HOOVER, Ala. (TVC) — No. 23 Tennessee fell to No. 12 Arkansas 8-4 in the second round of the SEC Tournament.

The Razorbacks came out hot as pitcher Tate McGuire made quick work of the Vols in the top of the first inning, holding Tennessee scoreless. Arkansas answered immediately in the bottom half as Camden Kozeal hit a home run to right-center. Shortly after, teammate Zack Stewart followed with the team’s second homer of the inning to make it 2-0.

The Razorbacks’ bats stayed hot, adding four more runs in the opening inning.

Tennessee starter Evan Blanco was able to stop the momentum with a strikeout to end the inning. Blanco finished the day with three strikeouts.

The second inning mirrored the first for Tennessee as the Vols’ next three batters failed to reach base. Tennessee held Arkansas scoreless in the bottom of the second, but the Razorbacks struck again in the third with their third home run of the game to extend the lead to 5-0.

The Vols got on the board in the top of the fourth. Blane Brown doubled to right-center for a two-run RBI, scoring Levi Clark and Trent Grindlinger. Tennessee then turned to Chandler Day on the mound, and he closed out the inning with a strikeout. Day finished with two strikeouts.

Tennessee added another run in the fifth as Garrett Wright scored on a double by Henry Ford to cut the deficit to 5-3. The Vols called on Ethan Baiotto out of the bullpen to finish the inning, but Arkansas answered with another home run, its fourth of the day, to extend the lead to 8-3.

Tennessee then brought in sophomore Nic Abraham, who also recorded two strikeouts.

In the seventh inning, the Vols added another run and used their fifth pitcher of the game, Mark Hindy, before turning to Bo Rhudy. Rhudy recorded three strikeouts to close out the game for Tennessee.

The Vols tried multiple pitching rotations throughout the game, but they were unable to overcome the early deficit. Tennessee will now return home to prepare for the NCAA Regional Tournament.