[UPDATED] Vanderbilt 2, Arkansas 0: What went wrong? (with video)

HOOVER, Ala. — Bo Bigham had a big night and Jeremy Heatley was great on the mound in five innings against Vanderbilt, but only four other Hogs had hits and one mistake cost the Hogs late in a 2-0 loss Wednesday night in the SEC Tournament.

Bigham was 3 for 4 at the plate, but it was Sam Murphy‘s wild pitch in the sixth inning that broke the game open. Aaron Westlake, who scored on the wild pitch, also hit a solo home run off DJ Baxendale in the eighth inning to wrap up the win.

But don’t discount Vanderbilt, especially after the job starter Sonny Gray did in his seven innings on the mound. He struck out 8 and allowed 7 hits in the shutout. He threw 110 pitches and hit 99 mph on the radar gun several times. Heatley struck out 7 and allowed 3 hits in his five innings.

So what went wrong for the Hogs, who were missing two of its best hitters in Zack Cox and Brett Eibner? Well, offense, obviously.

“It’s pretty frustrating, but we didn’t get the big hit when we needed it,” Bigham said. “We’ve been lacking that for a few weeks now. We’ve just got to go into tomorrow and take care of business and play the right way.”

Arkansas plays top-seeded Florida in an elimination game Thursday at roughly 1 p.m. Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn says he may send ace Drew Smyly (8-1, 2.58 ERA) to the mound. The sophomore has been battling a blister on his throwing hand, but is available for a few innings of work and could even start against the Gators. Still, that starting role is up in the air entering Thursday morning. Mike Bolsinger (6-3, 4.16 ERA) is also available.

“We’ll do whatever we have to do to win that game to stay here,” Van Horn said.

Make sure to check Rick Fires‘ recap and our SEC Tournament notes in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and WholeHogSports.com in the morning.

VIDEO

Looking for hits

May 27, 2010 — Arkansas came up with seven hits but were unable to come up with a run in a 2-0 loss to Vanderbilt in the first round of the SEC Tournament. Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn and second baseman Bo Bigham, who had three hits, react and look forward to its elimination game against Florida.

Make sure to check out WholeHogSports.com and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for more coverage. You can also follow us on Twitter for breaking news updates with @bmarcello and @wholehogsports.

— Brandon Marcello