ATHENS, Ga. – Georgia (22-17, 6-11 SEC) belted four home runs, including three in the second inning, and pushed its way past No. 5 Arkansas (30-9, 11-6 SEC), 7-3, to clinch the series win on Friday night at Foley Field.
The Razorbacks, who have not won a regular-season weekend series in Athens since 2015, have now lost the opening two games of an SEC series for the first time since 2019 at Vanderbilt. Arkansas will look to avoid its first sweep at the hands of an SEC opponent since 2018 at Mississippi State in tomorrow’s series finale against Georgia.
Arkansas starter Will McEntire matched his season high with six strikeouts, but the veteran right-hander was tagged for six runs on six hits, including all four home runs, and three walks in Friday night’s loss. Georgia hammered three homers in the second inning, swatting back-to-back solo jacks before adding a two-run home run to open an early 4-0 lead.
The Bulldogs extended their lead to five in the third inning with a two-out RBI single and carried their offensive onslaught into the fourth by hitting their fourth and final home run of the ballgame. Georgia plated another two-out run in the bottom half of the sixth against the Arkansas bullpen to give themselves a 7-0 advantage.
Offensively, the Razorbacks could not muster much against Bulldog starter Charlie Goldstein. The left-hander twirled six shutout innings against the Hogs, allowing just three hits while striking out six.
Arkansas had better success against Georgia’s bullpen. The Hogs scored three runs in the eighth inning to cut their deficit to four thanks to Brady Slavens’ two-run homer and Jace Bohrofen’s RBI sacrifice fly.
The Razorbacks, however, would not get any closer than that. The Bulldogs worked a 1-2-3 top half of the ninth to preserve their 7-3 win and clinch the series victory in Athens.
Caleb Cali (2-for-3) and Harold Coll (2-for-4) each recorded multiple hits in Friday night’s setback to lead the Razorback offense. In relief of McEntire, right-hander Cody Adcock tossed three innings of one-run ball with two strikeouts.
First pitch in the series finale between Arkansas and Georgia is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT Saturday, April 22, on SEC Network+ with Matt Stewart (play-by-play) and Jason Jacobs (analyst) on the call from Foley Field.
For complete coverage of Arkansas baseball, follow the Hogs on Twitter (@RazorbackBSB), Instagram (@RazorbackBSB) and Facebook (Arkansas Razorback Baseball).
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Note to Our Readers: The previous story was sourced directly from the University of Arkansas Office of Communications, Oliver Grigg.
