James D. Smith photo / special for the Democrat-Gazette
Arkansas has scored four races in the last two entries and defeated No. 11 TCU 4-1 on Monday at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
Christian Franklin’s one-sided triple RBI field to the right center tied the game in the eighth inning, and Franklin scored on Cullen Smith’s RBI single in the next bout to give the Razorbacks a 2-1 lead.
Franklin’s coup came against TCU reliever Charles King. Smith chose his replacement, Haylen Green.
Arkansas (3-0) added two runs in the ninth. Casey Opitz doubled from Green to score Brady Slavens, who was hit by a pitch to lead the inning, and Opitz scored in a wild field by TCU reliever Harrison Beethe.
Kevin Kopps recorded the last six eliminated to secure Arkansas’s defense. He hit five, part of an 18-batting night to throw Razorback.
The No. 8 Razorbacks polished an impressive weekend for SEC West, which went 8-1 against Big 12. Ole Miss was also undefeated in the three-day event and Mississippi State was 2-1.
TCU (1-2) had the only victory of the conference. Texas Tech and Texas did not win.
The Horned Frogs led most of Monday’s game against the Razorbacks. TCU led 1-0 at the end of the second inning, when Luke Boyers scored with two outs against Arkansas holder Lael Lockhart.
Lockhart pitched 4 1/3 innings and hit eight hitters in his first game for the Razorbacks. He moved from Houston to Arkansas after the 2020 season.
TCU’s second year left player Austin Krob did not make a decision with four goalless entries. Krob, a former peacemaker, did not allow a race in his TCU career.
The Razorbacks are scheduled to play again on Thursday, with a 3pm home debut against the Southeast Missouri State at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Arkansas 4, TCU 1 – Middle 9th inning
Robert Moore countered by stranding Cayden Wallace on third base. Moore had a rough night – 0 out of 5 with three eliminations.
TCU will send its 3-4-5 hitters – Hunter Wolfe, Gene Wood and Austin Henry – to the base of the ninth. Kevin Kopps will launch again through Arkansas.
Arkansas 4, TCU 1 – Top 9th inning
Casey Opitz scored third in a wild field with an out. He and Cayden Wallace, who was walking, advanced in an arc of sacrifice by Zack Gregory.
All Razorbacks races took place in the eighth and ninth innings.
Arkansas 3, TCU 1 – Top 9th inning
Razorbacks have increased their leadership. Brady Slavens was hit by a pitch to lead the inning and he scored when Casey Opitz doubled up on the next attempt.
TCU is returning to the bullpen for the right-handed Harrison Beethe.
Arkansas 2, TCU 1 – End of 8th entry
Kevin Kopps hit a pair to finish the eighth entry and the Razorbacks have the lead going to ninth.
Kopps eliminated Elijah Nunez, the Horned Frogs’ initial hitter, for the second elimination, and he was sent off for discussing balls and hitting. TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle entered the field to discuss, but was not sent off.
Kopps eliminated Tommy Sacco to close the entry.
Arkansas 2, TCU 1 – 8th intermediate entry
Cullen Smith was out on a pickoff launch. That was the Razorbacks’ room at the bases tonight.
Braydon Webb attacked to end the halfway point.
Arkansas 2, TCU 1 – Top 8th inning
Cullen Smith’s only RBI in the right field gave Arkansas the lead. Christian Franklin scored.
Arkansas 1, TCU 1 – Top 8th inning
Christian Franklin’s triple RBI tied the game with one eliminated in the eighth inning. Jalen Battles started the entry with a single bloop and scored on foot.
Franklin led Charles King against the wall in the right center field. TCU goes to the bullpen and brings in the left-handed senior Haylen Green.
TCU 1, Arkansas 0 – End of 7th entry
Ryan Costeiu retired from TCU in the final of the seventh entry. Costeiu eliminated Gray Rodgers and Zach Humphreys and sent Brayden Taylor flying into the left field.
The top of the Arkansas order will hit the plate in the eighth inning. Jalen Battles, the nine-hole hitter, will lead.
TCU 1, Arkansas 0 – 7th intermediate entry
Arkansas missed a golden goal opportunity in the seventh, after Braydon Webb was hit with a shot and Brady Slavens chose to lead the inning.
So things got weird. Instead of hitting Casey Opitz, he pulled away and flew for the first one to leave. Cayden Wallace followed with a long shot to the left that initially seemed to be caught by Elijah Nunez, but the ball went loose when Nunez hit the ground.
Webb and Slavens backed off, and it looked like Slavens and Wallace could have crossed between second and first base, but a replay was not final. Both retreated to the first position and Slavens was out when the TCU stepped in second.
Webb advanced to third place to give Arkansas runners a corner. Hitter Zack Gregory dumped to end the shift.
Arkansas made three basic race mistakes tonight that cost him some scoring opportunities. There were no mistakes made in the first two games.
TCU 1, Arkansas 0 – End of 6th entry
There has been a lot of buzz around the right-handed freshman Jaxon Wiggins and he just showed why. He defeated the Horned Frogs with a quick 90s ball and a good ball to break.
Wiggins eliminated Hunter Wolfe, Gene Wood and Austin Henry, the Horned Frogs’ 3-4-5 hitters. He threw 15 shots, 12 for attacks.
TCU 1, Arkansas 0 – Middle 6th inning
The formation of Razorbacks is not doing much against TCU. Robert Moore and Christian Franklin gave up quickly, and Cullen Smith was called to face Charles King in sixth place.
This is the point in the game where you expect the programming to start producing, especially the top part of the order.
Jaxon Wiggins will launch for Razorbacks at the bottom of the sixth.
TCU 1, Arkansas 0 – End of 5th entry
Arkansas played a 6-4-3 double game to end the fifth inning. Jalen Battles and Robert Moore did a great job transforming him. Dave Van Horn talked a lot about this combination of the middle field and they have shown their potential a few times in Arlington.
Tommy Sacco was initially considered safe at first base because the referee said first baseman Cullen Smith’s foot came out of the bag. But the call was canceled in the replay review.
TCU 1, Arkansas 0 – 5th lower entry
Lael Lockhart’s night ended after taking a single walk for hitter Elijah Nunez in the fifth. It looked like Lockhart could have been pressed into a 2-2 shot from the inside.
Left-handed Evan Taylor replaces Lockhart.
Lockhart’s partial final line: 4 1/3 innings, 1 run, 2 strokes, 2 walks, 8 eliminations. The first runner is Lockhart’s responsibility.
He played 78 pitches. He is on the line of being the losing pitcher.
TCU 1, Arkansas 0 – Middle 5th inning
Charles King left the hot bullpen for TCU. The great right-hand hit Cayden Wallace, Jacob Nesbit and Jalen Battles in 11 shots with a good fast ball from the mid-90s.
Austin Krob’s final line for the TCU: 4 goalless entries, 1 hit, 3 walks, 5 eliminations, 1 draw.
Needless to say, the Razorbacks are not doing well tonight.
TCU 1, Arkansas 0 – End of 4th entry
Lael Lockhart did a great job mixing his break ball and fastball on the fourth inning and hit the touchline in 11 shots. Lockhart’s fastball looked as good as it had been all night and he now has eight kills.
He has already launched 68 pitches. Your pitch limit is around 75 tonight.
TCU 1, Arkansas 0 – 4th intermediate entry
Austin Krob lost command and gave Cullen Smith and Braydon Webb two consecutive six-ball rides, but Arkansas failed to do anything with the runners.
Brady Slavens swung in the only two shots he saw and leapt at the first baseman on dirty ground for the second exit. Then Casey Opitz was called in to close the entry.
Krob’s shot count is getting high – 68 out of four.
TCU 1, Arkansas 0 – End of 3rd entry
Lael Lockhart bypassed another base runner with two exits to get a third without a goal. Lockhart hit Gene Wood, who also stole second base without getting it right.
Austin Henry flew into the left field to close the entrance.
Lockhart hit the first two inning hitters to bring his strikeout total to five. His pitch count is at 57, so he can have one more inning before the Razorbacks go to the bullpen.
TCU 1, Arkansas 0 – 3rd intermediate entry
Jacob Nesbit did a unique hike, but that was all Arkansas achieved in the third. Jalen Battles hit looking at a 1-2 quick ball and Robert Moore was out in a bunt attempt at the first base line.
Pitcher Austin Krob looked good in his position and kicking Moore out. Krob looked good so far for horned frogs. He did not allow a race in more than 14 entries in his career at TCU.
TCU 1, Arkansas 0 – End of 2nd entry
TCU’s hitter, Elijah Nunez, flew to the central field to end the inning and runners on the second and third bases.
Lael Lockhart has already launched 40 pitches. The horned frogs are making him work deeply on the counts.
TCU 1, Arkansas 0 – 2nd lower entry
Lael Lockhart was twice a step away from leaving inning. He did not convert into either, and TCU leads thanks to the production of the lower third of the lineup.
Nine-hole hitter Luke Boyers hit an RBI single bloop over Arkansas second baseman Robert Moore with two outs. He scored Zach Humphreys, who arrived when he was hit on a quick 3-2 ball with two outs. Humphreys went first to third on a Brayden Taylor single.
Arkansas 0, TCU 0 – Middle of 2nd entry
Dave Van Horn said he loved the Arkansas base running on his debut against Texas Tech, but he couldn’t have liked what he saw in the second inning.
Brady Slavens was out on third base on a ball on the left side of the infield, and moments later Casey Opitz was caught on first base in a shot from receiver Zach Humphreys to end the inning.
The Slavs reached in a single stroke and advanced to second base on a barrier.
Arkansas 0, TCU 0 – End of 1st entry
Lael Lockhart worked around a unique walk to beach a TCU runner at the first entrance.
Lockhart eliminated hitter Elijah Nunez and three-hole hitter Hunter Wolfe, and made hitter Gene Wood attack. Arkansas first baseman Cullen Smith made a small choice at the launch of Jalen Battles to retire Wood and end the shift.
Arkansas 0, TCU 0 – 1st intermediate entry
The Razorbacks dropped 1-2-3 at the top of the first round. Robert Moore was caught looking for the third blow, Christian Franklin flew to the center of the field and Cullen Smith fell.
Let’s look at Lael Lockhart at the bottom of the shift.
Pre-game
Arkansas and TCU are preparing for a first pitch at 7:38 pm, which will be 1 hour and 38 minutes later than originally scheduled.
Razorbacks are the road crew tonight and are wearing their gray outfits with red hats. TCU is at your house wearing white T-shirts with purple hats.
Left-handed Austin Krob is TCU’s pitcher tonight. The second year of the third year did not allow a deserved race last season in 11 2/3 entries.
Arkansas will be left-back Lael Lockhart, a senior who moved after two seasons as number one starter in Houston.
Razorbacks are starting the same players on the pitch from the first two games. Arkansas defeated Texas Tech 13-9 and Texas 4-0 early in the clash.
TCU is 1-1 with a 7-3 loss to Ole Miss and a 3-2 victory over the state of Mississippi.