OMAHA, Neb. -- University of Arkansas second baseman Robert Moore had a pristine start to his College World Series career, both at the plate and in the field in Saturday's 17-2 romp over tournament No. 2 seed Stanford.
Moore reached base in each of his first five plate appearances on a single, double and three walks, and he led the Razorbacks with three runs scored.
Stanford pitchers did not retire the switch hitter until his ground out in the ninth against Cody Jensen, which moved two runners into scoring position for Peyton Stovall to drive in with a single.
Moore also played spotless defense, playing a role in two double plays, exhibiting quick-handed exchanges in his throws to first, and turning in an across-the body jump throw from short left-center field for the defensive play of the game in the ninth inning.
Moore entered the game with a .223 batting average, lowest among Arkansas regulars but with 42 RBI, fifth-highest on the team. He also has settled into the sixth spot in the batting order in the postseason order.
"Robert, great day, three walks, double, single," Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. "And then even his groundout advanced two runners with no outs. So it was a very productive at-bat. That's what we're trying to do right now.
"He's hitting in the 6 hole, a switch hitter, hitting after [Chris] Lanzilli. If we can keep him going, it's big. And you can go on down the lineup a little bit more. Just a lot of production. But if Robert's going, it really helps us."
Stat blast
Arkansas broke several program records at the College World Series on Saturday.
The Razorbacks' 17 runs were the most scored in a CWS game, eclipsing the previous record set during an 11-5 victory over Texas in 2018. It was also a record for runs by one team since the CWS moved to what is now Charles Schwab Field in 2011.
Arkansas' 15-run margin of victory broke the previous program record of seven runs, set twice against Arizona in 1979 (10-3) and Kent State in 2012 (8-1). It was the largest margin of victory ever by an SEC team at the College World Series and the largest for any team since Arizona State in 1988.
The 21 hits were the most for Arkansas at the CWS and the most ever by a team at Schwab Field. The Razorbacks had not had a 21-hit game since 2001.
Wallace's swat
Cayden Wallace had a big day at the plate with a pair of extra-base hits in his 3 for 6 outing with three RBI and a pair of runs scored.
Wallace's seventh-inning RBI double to right-center field left the bat at 111 mph, the hardest-hit fair ball of the College World Series through three games.
Wallace added a two-run home run to right-center field in the ninth inning, his fifth of the NCAA Tournament and the 30th of his two-year career.
Another one down
Arkansas became the third team this postseason to beat three national seeds.
In addition to their victory over No. 2 seed Stanford, the Razorbacks went 2-1 against No. 7 seed Oklahoma State at the Stillwater (Okla.) Regional and 2-0 against No. 10 seed North Carolina at the Chapel Hill (N.C.) Super Regional.
Notre Dame and Oklahoma have also defeated three national seeds this postseason, and Ole Miss had a chance for a third victory over a national seed Saturday night against Auburn.
The Fighting Irish went 1-0 against No. 16 seed Georgia Southern at the Statesboro (Ga.) Regional and 2-1 against No. 1 seed Tennessee at the Knoxville (Tenn.) Super Regional before a 7-3 victory over No. 9 seed Texas on Friday at the College World Series.
Oklahoma was 2-1 against No. 13 seed Florida at the Gainesville (Fla.) Regional and 2-1 against No. 4 seed Virginia Tech at the Blacksburg (Va.) Super Regional. The Sooners defeated No. 5 seed Texas A&M 13-8 on Friday.
Ole Miss was 1-0 against No. 6 seed Miami at the Coral Gables (Fla.) Regional and 2-0 against No. 11 seed Southern Miss at the Hattiesburg (Miss.) Super Regional.
Series update
Arkansas improved to 2-0 all-time against Stanford at the College World Series. The Razorbacks defeated the Cardinal 10-4 at Rosenblatt Stadium in 1985.
Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn was a graduate assistant for the Razorbacks in their meeting 37 years ago, and Stanford coach David Esquer was a backup shortstop for the Cardinal during that game.
Stanford had won four consecutive games over Arkansas, including three straight at the NCAA Tournament. The Cardinal won 2-0 at the 1986 NCAA Midwest Regional in Stillwater, Okla.; 10-4 at the 1995 Midwest I Regional in Wichita, Kan.; and eliminated the 2008 Razorbacks with a 5-1 victory at the Palo Alto (Calif.) Regional.
Arkansas lost 5-0 to Stanford earlier this year at the Round Rock (Texas) Classic.
Williams weakens
Stanford right-hander Alex Williams earned Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year honors for a fantastic regular season that saw him wind up with an 8-1 record and 1.67 ERA.
His starts in the postseason have been rough, with losses to Texas State, UConn and Arkansas, and he hasn't completed the fifth inning in any of them.
The senior has allowed 20 earned runs in 14 postseason innings for an ERA of 12.86.
Ramage is No. 2
Arkansas senior Kole Ramage moved into sole possession of second place on the school's career appearances list with his one-out performance on Saturday.
He broke a tie with Kevin Kopps with his 93rd career appearance and moved into second behind Philip Stidham's school-best 105.
Defensive gems
Arkansas second baseman Robert Moore turned in the defensive play of the game in the ninth inning. Moore, playing behind the second-base bag, ranged to his right to field pinch hitter Joe Lomuscio's hot grounder and threw across his body, beating the runner by a half step as he finished his follow through in shallow left-center field.
Arkansas shortstop Jalen Battles ranged well into the hole to field a ground shot from Carter Graham and had to re-anchor his plant foot before gunning Graham by a half step for the final out of the third inning.
First baseman Peyton Stovall went high to field a throw from Connor Noland for the final out of the fifth inning, then came off the bag to field Moore's throw and make a tag on Brett Barrera for the final out of the sixth.
QB and starter
Arkansas right-hander Connor Noland is one of four players in college athletics to have started a Division I football game and a game at the College World Series.
Noland was the starting quarterback in Arkansas' 23-0 homecoming win over Tulsa on Oct. 20, 2018.
He got a no-decision in his previous CWS start, a 5-4 loss to Texas Tech in 2019 before taming Stanford in Saturday's 17-2 win.
Texas' James Street, Tennessee's Todd Helton and Texas A&M's Jeff Granger had previously accomplished the feat.
Triple up
Braydon Webb tripled off the right-field wall on the first pitch of the game on Saturday, establishing a couple of firsts.
The hit was Webb's first triple of the season and it was the first triple of the College World Series.
The triple was the first for Arkansas since the Hogs hit two in a 6-0 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on April 12. Arkansas hit 10 triples in its first 32 games and none in the next 30 games.
Webb gem
Braydon Webb's first-inning triple meant he has reached base in 18 consecutive games, tying his longest such stretch of the season.
Cayden Wallace singled in the fifth inning to extend his streak of reaching base to 18 straight games, and he later doubled and homered. Robert Moore owns the Hogs' season best with a streak of reaching base in 31 consecutive games, followed by Chris Lanzilli (27) and Zack Gregory (22).
Lanzilli had a pair of hits Saturday to extend his hitting streak to 12 games, tying a UA season high by himself and Wallace.
Faces in the crowd
Arkansas basketball Coach Eric Musselman, Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin and SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey were among the notable spectators at the College World Series on Saturday.
Musselman sat on the second row near the Arkansas dugout during what he said one day earlier would be his first College World Series game.
"Did he have his uni on?" Arkansas baseball Coach Dave Van Horn joked when asked about Musselman's attendance.
Van Horn had a brief conversation with Sankey outside the team's clubhouse following the Razorbacks' victory over Stanford. Sankey stayed at the ballpark for Saturday night's game between SEC rivals Ole Miss and Auburn.