NCAA Stillwater Regional Report

Triple lets Arkansas save arms

Arkansas's Clark Eagan follows through on a fly out off a pitch from Oral Roberts's Guillermo Trujillo in the second inning of a game at the Stillwater Regional of the NCAA college baseball tournament in Stillwater, Okla., Friday, May 29, 2015. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Arkansas's Clark Eagan follows through on a fly out off a pitch from Oral Roberts's Guillermo Trujillo in the second inning of a game at the Stillwater Regional of the NCAA college baseball tournament in Stillwater, Okla., Friday, May 29, 2015. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

STILLWATER, Okla. -- Clark Eagan's two-run triple looked like gravy as Arkansas extended its lead to five runs in the eighth inning of its 8-6 victory over Oral Roberts in the opening game of the NCAA regional on Friday.

Eagan's deep shot to the wall in right-center field turned out big for two reasons.

First, it allowed Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn to pull ace reliever Zach Jackson after a 15-pitch stint that snuffed an Oral Roberts scoring opportunity in the top of the eighth.

It also gave Arkansas' bullpen some breathing room in the ninth inning to absorb slugging designated hitter Anthony Sequeira's three-run home run off Lance Phillips.

"If it was a Sunday game of a series or if we had four or five big-time arms lined up, we'd have left [Jackson] out there," Van Horn said. "We talked about we're trying to win the games and win the tournament and not just hanging out trying not to lose.

"There wasn't a guy in our dugout who didn't want to pull him right there and save him for tomorrow because we're going to need him.

"That was a huge hit. ... It gave us a nice cushion there, where we felt like we could go to the bullpen."

Eight is enough

Arkansas got hits from eight of its starters, including three from SEC Player of the Year Andrew Benintendi and two each from Tyler Spoon and Rick Nomura.

The only Razorback starter without a hit was designated hitter Brett McAfee, who had a strong defensive play made against him by second baseman Matt Brandy and just missed a run-scoring double down the left-field line that drifted foul.

Six Razorbacks scored runs, and six Razorbacks drove in runs.

Lowery wins again

Arkansas reliever Jackson Lowery improved to 7-1 with two innings of one-hit pitching.

Lowery was the beneficiary of the Razorbacks' four-run sixth inning.

The senior from Little Rock retired the Golden Eagles in order in the sixth and seventh innings and came out after allowing a leadoff single to Anthony Sequeira in the eighth.

"I just had to help the team win," Lowery said. "Whenever they put me in, that's the only thing I'm trying to do is help the team win. I didn't think I had my best stuff today, but like Coach [Dave Van Horn] said, I got outs."

Playing D

Arkansas third baseman Bobby Wernes made the defensive play of the game, a leaping stab of a line drive with a runner on first and no outs in the fourth inning.

Center fielder Andrew Benintendi had to leap and make catches over his head on a couple of deep line drives.

Oral Roberts made a number of outstanding defensive plays as well, the best coming on on shortstop Dean Wilson's back-handed pick on Joe Serrano's hot grounder to lead off the bottom of the first inning.

Jackson waiting

Arkansas pitcher Zach Jackson might get a chance this weekend to throw against the team coached by the man who will lead the Collegiate National team he's playing on this summer.

St. John's Coach Ed Blankmeyer will manage Team USA this summer, a role Arkansas' Dave Van Horn held last year.

Jackson said it wasn't in his plans to chat this weekend with Blankmeyer, the five-time Big East Coach of the Year.

"I'll probably just end up waiting until that time comes," Jackson said Thursday. "You know, with the competition this weekend you don't want to get too close to that."

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Sports on 05/30/2015

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