HOOVER, Ala. -- Fifth-seeded Arkansas (35-20) used ninth-inning home runs from Andrew Benintendi and Bobby Wernes to complete a comeback, 7-6 victory and knock off seventh-ranked Florida (40-16) on Wednesday on the second day of the SEC Tournament at the Hoover Met.
No. 5 Arkansas will advance in the winners' bracket to play No. 1 LSU on Thursday in Game 12 of the SEC Baseball Tournament.
SEC Player of the Year Benintendi opened the ninth inning with a solo homer to right field and brought the Razorbacks to within one run of the Gators with his league-leading 18th home run of the year. Wernes followed with the at-bat of a lifetime and took the 12th pitch of his plate appearance and launched a two-run blast to left field to give Arkansas a 7-6 lead and send the Razorbacks into a frenzy.
Zach Jackson came on in the ninth inning and struck out Jeremy Vasquez to strand the tying run on third and give Arkansas a comeback victory for the history books. Jackson earned his sixth save of the year, while Jackson Lowery moved to 6-1 on the year after working a scoreless inning of relief.
Arkansas has won its first two game of the SEC Tournament for the sixth time in program history and for the third consecutive year. The Razorbacks will look to win their first three games of the championship for the third time since 1998.
