Arkansas stuns Clemson in Game 1

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Posted 6:49AM on Saturday, June 8, 2002

CLEMSON, S.C. - On Thursday, Arkansas coach Norm DeBriyn said he worried Clemson would blow his team out. On Friday night, after his Razorbacks beat Clemson 9-6 in the first game of the super regional, DeBriyn said Arkansas still had an uphill climb to advance to the College World Series. ``We realize what we're facing and we realize what we're up against,'' DeBriyn said. Clemson (50-15) was ranked No. 1 in the country for seven weeks and started its ace, Steve Reba. But Reba (13-3), was rocked for seven hits and left with Clemson trailing 5-0 after 1 2/3 innings his shortest stint in two seasons. ``Reba got behind early, they got started and got some confidence going,'' Clemson coach Jack Leggett said. ``If we could've scored early, I think we could've held them down.'' Arkansas (35-26) would take a 7-0 lead in the fifth on Ryan Fox's RBI double. Leggett said the Tigers can't afford another slow start if they want to make it to Omaha, Neb., for the second time in three years. ``We've got to put the pressure on them rather than sit back and defend against the hit and run and all those types of things that they are able to do,'' Leggett said. The Razorbacks, who hit just 49 homers all season, kept the ball in the park Friday. But timely hitting ,combined with Charlie Isaacson's seven-plus innings, have Arkansas just a game away from a trip to Omaha. ``I thought Charlie Isaacson pitched as gutty of a ball game as I've seen him pitch,'' DeBriyn said. Isaacson (7-7) pitched into the eighth, but was pulled after Khalil Greene stretched his hitting streak to 31 games with an RBI single that pulled the Tigers within 7-4. The next batter, Jeff Baker, hit a two-run homer off reliever Gary Hogan Jr. to cut the lead to one. It was Baker's 25th of the season, setting a school season record and putting him one ahead of Greene. ``It's like playing with a live hand grenade,'' Isaacson said of Clemson's potent offense. Isaacson said he pitched one of his best games, even though he gave up five earned runs and 11 hits while striking out five. Clemson scored all its runs Friday night with two outs. The Tigers, who outscored their regional opponents 40-4 last weekend, also stranded 10 runners. ``The biggest thing for him was he didn't put himself in many bad situations,'' Greene said. After Clemson's late rally, Hogan Jr. retired the next four batters to pick up his third save of the year, and Arkansas would score two insurance runs in the ninth. The Razorbacks have scored first in winning each of their last four games, and Friday was no different. Michael Conner, the game's third batter, hit a two-run triple that almost cleared the fence. After he scored on a fielder's choice, Andrew Wishy doubled and Cody Clark singled up-the-middle giving Arkansas a 4-0 before the Tigers ever got to the plate. The Razorbacks added a run in the second on Nick Pitts' RBI double down the left field line, increasing his hitting streak to seven games. Wishy started a fifth-inning rally that featured four consecutive hits and put Arkansas up 7-0.