No. 22 Central Florida prevailed in a matchup of undefeated teams Friday at Stanky Field in Mobile, Alabama.
The Knights scored four runs in the eighth inning and beat Arkansas 9-5 in the first game of the South Alabama Tournament. The Knights improved to 5-0, while the Razorbacks fell to 3-1.
After the Razorbacks pulled within 5-4 on a Joe Serrano home run in the seventh inning, UCF pulled away in the eighth. Derrick Salburg and Kyle Marsh each had RBI doubles in the inning.
Andrew Benintendi hit a solo home run in the ninth inning for the Razorbacks, but the game ended when Rick Nomura hit into a double play. Arkansas recorded 11 hits, but stranded nine runners.
The Razorbacks led 1-0 after a Nomura RBI hit in the first inning. UCF took the lead for good on Erick Barber's two-run home run in the third inning. The Knights extended their lead to 5-1 with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth.
Dominic Taccolini pitched four innings in a loss for the Razorbacks. The sophomore right-hander allowed four runs and struck out six batters. Taccolini has struck out 14 batters in two appearances this season.
Arkansas will play South Alabama tomorrow at 6:30 p.m.