The Razorback's pitching has been their main strength all season, but that was not the case on Tuesday night.
The 2nd inning was probably the most eventful inning I have covered at Baum Stadium this season. In the top half, the Rebels broke the ice and put two on the board. Erik VanMeetren lead off the inning with a single. Morgan Stotts followed him with a walk. Stotts advanced the third on a sac fly to center field from the next hitter. That set up a sac fly to center for Dylan Ellis, which scored VanMeetren. Arkansas could have been out of the inning, but Michael Bernal bobbled a grounder at short, which extended the inning. It was back to the top of the order for the Rebels, where their lead off hitter, Joey Armstrong doubled down the right field line scoring Stotts.
The Diamond Hogs responded with some offense of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Krisjon Wilkerson started the inning with a single back up the middle. After Baxendale struck out, Bobby Wernes walked to put two runners on. Michael Bernal stepped up to the plate, after showing little power this season, and blasted a 3-run bomb into the Razorback bullpen to give the Hogs a lead. I was jubilant because it was the first over-the-fence home run I have seen from the Hogs this season. Brian Anderson had an inside the park on early this season, which was cool too.
That was all she wrote for the Razorback's starter, Colin Poche, who allowed two runs (one earned) in his two innings of work. It was a disappointing start for a guy who came in with a 1.27 ERA.
The Razorbacks couldn't enjoy the lead for long, because UNLV scored a run on a sac fly by Stotts in the top half of the 3rd.
No to be out done, the Hogs regained the lead in the bottom of the the 3rd by plating Joe Serrano, who lead off the inning with a single. That was the last positive thing that happened for the Hogs.
UNLV proceeded to put up seven runs over the next three innings, increasing their lead to 10-4. It was three innings full of walks, errors, pitching changes, catcher's interference and a plunked batter by the Razorbacks.
The pitching staff did not have a great night, but the defense wasn't any help either. Bernal, Wernes and Baxendale all committed errors. It was the sixth error of the season for Bernal at shortstop.
Arkansas was able to add two more runs in the bottom of the seventh. With the bases loaded, Anderson got an RBI the easy way by drawing a walk. Eric Fisher added another run with a sac fly RBI.
They wouldn't go down without a fight. Anderson extended his hitting streak to nine games, with a solo shot in the bottom of the ninth. It still wasn't enough, as the Hogs fell 10-7.
The Razorbacks will get another shot at UNLV tomorrow, with the first pitch set of 6:05 p.m.