Category: Arkansas baseball

Diamond Hogs drop three spots in USA TODAY Coaches Poll after losses to Florida

Arkansas was punished in the polls a bit after dropping weekend series to Florida.

Arkansas’ streak of 13 straight SEC series wins was snapped Saturday when Florida managed to take the final two games between the teams in Gainesville. Pollsters dinged the Razorbacks a bit, accordingly.

Arkansas fell three spots from No. 2 to No. 5 in the USA TODAY Baseball Coaches Poll released Monday. They remain one of three SEC teams in the Top 10 and seven in the Top 25

Florida jumped five spots to No. 17 with the series win. Tennessee is the top-ranked team. Arkansas does not play the Volunteers during the regular season this year.

The Diamond Hogs announced a change to their schedule this week, electing to play a double-header with Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Tuesday instead of the originally scheduled Tuesday-Wednesday two-game set. Rain is expected Wednesday.

Arkansas returns to SEC play Thursday at Baum-Walker Stadium when it hosts LSU. The Tigers are No. 12 in the poll.

USA TODAY Baseball Coaches Poll: April 11

1. Tennessee (31-1)

2. Oregon State (24-7)

3. Miami (26-6)

4. Texas Tech (27-8)

5. Arkansas (23-7)

6. Oklahoma State (23-9)

7. Texas (24-10)

8. Virginia (26-6)

9. Notre Dame (20-5)

10. Georgia (24-8)

11. Louisville (23-8)

12. LSU (23-9)

13. UCLA (22-9)

14. Southern Miss (23-8)

15. Gonzaga (21-8)

16. Arizona (22-10)

T17. Vanderbilt (22-9)

T17. Florida (21-11)

19. Dallas Baptist (21-10)

20. Texas State (24-9)

21. Connecticut (24-7)

22. Auburn (22-10)

23. Stanford (17-10)

24. Maryland (25-7)

25. Wake Forest (25-7)

Arkansas Baseball: How series loss to Florida affected Arkansas in polls

Arkansas lost their first SEC series since 2019 last weekend. How did that affect their place in the polls?

The streak was destined to come to an end at some point.

Arkansas Baseball suffered their first SEC weekend series loss of the season and their first since 2019 last weekend to the Florida Gators. After taking game one easily, 8-1, Arkansas fell to the Gators in consecutive games, 7-2 and 9-7 respectively.

Arkansas was ranked as high as No. 2 in most major polls last week while ranking as low as No. 4. How much did Arkansas drop in the latest polls? Not as much as one would think.

Due to the success of Tennessee, who swept another SEC opponent in Missouri last weekend to move to an impressive 12-0 in SEC play, they remain at No. 1 across the board. However, teams who were mainstays in the top-10 most of the season have fallen off recently, including Ole Miss and Vanderbilt, who have lost two SEC series in a row.

Arkansas collectively remains in the top-10, with the average polling placement being No. 6, and the highest-ranking being No. 5. Here’s a look at how the Razorbacks will enter the week based on the top-25 polls of major news outlets.

Stick of the Game: Gregory did everything he could at the plate Saturday

“(Gregory) did everything he could to help us win.” – Dave Van Horn following Saturday’s loss to Florida, in which Zack Gregory led Arkansas in two comeback efforts.

Talk about a tough break.

The No. 22 Florida Gators had to fight off two comeback attempts by Arkansas in their 9-7 win over the Razorbacks, both led by the bat of junior [autotag]Zack Gregory[/autotag].

Gregory reached base four times in the loss, going 2-for-2 at the plate with four RBI, a walk, and a hit by pitch. Arkansas head coach [autotag]Dave Van Horn[/autotag] was pleased with the efforts of Gregory and wishes that he could have gotten more assistance from the rest of the lineup.

“(Gregory) did everything he could to help us win,” said Van Horn in Saturday’s postgame press conference. “He got hit by a pitch, he took a big walk. He fought, fought, fought, and finally doubled down the right field line on a full count to score three runs. Then, in his last at-bat, he hit the home run. He did everything he could, we just needed one more guy to have a day.”

After Florida delivered a punch in the form of a four-run inning in the 3rd, Arkansas responded by scoring four runs of their own in the top of the 4th, with Gregory being instrumental in the counter. With one run across in the inning, and the bases loaded, Gregory would show his patience by hitting a line drive down the right field line to clear the bags and tie the game at 4-4.

Arkansas found themselves in a hole again going to the 8th inning down 7-6. In their time of need, Gregory came through in the clutch yet again.

Gregory would hit a no-doubt home run over the right field wall to tie the game yet again, this time at 7-7 with one inning remaining.

“He got ahead in the count, he got what he was looking for and he hit it 450 feet with that wind behind it. It probably would have gone 420 feet without it,” says Van Horn.

Following Saturday’s game, Gregory is now batting .296 with four home runs and 12 RBI in 24 games. Saturday was the third time that Gregory has recorded multiple hits in a game this season, and has hit safely in six of his last seven games.

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Arkansas falls to Florida in finale, ending impressive streak

Two comeback efforts from the bat of Zack Gregory weren’t enough as the Razorbacks fall to Florida on Saturday, snapping an SEC series winning streak of 13.

Amazing things must come to an end, it is inevitable.

For the No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks (23-7, 8-4 SEC), their impressive streak of 13 straight SEC series wins dating back to the 2019 season came to a close on Saturday, with a 9-7 loss to Florida (21-11, 5-7 SEC), with the Gators taking two-of-three games from the Razorbacks at Florida Ballpark in Gainesville, Fla.

Down 7-4 entering the 6th inning, Arkansas cut into the lead thanks to an error and a bases-loaded walk to trim the Gator advantage to 7-6 and tied the game in the 8th inning on a solo home run by [autotag]Zack Gregory[/autotag]. However, Florida would respond by scoring two runs thanks to brothers Deric and Jud Fabian, giving the Gators the win.

After a quiet start to the game, both offenses found their groove. Florida grabbed an early lead, and Arkansas sent an equally brutal blow right back.

The Gators would begin the inning with two singles by Colby Halter and Sterlin Thompson respectively. The third single of the inning would score the first run of the game for Florida. Wyatt Langford singled up the middle to score Halter, giving Florida the 1-0 lead.

The Gators would waste no time expanding the lead, as BT Riopelle crushed his 9th home run of the season to clear the bases, and extend Florida’s lead to 4-0.

Arkansas took the four-run blow by Florida personally, as they responded by scoring four runs of their own in the top of the 4th inning. [autotag]Jalen Battles[/autotag] hit an RBI single with two outs in the inning to put the Razorbacks on the board. Zack Gregory’s first comeback attempt would be a double down the right field line to score Battles, as well as [autotag]Peyton Stovall[/autotag] and [autotag]Michael Turner[/autotag], to tie the game at 4-4.

Langford would help the Gators once more in the 5th inning with a three-run home run in the 5th to give his team another lead, 7-4. Arkansas responded by scoring two runs in the top of the 6th to drop Florida’s lead to one run.

The hero of the game for Arkansas at the plate was Zack Gregory. Despite not grabbing the win, Gregory put the team on his back twice, erasing two Gators leads in key moments of the game. He, along with Battles, had multiple hits for Arkansas.

[autotag]Brady Tygart[/autotag] took the loss for Arkansas out of the bullpen. In 2.2 innings of work, the freshman struck out four batters while allowing two runs on two hits. Starter [autotag]Jaxon Wiggins[/autotag] allowed nine hits and seven runs in 4.0 innings, striking out five batters.

Arkansas will look to begin a new streak next weekend at home against LSU. The previous streak dated back to May 16-18, 2019, when Arkansas lost two-of-three games to Texas A&M in College Station. That season was the last time that the Razorbacks participated in the College World Series.

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Arkansas Softball predicted to host regional in latest projection

According to D1Softball.com’s latest “Field of 64” projections, Arkansas is predicted to host a regional to open postseason play.

Now that the Southeastern Conference slate is in full swing, Arkansas softball continues to prove that they are among the nation’s best.

The Razorbacks have consistently stayed in the top-10 in all major polls throughout the season, and have won three straight SEC-weekend series, holding a 6-3 record in SEC play.

With the season continuing to trend upward, where will Arkansas Softball finish the regular season? The folks at D1Softball.com recently released their “Field of 64 Projections” for the week of April 6, with Arkansas landing a top national seed.

According to the projection, Arkansas is predicted to grab the No. 12 seed in the NCAA Tournament that will begin in May, hosting Oregon State, South Dakota State, and McNeese.

At the time of this post, Oregon State is 29-8 with wins over Tennessee, Baylor, and Iowa in non-conference play. After starting off Pac-12 play by being swept by Arizona State, the Beavers have bounced back to sweep Cal, and to take two of three from Stanford.

Among one of the non-conference teams that Oregon State has lost to is projected No. 3 seed in the Fayetteville Regional, South Dakota State. South Dakota State bested Oregon State 2-1 in eight innings back on February 18 at the Torero Classic hosted by San Diego. Like Oregon State, the Jackrabbits have won 20+ games on the season.

Finally, McNeese is 22-14, and a perfect 6-0 in Southland Conference play. Despite starting the season at 5-0, the Cowgirls have yet to win a signature game. McNeese has played tough competition in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, not grabbing a win against either squad.

If Arkansas were to win the necessary games to advance to the Super Regionals, they would be matched with the current No. 2 team in the nation, Florida State, who is projected to be a No. 5 seed according to D1Softball. Their field includes Mississippi State, USF, and St. Francis (PA.)

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Arkansas at Florida: Game preview, how to watch, stream, listen to Game 2 Friday

Arkansas won the teams’ opener, 8-1, but will have to beat a projected MLB starter on Friday to win the series.

When Arkansas and Florida used to meet on the SEC baseball field, it was the big time. Now, though, it’s all Hogs.

The Razorbacks and Gators are set for Game 2 of their regular-season series Friday afternoon from Gainesville, with a first pitch time of 5:30 p.m. CT, with Arkansas well ahead already.

Coach Dave Van Horn’s visiting team from Fayetteville is ranked No. 2 in the nation. The home Gators are in the midst of one of their worst SEC starts in ages, just 19-11 and 3-7 in league play. Arkansas took the first game of the set Thursday, 8-1.

Florida will go with big-time MLB prospect Brandon Sproat in trying to even the series. The right-hander is a Top-100 prospect for the draft in the summer and in the Top 25 among college players.

Arkansas counters with freshman [autotag]Hagen Smith[/autotag], who leads the team in earned-run average.

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Sticks of the Game: Arkansas bats silence Gators’ bark

After a quiet start to the game, Arkansas would go on to outhit Florida, 12-3 in their series-opening win over the Gators on Thursday night.

The series opener between the No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks and the No. 22 Florida Gators began as expected, with both teams getting the most out of their aces.

Arkansas’s [autotag]Connor Noland[/autotag] matched with Florida’s Hunter Barco almost evenly through the first three innings, with Barco facing the minimum and Noland allowing just one hit.

Barco felt good about his performance through the first three innings, in which he had allowed zero baserunners and had three strikeouts. He could be seen on the SEC Network broadcast saying choice words following one of those strikeouts.

Once the lineup began its second rotation, it was very apparent that the Razorbacks had taken notes on how to attack Barco. After sending just three batters to the plate in each of the first three innings, Arkansas would score their first run of the game in the 4th inning on an RBI single to short by [autotag]Michael Turner[/autotag] as part of a seven-plate appearance inning.

Barco would continue to feel pressure, as he would hit his second batter in as many innings to begin the 4th, sending [autotag]Peyton Stovall[/autotag] to the base paths. He would later score on a single by [autotag]Cayden Wallace[/autotag] to extend the Arkansas lead to 2-0. The final run that Barco would surrender would come in the 5th inning, when [autotag]Chris Lanzilli[/autotag] led off the inning by crushing his 4th home run as a Razorback, and 46th of his collegiate career, over the left field wall to move Arkansas’ lead to 3-0. After a single by Turner, and a walk issued to Jalen Battles, Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan had seen enough, pulling Barco in favor of Tyler Nesbitt.

Arkansas’ bats would silence until the top of the 9th, when they exploded to score five runs headlined by back-to-back solo home runs by Cayden Wallace and [autotag]Braydon Webb[/autotag].

All-in-all, Arkansas outhit the Gators 12-3 in the win, with five Razorbacks recording multiple hits. Wallace and Turner paced Arkansas in the run-producing department with two RBI each.

Florida no match for Arkansas series opener

Connor Noland pitched seven innings of one-hit ball in Arkansas’ 8-1 win over Florida.

The SEC has long been the best college baseball conference in the country. Arkansas is making mincemeat of its fellow members in 2022, though.

The Razorbacks, the second-ranked team in the country, dispatched perennial power Florida in Gainesville on Thursday night, 8-1, in the teams’ series opener. The win lifted the Hogs to 23-5 and 8-2 in the SEC. Only Tennessee, the No. 1 team in the nation, has a better record at 28-1 and 9-0. Those two aren’t scheduled to play this year during the regular season.

As for Thursday, it was all Arkansas, even if it started a bit late.

The Diamond Hogs dropped five runs in the ninth for plenty of insurance. [autotag]Cayden Wallace[/autotag] and [autotag]Braydon Webb[/autotag] homered in back-to-back at-bats to start the inning as Arkansas batted around. [autotag]Michael Turner[/autotag] hit an RBI double, [autotag]Jalen Battles[/autotag] plated a run with a sacrifice fly and [autotag]Peyton Stovall[/autotag] singled home a run to complete the scoring in the inning.

Arkansas opened with Turner’s RBI single in the fourth. It was followed in the fifth by a Wallace RBI single and then in the sixth with a solo shot from [autotag]Chris Lanzilli[/autotag].

Florida managed just three hits for the game and didn’t score until the ninth. Arkansas starter [autotag]Connor Noland[/autotag], who was named to the midseason watch list for the Golden Spikes Trophy earlier in the week, worked seven innings, giving up just a single hit and one walk while striking out seven.

Game 2 in the series is set for Friday at 5:30 p.m. CT.

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Arkansas Baseball in the polls: Another series win means more respect earned

After taking two-of-three from the defending National Champion Mississippi State, Arkansas baseball continues to gain respect in the polls.

The Arkansas Razorbacks made another statement last weekend by winning two games against the defending National Champion Mississippi State Bulldogs, grabbing their third straight SEC series win to open the season, and their 13th straight conference series win dating back to 2019.

The success of Arkansas baseball has not gone unnoticed, as they continue to prove that they are one of the best programs in the nation.

Here is a look at where Arkansas Baseball has landed in this week’s major polls.

Sticks of the Weekend: Battles, Wallace lead Razorbacks over Mississippi State

Arkansas’ bats played a key role in their third-straight series win over Mississippi State

The season continues to roll along for the No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks, as they took two-of-three from rival Mississippi State over the weekend at Baum-Walker Stadium.

The Razorbacks could not complete the sweep, as the Bulldogs scored two runs in the top of the 12th inning of Sunday’s finale to salvage a game in the series by defeating Arkansas, 5-3. But, the damage had already been done, as Arkansas outscored Mississippi State 20-6 in the first two games of the series to claim their 13th-straight SEC series win, and their third straight series win over Mississippi State dating back to 2019.

Hitting came at a premium for the Razorbacks in the series win, as they had solid production from [autotag]Jalen Battles[/autotag], [autotag]Cayden Wallace[/autotag], and [autotag]Zack Gregory[/autotag] in all three games, with [autotag]Brayden Webb[/autotag] and [autotag]Brady Slavens[/autotag] using their bats to create scoring opportunities on the weekend.

Battles grabbed up his first multi-home run game of the season in Friday’s 8-1 win over the Bulldogs, he would go on to grab two more hits over the weekend. Cayden Wallace added five more hits to his season total, with his most productive game of the weekend being Saturday’s 12-5 victory, where he went 2-for-5 with four RBI. Finally, Zack Gregory quietly had a solid weekend, as he hit solo home runs in Saturday’s and Sunday’s games.

Brady Slavens only played in two games against the Bulldogs, but he put in the work in the small opportunity he was given. Slavens went 3-for-6 with a double, home run, and four RBI. Brayden Webb did the majority of his work in the finale, as he was the only Arkansas batter to record multiple hits in Sunday’s loss. In the game, Webb hit his sixth home run of the season.