FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas started sluggish Tuesday night, but like several other times this season, its offense woke up late.
Kyle Robinson had five RBIs, including two during a three-run seventh inning, as the No. 18 Razorbacks beat Tennessee-Martin 6-2 at Baum Stadium.
Arkansas (34-17) improved to 22-6 at home and finished its nonconference slate with a 21-3 record.
“I feel fortunate to win the game and was glad to see that seventh inning come together after one out,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. “We put together a pretty good rally and started taking a few pitches, and making the pitchers work a little bit harder on the mound.
“The team was sluggish. No we can get our mind right and get ready for Ole Miss.”
The Razorbacks scored three runs on Robinson’s first inning home run, but struggled to produce little more offensively prior to the seventh. Arkansas mustered just two hits between the second and sixth innings and stranded seven runners for the game.
“We weren’t having very good at-bats,” Van Horn said. “Guys were trying to hit the ball out of the park instead of staying through the middle. We made some adjustments there late and it was just one of those ho-hum games.”
Dominic Ficociello was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force home Tim Carver with two outs in the inning. Robinson followed with an RBI single to give the Razorbacks a more comfortable 6-2 lead.
Arkansas has now outscored its opponents 133-65 this season in the sixth inning or later.
“If it’s a close game, we like to break away and give ourselves a little leeway late in games,” Ficociello said. “For the most part, there’s just something weird about our team that we start having better at-bats and stringing together base hits later in the game.
“There is a sense of urgency to make sure we don’t lose one we should win.”
The Razorbacks got a solid pitching effort from a quartet of pitchers. Freshman Brandon Moore, who started the game on a pitch count, picked up his fourth win of the year by lasting three innings.
Moore retired the first six batters he faced, but the Skyhawks (18-32) touched up the right-hander in the third inning on a two-run single by catcher Chase Okey to pull UT-Martin within 3-2.
Cade Lynch, who lasted less than two innings in a start on Sunday at South Carolina, pitched three scoreless innings in relief. Freshmen Colby Suggs (two innings) and Nolan Sanburn (one) were also had scoreless outings.
“I thought they did a pretty good job,” Van Horn said. “Brandon had two really good innings. In the third he elevated his pitches, left some stuff up and almost got out of it.
“Lynch came in and did a pretty good job…Between the two, they gave us six innings and that’s what we were hoping for max.”
Arkansas now turns its attention to a pivotal three-game series against Ole Miss at Baum Stadium, beginning Thursday. The Razorbacks enter the set in a four-way tie for the lead in the SEC West.
All six teams in the division are still in the running to win the division title, while all six teams could miss out on playing in the eight-team SEC Tournament next week in Hoover, Ala.
“All the teams in the west are thinking about the games we let slip away or woulda-coulda-shoulda,” Van Horn said. “Now it comes down to the final weekend. This is what it’s all about.”
You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.
