College Baseball

Arkansas roughs up Creighton

Arkansas' Bobby Wernes rounds the bases after hitting a triple in the sixth inning of a game against Creighton on Tuesday, May 12, 2015, at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb. (Mark Davis/Omaha World-Herald)
Arkansas' Bobby Wernes rounds the bases after hitting a triple in the sixth inning of a game against Creighton on Tuesday, May 12, 2015, at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb. (Mark Davis/Omaha World-Herald)

OMAHA, Neb. -- Andrew Benintendi knew all about TD Ameritrade Park's reputation before he and his Arkansas teammates faced Creighton on Tuesday night.

"We had heard it was a graveyard to hit in," he said.

That's not how it played out as the No. 20 Razorbacks banged out 12 hits, including Benindenti's 17th home run and a triple by Bobby Wernes that turned the game in Arkansas' favor, in posting a 6-2 victory over the Bluejays.

Hitting .405 coming into the game, Benindenti also had singles in the fifth and ninth innings but it was his seventh-inning blast into the right-field bullpen that made the biggest impression on the crowd of 3,102.

Benindenti's home run moved him into a three-way tie for second in the nation behind Eastern Kentucky's Kyle Nowlin, who has 19 home runs this season.

"I didn't think a ball was going to go out tonight," Creighton Coach Ed Servais said. "There were a lot of balls that were well hit, but he hit it low enough and he has the bat speed.

"He's a special player, probably the best one we've seen with sheer bat speed, and he's got a calming way in which he plays. He doesn't get too sped up or anxious. He's going to have a nice career at the next level."

Benintendi most impressive swing might have come in batting practice when he launched a drive that carried over the 408-foot sign in center field.

In the five years TD Ameritrade has served as both the home for Creighton and the College World Series, no player has ever hit a ball in a game out of the park in between the 375-foot power alleys.

"The ball doesn't travel well at all here," Benintendi said.

So how did he get one over the center-field fence, even in batting practice?

"I put a good swing on it, I guess," he said, smiling broadly.

It was Wernes who might have had the biggest hit of the night, though. Creighton (27-17) strung together three consecutive hits in the bottom of the fifth inning to produce a 1-1 tie.

Arkansas struck back quickly in its half of the sixth. Brett McAfee drew a one-out walk and Wernes, who had singled and scored Arkansas' first run in the second, followed with a triple down the right-field line.

Rick Nomura made it 3-1 with a single to left field and wound up on third base on a throwing error on the play. Michael Bernal's single through Creighton's drawn-in infield pushed the lead to 4-1.

"We try to make it a priority that when they score, we score," Wernes said. "When they scored, it was a a huge opportunity for our offense to answer back.

"It all started with Brett. He had a good [at-bat] and got on base. I had the easy job. I just had to drive us in."

Arkansas (31-16) used five pitchers in the game. Lance Phillips picked up his first victory, while Dominica Taccolini threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings of relief to pick up his second save.

The Razorbacks left Omaha immediately after the game for Georgia, where they will close out the SEC regular-season with a three-game series that begins Thursday.

Of course, the Arkansas players hope that they'll be back in TD Ameritrade when the CWS begins in about 3 1/2 weeks.

"I think this game could help us," Wernes said. "I don't think that very many teams that make it to the College World Series will have had the opportunity to play here during the regular season.

"That could prove to be very beneficial."

Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn was more focused on what his team accomplished Tuesday night.

"Is this game going to help us down the road?" he said. "You never know. We have to get back here, and that wasn't the main reason we came up here.

"I thought we played well. We played good defense and we got some key hits. We got a chance to play in a beautiful ballpark, and we beat a good team tonight."

Sports on 05/13/2015

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