BOX SCORE

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Evansville baseball team was held to just three hits against top-ranked Arkansas Sunday afternoon at Baum Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark., as the Razorbacks completed the sweep of the Purple Aces with a 10-2 win.
 
Evansville (1-5) starter Kyle Lloyd allowed four runs on eight hits in his 6.0 innings of work, notching three strikeouts around two walks and exited the game with UE trailing, 4-2, but Arkansas (7-1) broke open the game with a five-run seventh, recording six of its 16 hits in that frame.
 
“Unfortunately this was another game that got away from us on a big inning that was given up by our bullpen,” head coach Wes Carroll said.  “Hopefully we are a better team by having come down here to Arkansas and playing in front of some big crowds.  Overall, it was a great experience for our guys and hopefully we will start seeing the rewards from it Tuesday at UT Martin.”
 
The Razorbacks plated a pair of runs in their first at-bat, getting an RBI single from Eric Fisher and added a run in the bottom of the fourth, when Jake Wise single home Brian Anderson to give Arkansas a 3-0 lead after four innings.
 
UE cut the lead to 4-2 in its half of the fifth, when senior Jason Hockemeyer scored on an RBI single by senior Chris Pearson and freshman Shain Showers delivered a sacrifice fly to center that allowed senior Andy Lasher to tag and score.
 
Jacob Mahan belted a solo homer for Arkansas in the bottom of the sixth to push the Razorbacks’ lead to 5-2, before freshman Phillip Diehl took over on the mound for Lloyd prior to Arkansas’ half of the seventh.  The Razorbacks wasted no time jumping on Diehl, scoring three runs on five hits, including a two-run single by Anderson that put Arkansas in front 8-2. 
 
With just one out in the inning, senior Josh Biggs replaced Diehl and got the final two outs, but not before the Razorbacks scored two more runs on a single to left by Wise for the final tallies of the game.
 
Lloyd (0-1) took the loss in his first decision of the year, while Arkansas starter Trey Killian (1-0) recorded his first collegiate win by going 4.2 innings and allowing just two unearned runs on two hits.
 
Arkansas’ bullpen was extremely effective against the Aces, as four Razorback relievers combined to allow just one hit over the last 4.1 innings.
 
UE will return to the diamond for a pair of midweek games against UT Martin and Vanderbilt.  Evansville will take on the Skyhawks Tuesday, Feb. 26, at 3 p.m. in Martin, Tenn., before making the trip to Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Feb. 27,  for a 4 p.m. tilt with the nationally-ranked Commodores.