LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Hagen Smith solidified his reputation as the nation's top pitcher on Friday, hurling a gem Friday to lead No. 2 Arkansas to a 10-3 win over No. 8 Kentucky in the series opener.

Smith, a hard-throwing junior left-hander who sports a 1.36 ERA and is projected as a Top 5 pick in this year's MLB Draft, allowed only one run on three hits and struck out 14 over six dominant innings at Kentucky Proud Park.

The Arkansas ace pushed his record to 9-0 on the season with his ninth game of 10-plus strikeouts. He helped the Razorbacks (40-7, 17-5 SEC) break a tie with the Wildcats for first place in the SEC standings.

Kentucky (33-10, 16-6 SEC) lost for the fifth time in its last six league games after opening the slate at 15-1.

The Wildcats led 1-0 entering the fifth inning before Arkansas started to break through against UK starter Trey Pooser and then picked apart a shaky bullpen. The visitors put up a run in the fifth, three in the sixth, and six in the decisive seventh inning.

Kendall Diggs was the offensive star for Arkansas, delivering a two-run double in the sixth to give his team its first lead of the night and a two-run single in the seventh to help put the game out of reach. Peyton Stoval and Hudson White also had two hits apiece for the Razorbacks.

Pooser (3-1) suffered his first loss of the season, allowing three runs on four hits and four walks in 5.1 innings on the mound.

Junior catcher Devin Bukes had two hits, an RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base to lead UK at the plate.

The series resumes on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.