By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com
FAYETTEVILLE — When Arkansas center fielder Brett Eibner hit a two-run home run in the first inning, the Razorbacks felt like their problems at the plate had finally come to an end.
After two straight frustrating performances against South Carolina’s pitching, the Razorbacks had their first home run of the weekend. They had the lead. And confidence.
“We were swinging the bats pretty good the first few innings,” Eibner said “Then it almost seemed like we thought it was enough.
“It’s never enough in the SEC.”
South Carolina’s pitching staff continued its dominance after the first-inning hiccup, pitching the Gamecocks to a 5-3 win in front of an announced crowd of 7,765 in Baum Stadium.
It helped South Carolina complete an impressive sweep in a series that had major implications in the Southeastern Conference championship chase.
The Gamecocks (41-11, 20-7 in SEC) enter next weekend’s series against Florida (37-12, 20-7) with a chance to win the title. Meanwhile, the Razorbacks (38-14, 16-11) were eliminated from the title hunt with the home loss, fell out of first place in the SEC Western Division, and damaged their hopes of earning one of the eight national seeds for the NCAA Tournament.
Arkansas can blame an offense that managed five runs and 16 hits in three games. It was the Hogs’ worst offensive weekend of the year.
“Baseball is a funny game,” Arkansas catcher James McCann said. “You’re always going to have somebody that’s not hot at the moment.
“Unfortunately for us it happened to be a theme throughout the lineup.”
Eibner’s blast off South Carolina starter Tyler Webb was his 18th of the season and helped Arkansas counter a Gamecocks’ run in the top of the first. After South Carolina tied the game, Collin Kuhn hit a solo home run off Webb in the third to give the Razorbacks a 3-2 lead.
But the production at the plate ended. Five South Carolina relievers combined to shut out Arkansas on two hits in the final six innings.
The biggest frustration came in the eighth when Matt Reynolds, who replaced an injured Zack Cox (back), singled to open the inning. But Eibner struck out, Wilkins struck out, then Reynolds was caught trying to steal second.
“Every time they went to the pen and we had anything going, they got us out,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. “We didn’t move anybody around. We didn’t drive anybody in.”
Arkansas’ lead did hold until the eighth inning, though. TJ Forrest, DJ Baxendale and Geoffrey Davenport managed to hold the Gamecocks to two runs on five hits through seven innings.
But Van Horn opted to pull Davenport — who struck out the side in the seventh — in favor of closer Jordan Pratt (3-1) for the eighth. Pratt walked the first batter he faced and South Carolina’s Whit Merrifield, who hit a solo home run in the third, made him pay for the mistake.
Merrifield tried to advance the runner with a sacrifice bunt, but fouled off two pitches. He swung at the next one, driving it over the outfield wall for his second home run of the day. It gave South Carolina a 4-3 lead.
“That’s bad coaching if you asked the guy to bunt to begin with,” South Carolina coach Ray Tanner said with a laugh. “What am I bunting for anyway if the guy can hit a home run? He leads our team in home runs and I’m bunting? …
“Sometimes you have to be lucky.”
Adrian Morales added a solo home run off Pratt in the ninth to make it 5-3. South Carolina closer Matt Price retired the side in the ninth to collect his seventh save and cap the sweep.
Arkansas, which went 12-3 in the first half of league play, is 4-8 in its past 12 games. The pitching staff was problematic for part of the stretch, but the offense is now the concern.
The Razorbacks entered the weekend with a team batting average of .322. It is now .314.
“We’ve got to get some guys in the middle of the order backing some guys up,” Van Horn said.
Said McCann: “They pitched the heck out of it this weekend. It’s a deflating feeling.”
Arkansas won’t have much time to wallow in the disappointment, though.
The Razorbacks will be back on the field at Oklahoma on Tuesday. Then they open their final regular season series at Vanderbilt on Thursday.
“We happen to be in a little funk right now,” Eibner said. “But I believe in our team and I believe we can get out of it.”
