Omaha, NE (My Sportsbook) - Andy Wilkins finished 2-for-3 with a homer and five runs batted in, as Arkansas upended Cal State Fullerton, 10-6, in the opening game of the 2009 College World Series.
Zack Cox also had two hits, including a homer, and drove in three to help Arkansas to its sixth consecutive win. The Razorbacks advanced on the winners' side in Bracket One and will play again on Monday.
Arkansas (40-22) will face the winner of Saturday's contest between LSU and Virginia, while the loser of that game will face Cal State Fullerton (47-15) in an elimination game Monday.
Dallas Keuchel (8-3) limited Cal State Fullerton to four runs -- three earned -- over six innings and took the win, while Fullerton's Noe Ramirez (9-2) allowed seven runs over 3 2/3 frames in the loss.
A sacrifice fly from Wilkins and RBI single from Cox gave Arkansas a 2-0 lead in the first inning, and Cox's two-run homer in the third made it a four-run Razorbacks lead. Ben Tschepikow, who finished the game with three hits, scored on both of Cox's hits.
The Titans got two runs back in the bottom of the third, but Arkansas added five runs in the fourth to take all the game's momentum.
The Razorbacks loaded the bases on a one-out single by James McCann and walks to Andrew Darr and Tschepikow. Ramirez was then removed for Tyler Pill, who gave up a two-run single to Scott Lyons. Wilkins then crushed a three-run homer for a 9-2 lead.
A run-scoring single from Joey Siddons and a sac fly from Gary Brown trimmed Fullerton's deficit to five in the bottom of the fifth, but the Titans never really got back into the contest.
Wilkins' RBI single in the top of the eighth made it a 10-4 game, though Fullerton had a chance to substantially cut into Arkansas' lead in the bottom half. Facing Mike Bolsinger, who replaced Keuchel in the seventh, the Titans loaded the bases with no outs. But Fullerton only got one run, on a fielder's choice, and the inning ended when Dustin Garneau grounded into a double play.
Christian Colon had a two-out RBI single in the ninth, but Brown grounded out to end the game.
