There’s a new team atop the SEC standings.
Mason Molina struggled in three innings of work, and for the second straight day No. 2 Arkansas failed to capitalize with runners on base in a 7-4 loss to No. 8 Kentucky Sunday at Kentucky Pride Park.
The Wildcats (35-10 overall, 18-6 conference) won the rubber match of the series to overtake the Razorbacks (40-9, 17-7) for first place in the SEC with two weekend series’ remaining.
Just two batters into Molina’s outing, Émilien Pitre homered off the wall in right on an 0-2 fastball up in the zone to give Kentucky a 1-0 lead. Molina (3-2) was forced to throw 26 pitches in the first inning.
After tossing a scoreless second inning, Molina ran into trouble again in the third when he allowed a one-out walk to Devin Burkes. Nick Lopez then reached down in the zone to pull a two-run homer down the left-field line for a 3-0 Wildcats lead.
Kentucky chased Molina after just three innings of work, then upped the lead to 6-0 with a three-run fourth inning off reliever Will McEntire that included an RBI double from Pitre.
Arkansas broke through in the fifth when Wehiwa Aloy scored Hudson White with an RBI single for the Razorbacks’ first run. Jared Sprague-Lott added a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 6-2 before Kendall Diggs singled in the seventh to make it 6-3.
But Kentucky tacked on another run for insurance on a Ryan Nicholson single in the bottom of the seventh, and the Razorbacks stranded two more runners in the ninth off Wildcats closer Johnny Hummel after a leadoff home run from Peyton Stovall. Hummel earned his sixth save of the season by retiring Diggs and Peyton Holt for the final two outs.
Mason Moore (8-1) earned the win for Kentucky despite allowing three hits and walking four in five innings of work. Moore struck out six batters in a 93-pitch effort.
Pitre, Lopez and Nolan McCarthy all had two hits for Kentucky. Pitre drove in six runs over the final two games of the series.
Arkansas finished with seven hits, including a three-hit performance atop the lineup from Stovall (3-for-5). White (2-3) added two hits. The Razorbacks stranded 11 on base in Sunday’s game after leaving nine on base Saturday.
The Diamond Hogs return home to face No. 21 Mississippi State in a three-game series beginning Friday at Baum-Walker Stadium. The Bulldogs took two of three from No. 17 Alabama over the weekend. First pitch Friday is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CDT.