FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) - A big day from center fielder Andrew Benintendi helps the University of Arkansas to a 5-2 victory over Tennessee Sunday at Baum Stadium to split the series.
Benintendi went 3-for-3 with a double, two singles, a run batted in and a run scored to send his batting average to an SEC-best .405 on the year. He finished the series going 6-for-7 and has reached base in 29 of his last 40 plate appearances.
Arkansas jumped on Tennessee in the first inning when Serrano raced home on a wild pitch to score the first run of the game, before Clark Eagan and Benintendi added RBI singles in the second inning to give the Razorbacks a 3-1 lead.
After the Volunteers cut the lead to 3-2 in the fifth inning, Arkansas answered back with Brett McAfee on a single to right center to plate Benintendi and create a two-run lead. Rick Nomura blasted his fourth homer of the year in the sixth inning to give the Razorbacks a 5-2 lead.
Keaton McKinney (5-1) picked up the win, lasting 4.2 innings and giving up two runs on three hits, while striking out two. He retired nine of the first 12 Tennessee hitters in the game, including nine straight at one point. Dominic Taccolini came on in relief and stranded the tying run at third base in the fifth inning before working 2.1 hitless frames with one strikeout to earn his first save of the year.
The Razorbacks have not dropped an SEC series over the last seven weekends, posting a record of 14-6 during the stretch with one conference weekend remaining in the regular season.
Arkansas travels to Omaha, Nebraska to take on Creighton next at TD Ameritrade Park on Tuesday. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.