a pitchers’ duel until the seventh, when Eibner hit his 17th home run of the season.

Collin Kuhn started the inning with a one-out double past third base. Bo Bigham flew out before Ole Miss (33-14, 14-8) decided to intentionally walk Cox.

That brought up Eibner, who came into the game leading the SEC in home runs. Eibner ruined the Rebels’ strategy with his shot to center field to chase Pomeranz, who allowed 9 hits and 4 runs in 6 2 /3 innings.

“Pomeranz was pitching lights out, then Brett hit that home run and everybody was excited,” Smyly said. “It was a battle. They were dialed in, and we were dialed in.

“We ran away with it at the end, but it was a good game.”

Ole Miss Coach Mike Bianco said it was sound strategy to pitch to Eibner instead of Cox, who has led the SEC in hitting for most of the season.

“We’ve got a lot of respect for Eibner, but you’ve got a guy [Cox] hitting about 120 points higher,” Bianco said. “[Cox] looked pretty locked in in his first three at-bats.”

Cox and James McCann each finished with three hits for Arkansas, which outhit the Rebels 16-8.

Smyly went six innings to remain unbeaten and Jordan Pratt pitched 1 2 /3 innings for his first save of the year. Smyly allowed 2 runs on 5 hits with 1 walk and 6 strikeouts.

“Smyly didn’t have his best stuff, but he did a great job ofcompeting,” Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. “He still got us to the seventh inning, and I’m just proud of him.”

Matt Smith hit a home run off Mike Bolsinger to pull Ole Miss to within 6-4, but Sample put away the game withhis pinch-hit grand slam in the ninth.

The Rebels used some aggressive base running in the fourth inning to takea 2-1 lead. Zack Miller led off with a line-drive double into the left-field corner and stole third with no outs. The gamble paid off when Miller scored on a groundout by Alex Yarbrough.

Taylor Hightower and Smith hit two-out doubles against Smyly in the fourth and fifth innings but neither runner scored.

Arkansas took a chance on the bases in the fourth inning when Monk Kreder was thrown out at third with one out. Kreder drew a walk to start the inning, then took off when Carver hit a single off the end of the bat into right field. Smith came up with the ball and made a good throw to get Kreder on a close play.

Carver advanced to second in the play, but Pomeranz retired Matt Vinson on a fly ball to end the inning.

Taylor Hashman hit a home run for Ole Miss after Arkansas jumped ahead 1-0 on a double by Kreder and an RBI single by McCann.

Razorbacks glance

WHAT Arkansas at Ole Miss WHEN 7 p.m. Central today WHERE Oxford-University Stadium, Oxford, Miss.

TV ESPNU (Comcast Cable channel 266, DirecTV channel 609, Dish Network channel 141) RADIO RSP statewide radio network, which includes KQSM-FM, 92.1, in Fayetteville; KURM-AM, 790, and KURM-FM, 100.3, in Bentonville-Rogers; KABZ-FM, 103.7, in Little Rock; KASR-FM, 92.7, in Conway; KHGG-FM, 103.1, in Fort Smith; KELD-FM, 106.5, in El Dorado; and KOMT-FM, 107.5, in Mountain Home. Not all games will be carried by affiliates. Check local listings. WEBSITE www.arkansasrazorbacks.com PITCHING MATCHUPS Arkansas: D.J. Baxendale (RHP, 0-0, 3.79 ERA). Ole Miss: Aaron Barrett (RHP, 6-2, 3.72 ERA).

SHORT HOPS Arkansas reliever Mike Bolsinger left the game after being hit by a ball and was replaced by Jordan Pratt. ... Ole Miss first baseman Miles Hamblin is the brother of former Arkansas first baseman Danny Hamblin, the Razorbacks’ all-time leading home run hitter with 57. Miles Hamblin, a junior, also has played catcher and pitched an inning in relief. ... Brett Eibner hit his 37th career home run Friday but remains No. 6 on Arkansas’ career home runs list.

THE WEEK AHEAD TODAY at Ole Miss, 7 p.m.

SUNDAY at Ole Miss, 1:30 p.m.

MONDAY off TUESDAY vs. Louisiana Tech* WEDNESDAY off THURSDAY off FRIDAY vs. South Carolina, 6:35 p.m.

* at North Little Rock