FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Fueled by Logan Maxwell’s stellar performance at the plate, including a pivotal grand slam, Arkansas triumphed over the defending national champion Tennessee with an 11-4 victory on Sunday. This triumph allowed Arkansas to sweep the best-of-three Fayetteville Super Regional, booking their place in the College World Series for the 12th time.
The Razorbacks, holding a 3-1 advantage with two outs in the fourth inning, witnessed Maxwell deliver a decisive 1-2 pitch over the left-field wall. This home run significantly boosted the third-seeded team’s momentum as they clinched their spot in Omaha, Nebraska, where they will face the winner of the Baton Rouge Super Regional between LSU and West Virginia.
With a robust season record of 47-13, Arkansas overpowered Tennessee, who held a 46-18 record as the No. 14 overall seed. The Volunteers struggled offensively, having managed only two hits in their narrow 4-3 defeat to their SEC counterparts on Saturday. Nearly becoming just the third team in their conference’s history to complete a super regional with less than 10 hits, Tennessee found some late momentum. They recorded two hits in both the eighth and ninth innings, the latter featuring a two-run homer delivered by pinch hitter Jay Abernathy, ultimately culminating in a total of eight hits.
Arkansas’ Charles Davalan contributed significantly with a two-run home run during the third inning. Tennessee managed to respond with a short-lived comeback in the bottom of that frame, but Maxwell’s explosive grand slam in the fourth widened the gap significantly.
In an erratic seventh inning for Tennessee’s pitchers, they issued four walks, including two with the bases loaded, allowing Arkansas to extend their lead to 10-1. Cole Gibler (3-1) secured the win for Arkansas in relief, whereas Tennessee’s starting pitcher, Liam Doyle (10-4), bore the loss.