By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas entered its weekend series with South Carolina enjoying tremendous success on Friday nights, winning seven of eight times during Southeastern Conference play.
South Carolina has been even better, though, and added another impressive win to its resume to open a series between two of the league’s best teams.
The Gamecocks leaned on their pitching staff to pick up a 3-2 victory in front of an announced crowd of 9,217 in Baum Stadium. Starter Blake Cooper and three relievers combined to limit Arkansas to a season-low three hits, frustrating the Razorbacks potent lineup throughout the night.
It helped the Gamecocks improve to 9-0 on Friday night in SEC play this season and snapped the Hogs’ five-game win streak in series openers. It also pushed South Carolina (39-11, 18-7 in SEC) two games ahead of the Razorbacks (38-12, 16-9) in the battle for the league’s regular season title.
“They just played better than us and they pitched better than us,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. “That’s why they have the record they have.”
Cooper (10-0) was responsible for most of Arkansas’ frustrations. In another matchup of undefeated pitchers, the right-hander outdueled Arkansas starter Drew Smyly (8-1) by getting the Razorbacks to chase pitches the entire night.
Arkansas did get to Cooper for a run in the first when Zack Cox doubled in Collin Kuhn, who had walked, to tie the game at 1-1. The Hogs evened the score in the sixth, too, when Andy Wilkins doubled in Brett Eibner, who was hit by pitch.
But it was the only runs the Hogs could muster off Cooper, who struck out seven and walked two.
“They’re a pesky club,” said Cooper, who improved to 7-0 in nine Friday night starts in SEC play. “As a starting pitcher, you want to control the damage. I was able to do that and throw a lot of strikes.
“I believe both guys I walked or hit scored, so luckily I was able to minimize that.”
South Carolina had trouble with Smyly, too.
Arkansas’ ace ran into trouble in the first inning when he loaded the bases with no outs, but only allowed one run. The lefty improved as the game went on, matching Cooper pitch for pitch.
South Carolina finally got the game-winning hit in the seventh, when Jackie Bradley Jr. doubled in Whit Merrifield for a 3-2 lead. Smyly — who threw 121 pitches — left after the seventh inning after allowing three runs on six hits with nine strikeouts.
“He gave up the big two-out double that gave them the lead, but he pitched well,” Van Horn said.
Van Horn said before the series that the teams mirrored each other. So it was fitting that both went to the bullpen for the final two innings.
Arkansas’ DJ Baxendale retired six of the seven batters he faced, but the Hogs’ offense couldn’t crack three South Carolina relievers.
The best opportunity came in the eighth when Ethan Carter walked Kuhn to open the inning. After Kuhn moved to second on Bo Bigham’s sacrifice bunt, South Carolina coach Ray Tanner brought lefty Michael Roth in to face the left-handed Cox.
Roth got Cox to strike out on three pitches, then Tanner went back to the bullpen to bring in closer Matt Price to face Eibner. Price walked Eibner, but got Wilkins to ground out to end the threat.
“I was a little nervous, but I had to just go out there and make my pitches,” Price said.
Price stepped back on the mound and retired Monk Kreder, Matt Vinson and Tim Carver in the ninth to earn his sixth save. The six through nine hitters in Arkansas’ lineup finished 0-for-15.
“We had a runner at second two different times to try and tie up the game and we just never got the hit,” said Van Horn, whose team also stranded three runners at third base through four innings. “They got the hit, we didn’t, they beat us 3-2. It was a good pitchers duel, but disappointing on our side because we didn’t swing the bats well.”
Arkansas will try to rebound today, though, and even the series when it sends right-hander Mike Bolsinger (5-2) to the mound at 2:05 p.m. South Carolina will counter with righty Sam Dyson (4-4).
