FAYETTEVILLE — Casey Opitz hit an RBI double with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning to give Arkansas a 4-3 comeback win over Tennessee on Sunday at Baum-Walker Stadium.
The No. 7 Razorbacks swept the No. 18 Volunteers. Arkansas (34-11, 15-6 SEC) has won seven consecutive conference games and is tied with Vanderbilt for the overall lead in the SEC.
Opitz's game-winning hit scored Jack Kenley from second base after the Razorbacks' lead base runner, Curtis Washington Jr., was thrown out at third base for the second out of the inning. Opitz lined a 2-0 pitch from Tennessee reliever Redmond Walsh into left field, just over the leaping attempt of third baseman Andre Lipcius.
It was Opitz's second game-winning hit in a conference game this season. He had a game-winning single in the ninth inning of the series finale against Missouri on March 17.
Arkansas tied the game 3-3 on Christian Franklin's solo home run with one out in the ninth inning after Tennessee scored twice against Razorbacks closer Matt Cronin with two outs in the top of the eighth to go ahead 3-2. Cronin pitched a scoreless ninth inning and freshman Elijah Trest pitched a scoreless 10th.
The Razorbacks went ahead 1-0 on Jack Kenley's solo home run in the second inning and 2-0 in the fifth when Heston Kjerstad was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. But Arkansas missed on several other scoring opportunities and stranded eight runners.
Tennessee (31-14, 9-12) pulled within 2-1 in the sixth inning when Kenley committed a two-out error that allowed Jake Rucker to score from second base. Rucker led off the inning with a single to end Arkansas freshman Connor Noland's no-hit bid.
The Vols tied the game 2-2 in the eighth on Justin Ammons' RBI single that came on the second pitch thrown by Cronin. Ammons stole second base and scored Lipcius' RBI single in the next at-bat.
Noland took a no-decision in arguably his best outing of the season. He struck out a career-high 10 batters, walked one and allowed two hits in seven innings. The only run against him was unearned.
Walsh pitched a career-high 5 1/3 innings in relief for the Vols but was charged with his first loss. Walsh and Tennessee starter Zach Linginfelter combined to strike out 14 batters.
The Razorbacks are scheduled to play again Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. against Grambling State at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock. Arkansas will travel to Kentucky for a three-game series next weekend.
Arkansas 4, Tennessee 3 - Final (10)
Casey Opitz's two-out double scored Jack Kenley from second base and the Razorbacks rallied to sweep a really good Tennessee team this week.
The Razorbacks are 34-11 overall, 15-6 SEC. Arkansas has a two-game lead in the SEC West entering next weekend's series at Kentucky.
Arkansas 3, Tennessee 3 - Middle 10th Inning
Elijah Trest sat down the Vols' 8-9-1 hitters in the top of the 10th inning. Heston Kjerstad, Dominic Fletcher and Jack Kenley are due up to the plate for the Razorbacks in the bottom of the inning.
Arkansas 3, Tennessee 3 - End 9th Inning
Casey Martin struck out looking at a 1-2 pitch to end the ninth inning. The game is going to extra innings.
Elijah Trest will pitch for the Razorbacks in the top of the 10th.
Arkansas 3, Tennessee 3 - Bottom 9th Inning
Christian Franklin just hit a solo home run with one out in the ninth to tie the game. Franklin's fifth blast of the season went just inside the foul pole in right field.
Casey Martin is coming to the plate with two outs. Heston Kjerstad will bat if Martin reaches.
Tennessee 3, Arkansas 2 - Middle 9th Inning
Tennessee put the leadoff hitter aboard for the fourth consecutive inning, but he was stranded when Matt Cronin outlasted Ricky Martinez in a 14-pitch at-bat to end the top of the ninth.
Arkansas will send Jordan McFarland, Christian Franklin and Trevor Ezell to the plate in the bottom of the ninth. Casey Martin could bat if someone reaches.
Tennessee 3, Arkansas 2 - End 8th Inning
Jack Kenley reached with a one-out walk and advanced to second on an errant throw over by the pitcher, but Kenley was stranded when Casey Opitz grounded out on a 1-2 pitch. Tennessee first baseman Alerick Soularie made two great picks in that inning, including one to get Dominic Fletcher by a step for the first out.
Tennessee 3, Arkansas 2 - Middle 8th Inning
Matt Cronin was one pitch from getting out of the inning, but Andre Lipcius singled on a 0-2 pitch to score Justin Ammons who stole second base. Arkansas had Ammons dead to rights on the bases, but Jack Kenley and Casey Martin were slow to cover second base on a pitch out and Trevor Ezell's throw didn't get to the bag in time.
Alerick Soularie grounded out to end the inning. Arkansas will send Dominic Fletcher, Jack Kenley and Jacob Nesbit to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning. Tennessee will stick with lefty Redmond Walsh, who is going to try to stretch out his longest outing of the season.
Arkansas 2, Tennessee 2 - Top 8th Inning
Justin Ammons singled off the second base bag to tie the game. It came on the second pitch from Matt Cronin.
Ammons had only been 5 for his last 51 prior to that hit.
Arkansas 2, Tennessee 1 - Top 8th Inning
Marshall Denton allowed a leadoff single and gives way to Matt Cronin with two outs in the eighth inning and a runner at third base. Cronin had a three-out save against Tennessee on Friday.
He will face Justin Ammons here.
Arkansas 2, Tennessee 1 - End 7th Inning
Arkansas stranded two more in scoring position in the seventh when Heston Kjerstad struck out to end the inning. Christian Franklin doubled with one out in the inning and Casey Martin drew a two-out walk. The Razorbacks have stranded seven today.
Marshall Denton will pitch in the eighth inning for Arkansas. Due up are the the Vols' 8-9-1 hitters.
Matt Cronin is warming up in Arkansas' bullpen.
Arkansas 2, Tennessee 1 - Middle 7th Inning
It is unlikely that Connor Noland will throw another pitch today, but his seventh inning might have been his best yet. Wearing down, Noland worked around a leadoff single by Alerick Soularie and stranded Soularie at second base to end the inning. Soularie advanced on a sacrifice bunt.
Noland fell behind 3-0 to pinch hitter Zach Daniels, but came back to strike out Daniels for his career-best 10th strikeout. The key pitch in the inning was a 3-1 breaking ball that Daniels chased low in the zone, then he looked at the third strike on a full-count pitch.
Casey Martin made the inning's biggest highlight with a play deep in the hole to rob Ricky Martinez of a hit that probably would have tied the game. Martin threw the ball from almost behind the third baseman in shallow left field, and Trevor Ezell made a great pick at first base.
Arkansas 2, Tennessee 1 - End 6th Inning
Arkansas' 5-6-7 hitters went down in order against Tennessee's great lefty reliever Redmond Walsh in the sixth inning. Connor Noland is coming back out for the Razorbacks in the seventh. He has thrown 79 pitches and will be facing the heart of the Vols' batting order, beginning with Tennessee's best hitter, Alerick Soularie.
Arkansas 2, Tennessee 1 - Middle 6th Inning
The Vols are on the scoreboard. Pinch hitter Justin Ammons hit a sharp hopper at second baseman Jack Kenley, who couldn't field the ball and that allowed Jake Rucker to score from second base with two outs. Rucker ended Connor Noland's no-hit bid with a single to lead off the inning.
Andre Lipcius flied out to right field to end the half inning.
Arkansas 2, Tennessee 0 - End 5th Inning
Dominic Fletcher hit into an inning-ending ground ball double play. Fletcher got ahead of Redmond Walsh 2-0 in the count, but home plate umpire Ken Langford called a strike on what looked like a pitch that would have made the count 3-0. That changed the complexion of the at-bat. Fletcher swung through a 2-1 pitch, then swung again and made soft contact on a 2-2 pitch that ended the inning.
Zach Linginfelter's final line for Tennessee: 4 1/3 innings, 2 runs, 5 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts. He is in line for his fifth loss.
Arkansas 2, Tennessee 0 - Bottom 5th Inning
Heston Kjerstad was hit on the first pitch by Redmond Walsh to force home a run. Dominic Fletcher is at the plate with the bases loaded and one out.
Arkansas 1, Tennessee 0 - Bottom 5th Inning
The Razorbacks have loaded the bases and chased Tennessee starter Zach Linginfelter with one out in the fifth inning. Heston Kjerstad is coming to the plate.
Jordan McFarland singled, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Christian Franklin, to third on a Trevor Ezell infield single and the Razorbacks loaded the bases on a five-pitch walk by Casey Martin. Ezell also had a stolen base.
Linginfelter pitched great, but looked like his velocity dropped some in the fifth. Sophomore left hander Redmond Walsh is coming to the mound for the Vols. He has a 0.35 ERA this season.
Arkansas 1, Tennessee 0 - Middle 5th Inning
This has been an outstanding performance by Connor Noland, who is still hitless through five innings. He retired all three Tennessee batters in the fifth and has retired 15 of 16 today. His pitch count is only at 63.
Casey Martin made a strong charge and throw for the third out of the inning to deny Ricky Martinez of a hit.
Arkansas 1, Tennessee 0 - End 4th Inning
Go figure that after two high-scoring games, it's a pitcher's duel on getaway day.
Tennessee's Zach Linginfelter worked around a leadoff single by Heston Kjerstad and a one-out double by Jack Kenley to work a scoreless fourth inning. Linginfelter struck out three batters, including Jacob Nesbit and Casey Opitz to end the inning and strand both runners in scoring position.
Linginfelter has nine strikeouts today. The Razorbacks have three hits.
Arkansas 1, Tennessee 0 - Middle 4th Inning
Connor Noland has struck out two in each inning today and has a career-high eight strikeouts. It looks like Tennessee is a little over-aggressive - desperate to get anything going - and that is not a good combination against a pitcher who can throw off-speed pitches like Noland.
Arkansas' Trevor Ezell walked in the bottom of the third and stole second base, but he was stranded when Casey Martin struck out to end the inning. Tennessee's Zach Linginfelter has six strikeouts through three innings.
Arkansas 1, Tennessee 0 - Middle 3rd Inning
Connor Noland now has six strikeouts through three efficient innings. Consider that he only had 29 strikeouts in 43 innings coming into the game.
Noland worked around a one-out walk to eight-hole hitter Jake Rucker in the third, then struck out Landon Gray and Jay Charleston to end the inning. He has not allowed a hit.
Arkansas 1, Tennessee 0 - Bottom 2nd Inning
Jack Kenley's one-out home run landed in the Arkansas bullpen and has given the Razorbacks the early lead. Arkansas has seven home runs already in this series. That was Kenley's ninth home run; he had zero in his first two seasons, although he wasn't an every-day starter like has been this season.
In the top of the inning, Connor Noland cruised again with two more strikeouts and a groundout. Noland already has four strikeouts today.
Arkansas 0, Tennessee 0 - End 1st Inning
The Razorbacks also went down in order in the first inning. Trevor Ezell and Heston Kjerstad struck out against Zach Linginfleter, and Casey Martin flied out to center field.
Arkansas 0, Tennessee 0 - Middle 1st Inning
Connor Noland shut down Tennessee in the first inning, striking out the first two batters before getting an inning-ending fly out to center field. Noland isn't a big strikeout pitcher. He came into teh game with just 29 in 43 innings.
Pregame
This has been the best weather weekend of the season for a series in Fayetteville. It is sunny and in the mid 70s for this one. The crowd isn't as big as the past two days, which you would expect for a Sunday afternoon, but it is still a good one.
Arkansas is throwing right hander Connor Noland (2-2, 4.60 ERA) against Tennessee right hander Zach Linginfelter (6-4, 3.51). Noland is coming off that big 7 1/3-inning outing last week against Mississippi State and is the reigning SEC freshman of the week.
Arkansas will start Jordan McFarland for the second straight game at designated hitter. McFarland had a big night last night in place of Matt Goodheart, who injured his shoulder on Friday.
Arkansas is wearing its cream-colored jerseys and camo hats as part of Military Appreciation Day. Tennessee is in gray tops, white bottoms and orange caps.