OMAHA, NE. (KNWA) – Arkansas had no interest in ending its season Tuesday night in an elimination game at the College World Series, but was happy to do that for Auburn.
Will McEntire pitched 7 innings of four-hit, one-run baseball and Peyton Stovall had five of his team’s 16 hits as the Razorbacks downed the Tigers 11-1 at Charles Schwab Field.
Chris Lanzilli homered and both he and Michael Turner had three hits and three RBIs in a win that moved Arkansas (45-20) into a Wednesday night 6 p.m. battle with Ole Miss (39-22).
The Razorbacks get to the championship series on Saturday with wins over the Rebels on both Wednesday and Thursday.
Texas A&M faces Oklahoma Wednesday at 1 needing to beat the Sooners twice to get the championship series on Saturday.
McEntire fanned a career-high nine and walked one while throwing 98 pitches, 62 for strikes, against the Tigers (43-22).
The only run he gave up came on a Bobby Pierce’s home run in the seventh and he turned it over to Zebulon Vermillion in the eighth and Austin Ledbetter in the ninth.
Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn’s decision to move Stovall from eighth to second in the batting order paid dividends in the opening inning.
Braydon Webb hit the first pitch of the game for a double and came home right away on Stovall’s single.
Arkansas plated a trio of runs in the third as Stovall single, eventually scored on Lanzilli’s single and Robert Moore’s double brought home both Turner and Lanzilli for a 4-0.
Turner’s two-run double and Lanzilli’s two-run homer surged the Razorbacks ahead 8-0 in the fourth.
Lanzilli’s towering blast over over the left field wall was the 52nd homer of his college career and his second at the CWS.
It became 9-0 in the sixth when Turner singled home Cayden Wallace.
Stovall’s fifth hit of the night drove home two runs in the ninth and made it 11-1.
Wednesday’s Arkansas-Ole Miss game will be a rematch of the Rebels’ 13-5 win over the Razorbacks on Monday night.