HOOVER, Ala. – The Razorbacks’ trip to the SEC Tournament has come to an end.
No. 3 seed Arkansas (38-18) was bested by No. 7 seed Florida (37-21), 7-5, in Friday’s elimination game at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. The Hogs finished 0-2 in the tournament, including Wednesday’s loss to No. 11 seed Alabama.
Florida tagged Arkansas starter Connor Noland for five runs on six hits and a walk in his 4 2/3 innings of work. The right-hander from Greenwood, Ark., struck out five but departed the game with the Razorbacks trailing.
Down by five runs in the top of the sixth, Cayden Wallace and Michael Turner hit back-to-back solo homers to narrow Arkansas’ deficit to three. Wallace’s blast was hit 11th of the season, while Turner’s homer was his seventh of the year.
Florida, however, reextended its lead in the bottom half of the frame with a pair of runs, including a leadoff solo home run. The Gators would hold a 7-2 advantage headed into the seventh inning.
The Razorbacks put together a two-out rally in the ninth after Jalen Battles drew a leadoff walk to start the inning. Battles came around to score on a passed ball before Braydon Webb jacked the Hogs’ third home run of the day.
Webb’s team-leading 14th homer of the season scored Zack Gregory, who had drawn a two-out walk, to make it a two-run ballgame in Hoover. Arkansas would not get any closer than that, however, as Florida reliever Ryan Slater finished off his three-inning save to seal the Razorbacks’ 7-5 defeat.
The Hogs’ bullpen was once again steady in relief. Evan Taylor (0.1 IP, 1 SO), Brady Tygart (0.1 IP, 1 SO), Zebulon Vermillion (0.2 IP, 1 SO), Hagen Smith (1.0 IP, 2 SO) and Jaxon Wiggins (1.0 IP, 2 SO) combined for 3 1/3 innings of two-run ball after Noland’s departure from the game in the fourth.
Arkansas will learn its NCAA Tournament fate in the next few days. Regional sites are announced this Sunday, while the selection show is set for 11 a.m. Monday on ESPN2. The NCAA Tournament will begin with the regional round on June 3-6, continue with super regionals on June 10-13 and finish with the College World Series on June 17-27.