Hogs Beat Hochevar and Vols, 4-1

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Arkansas squared off with arguably the nation's best pitcher Friday night against Tennessee and its ace Luke Hochevar and came away with a 4-1 win in front of 1,852 fans at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Hochevar (8-2) pitched eight innings and allowed four runs - three earned - on seven hits and a season-high five walks. The loss was just his second of the season for the preseason All-American.
Arkansas has now won nine straight games to improve to 30-6 on the season and 8-5 in the SEC. The Hogs are now tied for first in the SEC's Western Division after Alabama lost at Florida, 9-8 Friday night.
Arkansas pounded out nine hits with Craig Gentry leading the way with a 4 for 4 performance. Scott Hode went 2 for 4 and John Henry Marquardt tied his career high with three RBI.
Arkansas starting pitcher Nick Schmidt worked 5.2 innings to earn his fifth win of the season against one loss. He did not allow a Tennessee run and only three hits while walking one and striking out two. Schmidt became the first Arkansas starting pitcher to work five innings in 13 games (March 23 at Centenary).
"He got ahead of hitters early in the count and mixed in his curveball and changeup more tonight," Arkansas Head Coach Dave Van Horn said. "He had a couple of quick innings that built up his confidence and then we hit that two-run home run that propelled him."
Marquardt got the Razorbacks off to a quick start off Tennessee's ace with a two-run home run in the third inning. The two-run shot was set up by a bunt single by nine-hole hitter Gentry.
Schmidt worked out of a bases-loaded one-out jam in the fifth inning, getting a fly ball to left field and a ground ball to third base. Scott Hode booted a tailor-made double play ball to setup the Volunteers' scoring opportunity.
Charley Boyce came on and pitched 3.1 innings to earn his second save of the season. He allowed one run on a solo home run by Chase Headley in the bottom of the ninth inning.
The Razorbacks extended the lead to 3-0 in the sixth inning with the help of the Vols. Tennessee catcher J.P. Arencibia threw a pickoff attempt into right field allowing Jake Dugger, who reach base with a walk, to move up to third base. Dugger scored on a RBI ground out by Clay Goodwin.
The Hogs pushed another run across in the seventh inning on a RBI fielder's choice off the bat of Marquardt for his third RBI of the game.
The two teams will return to the diamond at 6 p.m. Saturday night for the second game of the series. The game will be televised on CSS, which is only available in the Little Rock area on Comcast Cable.
 Arkansas Razorbacks #10 Arkansas at #23 Tennessee Apr 15, 2005 at Knoxville, Tenn. (Lindsey Nelson Stad.) Arkansas 4 (30-6,8-5 SEC) Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Brock Bond dh............ 3 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 John Henry Marquardt 2b.. 5 1 1 3 0 2 3 2 2 Jake Dugger lf........... 4 1 0 0 1 2 4 0 3 Danny Hamblin 1b......... 4 0 1 0 0 0 9 0 0 Clay Goodwin 3b.......... 3 0 0 1 1 1 1 4 0 Scott Hode ss............ 4 0 2 0 0 0 3 2 0 Blake Parker rf.......... 3 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 3 Stephen Robison rf...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Brian Walker c........... 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 1 0 Craig Gentry cf.......... 4 1 4 0 0 0 3 0 0 Nick Schmidt p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Charley Boyce p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals................... 34 4 9 4 5 8 27 9 8 Tennessee 1 (23-10,7-5 SEC) Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Alley cf................. 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 King ss.................. 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 6 0 Iorg rf.................. 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 Fitzgerald rf........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Headley 3b............... 3 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 Arencibia c.............. 4 0 0 0 0 1 8 0 1 Edmundson dh............. 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 Rivera 2b................ 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 0 Suarez 1b................ 3 0 1 0 0 1 10 1 1 Borbon lf................ 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 Hochevar p............... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 Cobb p.................. 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Totals................... 33 1 4 1 1 4 27 15 7 Score by Innings R H E ------------------------------------------- Arkansas............ 002 001 100 - 4 9 2 Tennessee........... 000 000 001 - 1 4 1 ------------------------------------------- E - Goodwin(6); Hode(9); Arencibia(3). DP - Tennessee 1. LOB - AR 8; Tennessee 7. 2B - Hode(13). HR - Marquardt(2); Headley(9). HBP - Suarez. SB - Bond(2); Marquardt(3); Gentry 2(10). Arkansas IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Nick Schmidt........ 5.2 3 0 0 1 2 21 22 - Charley Boyce....... 3.1 1 1 1 0 2 12 13 - Tennessee IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Hochevar............ 8.0 7 4 3 5 6 29 34 - Cobb................ 1.0 2 0 0 0 2 5 5 - Win - Schmidt (5-1). Loss - Hochevar (8-2). Save - Boyce (2). WP - Boyce(4); Hochevar(4). HBP - by Boyce (Suarez). BK - Hochevar(1). Inherited runners/scored: Boyce 1/0. Pitches/strikes: None. Umpires - HP: Tony Walsh 1B: Tony Maners 3B: Larry Short Start: 7:02 pm Time: 2:40 Attendance: 1852 Game notes: ID-286989 Iorg ejected in the top of the ninth. Arkansas assistant coach Matt Deggs was ejected in the bottom of the ninth. Game: AR36