Arkansas beats Vandy 6-4, advances to SEC semis

Friday, May 28, 2021, Vol. 45, No. 22

HOOVER, Ala. (AP) — Matt Goodheart drove in three runs and Kevin Kopps pitched three perfect innings in relief to help Arkansas advance to the SEC Tournament semifinals with a 6-4 win over Vanderbilt on Thursday night.

Kopps came on in the seventh with a runner on and none out and retired all nine batters he faced, striking out five for his ninth save of the season.

Ryan Costeiu (7-2) picked up the win for the top-seeded Razorbacks (44-10). He struck out two and gave up a run in 1 1/3 innings of relief.

Vandy starter Kumar Rocker (11-3) retired the side in the first inning but struggled from there. He left the game after Goodheart's two-run double in the fourth made it 4-3 for the Razorbacks. Rocker stuck out six and allowed five earned runs in 3 1/3 innings.

The No. 4 seed Commodores (40-14) face fifth-seeded Ole Miss in the fourth round on Friday. The winner advances to a semifinal matchup with Arkansas.