SEC BASEBALL NO. 1 ARKANSAS 3, GEORGIA 0

Patient Hogs: UA waits out delay to blank Georgia

UA waits out delay to blank Georgia

Arkansas left-hander Patrick Wicklander scattered 6 hits in 52/3 innings Friday night against Georgia at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville. Wicklander improved to 4-1 this season as the Razorbacks defeated Georgia 3-0. More photos are available at arkansasonline.com/58ugaua/
(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)
Arkansas left-hander Patrick Wicklander scattered 6 hits in 52/3 innings Friday night against Georgia at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville. Wicklander improved to 4-1 this season as the Razorbacks defeated Georgia 3-0. More photos are available at arkansasonline.com/58ugaua/ (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)

FAYETTEVILLE -- The No. 1 Arkansas Razorbacks used a tried-and-true formula to take a rain-delayed series opener from Georgia on Friday night.

Patrick Wicklander (4-1) provided a strong start and Kevin Kopps shut the Bulldogs down for three innings for his seventh save to power the University of Arkansas to a 3-0 victory before a crowd of 7,645 at Baum-Walker Stadium.

Arkansas (35-8, 16-6 SEC) posted its second consecutive Friday night shutout and remained a game ahead of Mississippi State, Tennessee and Vanderbilt for the SEC lead. Georgia (27-17, 10-12) outhit the Hogs 9-8 but suffered its first shutout of the season.

Wicklander and Georgia freshman Liam Sullivan (1-1) were not put off by the 92-minute rain delay prior to first pitch and hooked up in a fast-paced pitchers' duel into the sixth. Wicklander stretched his scoreless streak to 16 1/3 innings, dating back to the third inning in a 5-1 win at South Carolina on April 23.

"Just a super job by our pitching staff obviously," Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. "We just kept striking each other out."

[Video not showing up above? Click here to watch » https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqeqOx1pWZQ]

Arkansas second baseman Robert Moore provided Kopps some wiggle room with his bases-loaded flare over second base in the eighth inning off Collin Caldwell to expand the Razorbacks' one-run lead into a three-run affair after a seven pitch at-bat.

"That was just an outstanding at-bat," Van Horn said. "He got down 0-2 and then he fouled a pitch or two off, maybe took a ball. It was just a clutch at-bat and a big part of the game.

"We knew it was going to be a fight in the ninth, so to score two more runs was huge for us."

Kopps was not as sharp as he had been in recent outings. He allowed three hits and a walk and needed 54 pitches to record nine outs, but the senior right-hander stranded four runners.

"Kevin, he would probably tell you he didn't have his best stuff by far," Van Horn said. "It was just good enough."

[GALLERY: Click here for more photos » arkansasonline.com/58ugaua/]

With runners at first and second with one out in the ninth after an error and Chaney Rogers' fourth hit of the night, Kopps struck out Fernando Gonzalez before retiring nine-hole batter Ben Anderson on a liner to center field to close it out.

Sullivan, making his first career start, allowed 1 run on 3 hits while striking out 11 on 83 pitches through 6 innings. The 6-6 left-hander had an immaculate fifth inning, striking out Jalen Battles, Jacob Nesbit and Zack Gregory on nine pitches. He retired the final 12 batters he faced after giving up his only walk, a leadoff one by Gregory in the third.

Sullivan outlasted Wicklander, who made it through 5 2/3 innings on 96 pitches. The Arkansas junior allowed six hits and no walks while striking out nine.

Van Horn pulled Wicklander after he gave up a two-out double in the sixth inning to Rogers. Caden Monke's wild pitch allowed Rogers to reach third base, but that's where he stayed as Monke fanned Corey Collins on a check swing on a 3-2 pitch.

"I thought Patrick Wicklander came out and did a really good job," Van Horn said. "I think he would probably say he didn't have the command that he's had but he was still really good, hard to hit."

Arkansas blew a golden scoring opportunity in the seventh inning. After Christian Franklin and Moore greeted reliever Jack Gowen with back-to-back walks, Casey Opitz laid down a bunt toward third base that Gowen could not handle, loading the bases with no outs.

Gowen retired Battles and Nesbit on pop outs after falling behind both hitters. Then, with Gregory at the plate, Gowen spiked a curve ball that bounced off the catcher Gonzalez and trickled toward the Georgia dugout. However, it didn't roll far enough. Gonzalez double-clutched it and threw a bouncer to Gowen covering the plate to tag out Franklin trying to score.

Arkansas had better success with the bases loaded in the eighth inning. Charlie Welch led off with a pinch-hit single, and pinch-runner Braydon Webb advanced on Cayden Wallace's one-out single. Brady Slavens hit a swinging bunt to the right of the mound, and no one could make the play to load the bases.

After Caldwell struck Franklin out, Moore provided the clutch hit for the padding.

The Razorbacks broke on top in the second inning with a one-out rally. Moore, swinging at the first pitch, teed a low ball down the left-field line thinking double all the way, and he slid into second base ahead of the throw.

The catcher Opitz got into an advantage count at 2-1 and drilled a breaking pitch from Sullivan down the left-field line to easily drive in Moore. Sullivan escaped further damage by striking out Battles and Nesbit.

Sullivan struck out six his first time through the lineup, and every ball put into play against him was a hit until Matt Goodheart's liner to center field in the third inning.

Georgia got leadoff singles in four consecutive innings starting in the second, but the Bulldogs could not cash them in against Wicklander.

The closest scoring chance came in the fourth, when Garrett Blaylock followed Cole Tate's single with one of his own. Wicklander rallied with a strikeout, a force out at second base by the first baseman Slavens and a fly out to center field.

The Bulldogs had a runner picked off first base by Wicklander in the second inning, then ran themselves into an out in the seventh against Kopps. Opitz smothered a ball in the dirt wide of the plate and Rogers broke partially for second base before he realized Opitz had him measured. Opitz ran right at Rogers and got him in a rundown that led to a 2-4-3 tag-out by Slavens.

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NO. 1 ARKANSAS BASEBALL vs. GEORGIA

WHEN 6 p.m., today

WHERE Baum-Walker Stadium (7,685 of 11,531)

RECORDS Georgia 27-17, 10-12 SEC; Arkansas 35-8, 16-6 SEC

STARTING PITCHERS Georgia RHP Jonathan Cannon (2-2, 4.19 ERA); Arkansas RHP Peyton Pallette (1-2, 4.02)

RADIO Razorback Sports Network

TV SEC Network

SHORT HOPS

Arkansas LHP Patrick Wicklander made his third start in a row without issuing a walk and extended his scoreless streak to 16 1/3 innings. … Arkansas’ Charlie Welch had a pinch-hit single in the eighth, making him 3 for 6 as a pinch hitter. … Georgia’s Connor Tate singled in the second inning to reach base for the 24th consecutive game. … Arkansas’ home game against Florida on Friday, May 21, has been picked up for broadcast by the SEC Network with the first pitch moved to 7 p.m. from its original start time of 6:30 p.m.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

TODAY Georgia, 6 p.m. (SEC Network)

SUNDAY Georgia, 2 p.m.

MONDAY Off

TUESDAY Arkansas State, 6:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY Off

THURSDAY Off

FRIDAY at Tennessee, 5:30 p.m.

ArkArkansas’ Robert Moore hits a double during the second inning of the Razorbacks’ victory over Georgia on Friday night at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville. Moore later scored in the inning and added a two-run double in the eighth. More photos available at arkansasonline.com/58ugaua.
(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)
ArkArkansas’ Robert Moore hits a double during the second inning of the Razorbacks’ victory over Georgia on Friday night at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville. Moore later scored in the inning and added a two-run double in the eighth. More photos available at arkansasonline.com/58ugaua. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)

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