HOOVER, Ala. \u2013 Camden Kozeal swatted two homers and finished with five RBI to lead No. 12 Arkansas (38-19) to an 8-1 win against No. 5 Texas (40-13) Friday at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in the quarterfinal round of the SEC Tournament.<\/p>\n
With the win, the Razorbacks punched their ticket to the semifinal round of the SEC Tournament for the first time since the 2023 campaign. Seventh-seeded Arkansas, seeking its first championship game appearance since 2021, will square off against sixth-ranked and sixth-seeded Auburn at 4 p.m. Saturday, May 23, on SEC Network with Karl Ravech (play-by-play), Chris Burke (analyst), Kyle Peterson (analyst) and Kris Budden (reporter) on the call from inside The Hoover Met.<\/p>\n
The Hogs tagged Longhorn starter Cody Howard, who lasted just two innings on the mound, for six runs on five hits, including a double and two home runs. Kozeal blasted the go-ahead two-run homer in the first inning, his team-leading 19th long ball of the season, before belting a 450-foot three-run homer over the batter\u2019s eye in center in the second, reaching the 20-homer mark for the year and opening Arkansas\u2019 lead to a commanding 6-0 margin in the process.<\/p>\n
The Razorback shortstop, who finished Friday\u2019s game with three hits, is now slashing .317\/.402\/.679 through his 56 games played on the year. His 20 home runs are tied with for fifth most in a single season by an Arkansas player.<\/p>\n
After throwing 21 pitches in the bottom of the first inning, Razorback starter Hunter Dietz departed Friday\u2019s ballgame with a bruised shin when he was struck in the right leg by a 105 mph comebacker. The Hogs\u2019 First Team All-SEC left-hander allowed one run on one hit and a pair of walks in his shortened outing on the mound against the Longhorns.<\/p>\n
In relief of Dietz, Steele Eaves (2.1 IP, 5 R) and Gabe Gaeckle (6.0 IP, 9 SO) emerged from the bullpen and combined for 8.1 shutout frames with 14 strikeouts to seal Arkansas\u2019 8-1 win. Gaeckle matched his career long in innings pitched with his six-inning relief outing while also matching his season high in strikeouts with nine, one shy of his career high.<\/p>\n
Along with Kozeal\u2019s three-hit game, TJ Pompey (2-for-5, 2B, SB), Nolan Souza (2-for-4, RBI) and Maika Niu (2-for-4, 2B) each finished with multi-hit performances in Friday\u2019s win. Souza drove in a run on a single up the middle in the bottom of the first inning, while Carter Rutenbar and Reese Robinett each collected an RBI in the Razorbacks\u2019 two-run fifth.<\/p>\n
For complete coverage of Arkansas baseball, follow the Hogs on Twitter (@RazorbackBSB<\/a>), Instagram (@RazorbackBSB<\/a>) and Facebook (Arkansas Razorback Baseball<\/a>).<\/p>\n