HOOVER, Ala.--Vanderbilt pitchers struggled to find the strike zone all night and couldn't hit the league's best pitcher, as the Commodores fell to top-ranked Arkansas, 6-4, in a Thursday night winner's bracket game in the Southeastern Conference baseball tournament at the Hoover Met.

Arkansas reliever Kevin Kopps had no such trouble, pitching the final three innings and holding on to the two-run lead he inherited.

Vanderbilt starter Kumar Rocker struggled, allowing five runs in 3 1/3 innings. Vandy allowed just six hits, but, the Commodore staff struggled with control, issuing seven walks and hitting a batter.

Isaiah Thomas had the offensive highlight of the night, jacking a solo home run off Ryan Costeiu. The Commodores scattered six hits, with nobody picking up more than one.

Coach Tim Corbin was clearly unhappy with the performance in a post-game press conference that lasted maybe two minutes, taking two questions before it ended.

Vanderbilt will face Ole Miss in an afternoon elimination game starting about 35 minutes after the conclusion of the Alabama-Tennessee game, which is scheduled for 10 a.m. Central.

Vandy jumped Arkansas starter Patrick Wicklander for four hits in the first. Enrique Bradfield Jr. was thrown out trying to steal third, making for a second out, but C.J. Rodriguez doubled into the corner to keep the inning alive and plate Vandy's two runs.

After Arkansas tied the game once Rocker's control abandoned him in the second (more on that below), the same happened with Wicklander, who gave up three two-out runners in the top of the fourth and left after 65 pitches.

The Razorbacks went to Costieu, who walked Jayson Gonzalez on a full-count pitch to put Vandy back ahead.

After Arkansas scored three off Rocker to go ahead by two, Thomas led off the fifth with a blast to left-center to get Vandy within a run.

But Vandy couldn't handle Kopps, the SEC Pitcher of the Year. Vandy didn't get the ball out of the infield against Kopps, who struck out five Commodores mostly with his nasty cutter.

One positive for the Commodores: freshman lefty Nelson Berkwich threw a scoreless sixth and seventh, and Thomas Schultz pitched a scoreless eighth.

Rocker struggled to throw off-speed stuff for a strike from the second inning on and the Razorbacks also ran up his pitch count by fouling off, by my count, 15 pitches.

Rocker went just 3 1/3 innings, threw 86 pitches, walked four, hit a batter and struck out six and allowed five runs.

Rocker struck out the side in the first, mixing a fastball, cutter, slider and change-up effectively, and getting all strikeouts on off speed pitches.

Rocker ran into trouble in the second, throwing 39 pitches and getting behind on four batters on the first pitch and allowing three free passes.

He walked leadoff man Christian Franklin on a 3-2 pitch before Robert Moore dumped a single into left. Rocker got Casey Opitz swinging on what looked like an 81-mile-an-hour change-up but seldom-used freshman Ethan Bates singled through second for the Razorbacks' first run. The second came when he hit Matt Goodheart in the head.

Arkansas chased Rocker in the fourth. Bates took a 3-2 leadoff walk and then No. 8 hitter Jalen Battles singled up the middle. Bradfield didn't have a chance to get Bates at third but threw there anyway, and Battles took second.

After Rocker fell behind 2-1 to Goodheart, the Razorback lefty drilled a pitch deep to left over Troy LaNeve's head to score two runs.

Goodheart scored when McElvain also fell behind in the count and Cullen Smith blooped a 3-1 pitch to right, closing the book on Rocker's evening.

Coach Tim Corbin wasn't happy about Rocker's performance, answering a question about Rocker's struggles with simply a "yes," when asked about his trouble throwing off-speed pitches for strikes.

V1: Rodriguez double to left scored Keegan, Bulger. VU, 2-0

A2: Bates single through second scored Franklin. VU, 2-1

A2: Goodheart hit by pitch. Tied-2

V4: Gonzalez walk scored LaNeve. VU, 3-2

A4: Goodheart double to left. UA, 4-3

A4: Smith single to right scored Goodheart. UA, 5-3

V5: Thomas home run to left-center. UA, 5-4

A5: Bates sac fly to center. UA, 6-4