Arkansas starter Zebulon Vermillion allowed one run in eight innings and led the top-ranked Razorbacks to an 8-1 victory at Louisiana Tech on Saturday.
Vermillion allowed three hits and three walks in the 87-pitch outing. The fourth-year right hander faced 29 batters, five above the minimum.
Arkansas (12-0) won its 16th straight game overall and won the three-game series. The Razorbacks will go for a sweep Sunday at 11 a.m.
Brady Slavens hit a two-run double in the first inning to give Arkansas a quick 2-0 lead. Slavens also had an RBI double in the fifth to give the Razorbacks a 5-1 lead after the Bulldogs scored their only run a half inning earlier.
Arkansas broke the game open with a three-run eighth inning that included four walks. Casey Opitz singled to lead off the inning and he and Cullen Smith both scored on wild pitches by Louisiana Tech reliever Tyler Follis.
Cayden Wallace hit a two-out RBI single to score Jalen Battles, but the inning ended when Christian Franklin was thrown out at the plate trying to score from second base.
Wallace also homered to lead off the fourth inning to give Arkansas a 3-0 lead. It was Wallace’s second home run of the series and fourth homer this season.
Wallace went 3 for 4 and drew a walk Saturday. He has reached base in eight of 10 plate appearances this weekend.
Arkansas recorded 12 hits Saturday, including four doubles and a home run. Wallace, Opitz, Slavens and Franklin all had multiple hits. Opitz extended his hit streak to 10 games.
Louisiana Tech starter Ryan Jennings allowed 5 runs on 9 hits and 3 walks in 5 2/3 innings. Jennings also hit a batter and threw a wild pitch.
The Bulldogs (8-5) walked 7 batters, hit 2 batters and threw 3 wild pitches.
Arkansas’ Kole Ramage worked around a two-out single in the ninth inning to close the game.
EARLIER
Arkansas 8, Louisiana Tech 1 — FINAL
Kole Ramage worked around a two-out single to close the game.
The story of the game was Zebulon Vermillion, who allowed one run and faced five above the minimum in an eight-inning start.
Arkansas improved to 12-0 and will go for the series sweep tomorrow at 11 a.m. Louisiana Tech fell to 8-5.
We’ll have much more soon at WholeHogSports.com.
Arkansas 8, Louisiana Tech 1 — Middle 9th Inning
Brady Slavens was hit by a pitch to lead off the ninth, advanced to second on a wild pitch and to third on a groundout by pinch hitter Dylan Leach. He was stranded there when Jalen Battles lined out to second base to end the inning.
Leach will catch and Jacob Nesbit will play third base in the ninth. Arkansas has brought Kole Ramage in to pitch.
Zebulon Vermillion's final line: 8 innings, 1 run, 3 hits, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts.
Arkansas 8, Louisiana Tech 1 — End 8th Inning
Zebulon Vermillion worked around a pair of two-out singles in the eighth inning. The inning ended when Hunter Wells flied out to right field.
Vermillion had retired nine straight batters before pinch hitter Shemar Page singled with two outs. Taylor Young followed with a single.
Vermillion's pitch count is around 85. It would not surprise to see him come back for the ninth inning. He has faced five above the minimum.
Arkansas 8, Louisiana Tech 1 — Middle 8th Inning
Cayden Wallace singled with two outs to score Jalen Battles, but Christian Franklin was thrown out at the plate by center fielder Parker Bates to end the inning. That was Arkansas' fourth out on the bases today.
The Razorbacks scored 3 runs that inning on 2 hits, 4 walks and 2 wild pitches.
Arkansas 7, Louisiana Tech 1 — Top 8th Inning
The Razorbacks have scored twice on two-out wild pitches by Tyler Follis in the eighth. Cullen Smith added the second run.
Arkansas has also walked four times in the inning. Cayden Wallace is at the plate with the bases loaded after consecutive walks by Christian Franklin and Matt Goodheart.
Arkansas 6, Louisiana Tech 1 — Top 8th Inning
Casey Opitz scored from third base on a wild pitch by reliever Tyler Follis. The Razorbacks have two in scoring position with two outs after Robert Moore struck out.
Arkansas 5, Louisiana Tech 1 — Top 8th Inning
Arkansas has a chance to put a dagger in Louisiana Tech after a single and two walks to begin the eighth. The Bulldogs are going to the bullpen to remove lefty Kyle Griffen.
Casey Opitz singled off Griffen's lower body to begin the inning, then Cullen Smith and Jalen Battles walked on 3-1 pitches.
Pinch hitter Braydon Webb is coming to the plate with the bases loaded and no outs.
Arkansas 5, Louisiana Tech 1 — End 7th Inning
Zebulon Vermillion just continues to dominate. He worked another 1-2-3 inning against the middle of the Louisiana Tech order in the seventh.
Jalen Battles bobbled a ground ball from Steele Netterville, but recovered and threw him out for the first out of the inning. Vermillion fielded a slow roller from Philip Matulia for the second out, and Manny Garcia popped up to Battles for the final out of the inning.
Vermillion has thrown roughly 75 pitches today and has faced three above the minimum. Will the Razorbacks let him go eight? He's hot.
Arkansas 5, Louisiana Tech 1 — Middle 7th Inning
The Razorbacks missed on a scoring chance after Christian Franklin led off with a single in the seventh inning. Franklin advanced to second base on a groundout by Cayden Wallace, but the inning ended when Brady Slavens grounded out to shortstop.
Louisiana Tech shortstop Alex Ray made a nice running stop and throw on Slavens' hopper past the mound.
Arkansas 5, Louisiana Tech 1 — End 6th Inning
Zebulon Vermillion just had one of his strongest innings of the game. He sat down the Bulldogs' top three hitters in order to get the Razorbacks to the seventh with a 5-1 lead.
Vermillion has allowed just one hit today and worked around three walks. This has easily been his best outing of the season.
Arkansas 5, Louisiana Tech 1 — Middle 6th Inning
Robert Moore flied out to left field to end the top of the sixth inning and strand Jalen Battles at second base. The Razorbacks have stranded five today and had three other runners thrown out on the bases.
Arkansas 5, Louisiana Tech 1 — Top 6th Inning
Arkansas has forced Louisiana Tech to the bullpen. Jalen Battles doubled with one out and is still there as Robert Moore comes to the plate with two outs in the inning.
Left hander Kyle Griffen, who pitched last night, is replacing Ryan Jennings after 5 2/3 innings. Jennings allowed 9 hits, walked 5, threw 1 wild pitch, hit 1 batter and struck out 4.
Jennings threw 106 pitches.
Arkansas 5, Louisiana Tech 1 — End 5th Inning
Zebulon Vermillion got into some trouble with consecutive one-out walks, but Alex Ray hit into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning. Robert Moore and Jalen Battles, as usual, looked real smooth turning it.
Vermillion walked Ben Brantley and Manny Garcia. That led to a mound visit and he got the inning-ending double play a couple of minutes later.
Vermillion has been real efficient — his pitch count is still in the 50s — but he has had to work around some trouble the last couple of innings. Arkansas has some pitchers up stretching in the bullpen, but it looks like Vermillion will stay on the mound for a little while longer.
Arkansas 5, Louisiana Tech 1 — Top 5th Inning
Brady Slavens' second RBI double of the day scored Christian Franklin, who singled and stole two bases. Slavens' hit went to the wall in right field.
Slavens has 3 RBI today.
Arkansas 4, Louisiana Tech 1 — End 4th Inning
Louisiana Tech manufactured a run in the fourth. Taylor Young walked in four pitches to lead off the inning, advanced on a single by Hunter Wells, a fly out by Parker Bates and scored on a fielder's choice groundout by Steele Netterville.
The inning ended when Philip Matulia flied out to center field.
The Bulldogs are still swinging early in counts and not making Zebulon Vermillion throw a lot of pitches. He could potentially go really deep into this game.
Arkansas 4, Louisiana Tech 0 — Middle 4th Inning
Robert Moore grounded out to second base to end the inning and strand two base runners in scoring position.
Arkansas has made Ryan Jennings work today. His pitch count is in the mid-to-upper 70s. Again, live stats are not working properly today, so everything is an estimation.
The Razorbacks have six hits today. The Bulldogs have not had a base runner.
Arkansas 4, Louisiana Tech 0 — Top 4th Inning
Zack Gregory's sacrifice fly scored Casey Opitz from third base. Louisiana Tech center fielder Parker Bates collided with left fielder Philip Matulia on the catch. The ball popped loose at some point during the collision, but it was ruled that Bates caught the ball.
Both runners advanced and Robert Moore is at the plate with two outs.
Arkansas 3, Louisiana Tech 0 — Top 4th Inning
Arkansas has loaded the bases. After Casey Opitz doubled, Cullen Smith and Jalen Battles followed with consecutive walks. Opitz and Smith also stole bases before Battles walked.
There is one out for Zack Gregory. Louisiana Tech pitcher Ryan Jennings' pitch count is already into the high 60s.
Arkansas 3, Louisiana Tech 0 — Top 4th Inning
Casey Opitz doubled to the wall in right-center field with one out. Opitz now has a hit in 10 straight games.
Arkansas 3, Louisiana Tech 0 — Top 4th Inning
Cayden Wallace has hit his second solo home run of the series. The one to lead off the fourth inning was almost in the same spot to left field as the one he hit in the sixth inning last night.
Wallace has hit four homers this year. He is 2 for 2 today after a 2 for 3 performance last night. He has reached base in six of seven plate appearances in this series.
Arkansas 2, Louisiana Tech 0 — End 3rd Inning
Zebulon Vermillion is cruising and has not allowed a base runner today. He struck out Ben Brantley in three pitches to begin the third inning, then got Kyle Hasler to fly out to center field and Alex Ray to ground out to shortstop.
Vermillion has only thrown around 25 pitches. The official stats are not working correctly, so we can only estimate right now.
Arkansas 2, Louisiana Tech 0 — Middle 3rd Inning
The Razorbacks went down quickly in the third. Robert Moore and Matt Goodheart flied out to center field, and Christian Franklin lined out to third base. Franklin appeared to have a single off the bat, but Hunter Wells made a great snag falling down.
That was Arkansas' first inning without a base runner.
Arkansas 2, Louisiana Tech 0 — End 2nd Inning
Zebulon Vermillion has looked good today. Louisiana Tech is swinging early in counts and he has cruised through two innings.
Steele Netterville and Philip Matulia each flied out on the first pitch of their at-bats for two quick outs, and Vermillion struck out Manny Garcia swinging at a 3-2 fastball high in the zone to end the inning.
The Bulldogs have not had a base runner.
Arkansas 2, Louisiana Tech 0 — Middle 2nd Inning
Cullen Smith singled to center field to lead off the second inning, but what looked promising fizzled fast. Smith was picked off at first base by pitcher Ryan Jennings, and Jalen Battles (swinging) and Zack Gregory (looking) struck out.
The Razorbacks have already had two outs on the bases today.
Arkansas 2, Louisiana Tech 0 — End 1st Inning
Zebulon Vermillion is off to a good start with a perfect, low-pitch inning against the top of the Bulldogs' lineup. All three outs were on contact — ground outs by Taylor Young and Hunter Wells, and a fly out to center by Parker Bates.
Arkansas 2, Louisiana Tech 0 — Middle 1st Inning
Casey Opitz struck out to end the inning and strand Brady Slavens at third base. Slavens advanced on a wild pitch by Ryan Jennings.
Arkansas 2, Louisiana Tech 0 — Top 1st Inning
Brady Slavens doubled down the left-field line to score two runs with two outs. Matt Goodheart reached on a two-out hit by pitch and Cayden Wallace followed with a single to left field.
The Razorbacks missed on another scoring opportunity when Robert Moore was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double to begin the game.
Pregame
Today will be the warmest game of the year so far for the Razorbacks. The afternoon high in Ruston is 81 degrees.
Arkansas would win the series with a victory today. The Razorbacks defeated Louisiana Tech 9-7 in 10 innings last night. Arkansas overcame a three-run deficit in the eighth inning.
On the mound today for the Razorbacks is Zebulon Vermillion, who is back in the weekend rotation after pitching 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief last week against Murray State. Vermillion struggled with command when he started in his first two outings.
Louisiana Tech will throw right hander Ryan Jennings (1-0, 3.65 ERA). Jennings is coming off his worst outing of the season last week when he allowed 3 runs on 7 hits and 1 walk in 3 innings against McNeese State.
There are a couple of changes to the starting lineups today. Zack Gregory will start for the Razorbacks in left field, and catcher Kyle Hasler will start for Louisiana Tech.