The root of Tennessee’s problem Saturday was rather easy to detect.
Arkansas junior pitcher Zach Root allowed one hit in seven innings as the No. 3 Razorbacks won the Fayetteville Super Regional opener 4-3 over the No. 14 Volunteers before a crowd of 10,205 at Baum-Walker Stadium. The Vols will try to stay alive in the best-of-three series Sunday (3 p.m. Eastern on ESPN) behind the talented left arm of Southeastern Conference pitcher of the year Liam Doyle.
Root’s left arm was certainly working Saturday, as the 6-foot-2, 210-pound transfer from East Carolina set the Vols down in order each of the first four innings. He would finish with six strikeouts.
“A lot of guys were really good out on that field because there’s a lot of talent, but the difference was Root,” Tennessee coach Tony Vitello said afterward during a news conference. “He’s a big-time competitor.”
The Razorbacks improved to 47-13 after defeating Tennessee for the 12th time in the past 14 series meetings, while the Vols dropped to 46-18.