FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) – If the Arkansas baseball season opener in any indication of whats to come in 2015, the top of the Razorbacks’ lineup could be among the best in country.
Arkansas’s first four hitters combined for seven hits and drove in seven as the Razorbacks posted an 11-4 win over North Dakota inside Baum Stadium.
“It’s good to get a win in the first ball game obviously,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. “I thought our players did a really nice job of just staying under control and not panicking when we were down 3-0. It was a good team win. We used a lot of people and hit the ball extremely hard all day for the most part.”
Clark Eagan, Arkansas’s lead off hitter, went 3-for-5 with three runs batted in and a pair of extra base hits. Joe Serrano added a pair of hits for Arkansas while Andrew Benintendi drove in two more.
“Being leadoff hitter, you just want to set the tone and anytime you can do that, I feel like it will just help the offense,” Eagan said. “It felt great to get a few hits and get on base and keep the offense rolling.”
Arkansas found itself in a 3-0 hole after two and a half innings as starter James Teague was chased in the third but the Razorbacks bullpen held North Dakota at bay over the final six and 2/3 innings. Keaton McKinney came in to stop the big inning in the third while Jonah Patten finished off the final two innings while striking out five of the seven batters he faced.
Arkansas and North Dakota will wrap up the series on Saturday as they will play a doubleheader. Game one of the twin bill is set for 11:35 a.m.
