Arkansas Falls to Tennessee in High-Scoring Series Opener

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – No. 8 Arkansas, despite recording 15 hits, lost 10-7 to No. 17 Tennessee in the series opener Thursday night at Baum-Walker Stadium.

The defeat drops Arkansas (41-12, 18-10 SEC) three games behind first-place Texas while they hold second place in the SEC standings with just two conference games remaining.

Tomorrow, Arkansas will have right-hander Aiden Jimenez making his first start of the season, looking to even the series against Tennessee. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network+.

Logan Maxwell led the Razorbacks with a three-hit performance, finishing 3-for-4 with an RBI. Four other players, including Charles Davalan and Kuhio Aloy, also recorded multi-hit games.

Arkansas initially took a 2-1 lead through three innings but struggled to maintain it. Tennessee starter Marcus Phillips allowed three runs on seven hits in 4.1 innings while Arkansas starter Zach Root gave up four runs on seven hits and two walks in 3.2 innings.

Kuhio Aloy managed to cut the deficit to 4-3 with an RBI double in the fifth, but Tennessee continued to pull away, scoring three runs in the seventh.

Down 7-3, Arkansas rallied in the eighth, scoring three runs led by Wehiwa Aloy’s two-run single. However, Tennessee responded with three runs in the top of the ninth.

Thomas Jr. helped Arkansas cut the deficit to three with a single in the bottom of the ninth, but Volunteer pitcher Nate Snead closed out the game, preserving Tennessee’s win.

Arkansas left 11 runners on base and had a low success rate of 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position.