Category: Arkansas baseball

Top-Ten’s All Around For Razorback Baseball

Following the sweep of Kentucky, Arkansas has caught the attention of all major polls. Click to see where the Hogs are ranked this week.

Following a weekend sweep of Kentucky where they outscored the Wildcats, 18-6, the Arkansas Razorbacks are starting to gain respect across all national polls.

The Razorbacks stand alone in the SEC Western Division at 3-0 and have won an impressive 11 games in a row while sitting at 16-3 overall. Offensive production is at a season-high with three batters hitting over .300, and seven batters with at least 10 RBI. Pitching has played a dominant role in recent wins, as all three weekend starters have at least 25 strikeouts in over 25 innings of work.

Here’s a look at what the national polls are saying about the Razorbacks:

Hogs Pitching Dominates on Sweep Sunday

Jaxon Wiggins may be the best Sunday starter in the SEC. After elite pitching from Friday starter Connor Noland and Saturday starter Hagen Smith, Wiggins showed he can be just as dominant in Sunday’s 3-1 win over Kentucky. That completes a three-game sweep and puts Arkansas alone in first place in the SEC West after one weekend of conference play. 

Jaxon Wiggins may be the best Sunday starter in the SEC. After elite pitching from Friday starter Connor Noland and Saturday starter Hagen Smith, Wiggins showed he can be just as dominant in Sunday’s 3-1 win over Kentucky. That completes a three-game sweep and puts Arkansas alone in first place in the SEC West after one weekend of conference play.

After taking a few weeks to wake up, the Arkansas bats have certainly begun to make some noise. The Hogs scored 45 runs in 5 games this week. Scoring runs will not be a longterm problem.

The pitching, though, has been the main storyline for the 2022 Razorbacks after 19 games. Wiggins pitched six strong innings, yielding only four hits while not allowing a run. He did issues four walks, but he backed that up with 8 strikeouts. The few times he was in trouble Wiggins was able to get out of it.

The bullpen was phenomenal all weekend, too, and Sunday was no exception. Even Taylor gave up a solo home run in one inning of work, while freshman Brady Tygart recorded a 6-out save in which he only allowed one base hit.

For the weekend Arkansas pitching allowed a total of 6 Kentucky runs (all earned) while striking out 32 batters. It was total dominance. As the Hogs begin running the gauntlet of SEC play, make not mistake: this team is ready.

Smith Settles, Vermillion Slams the Door

In his first SEC start, freshman lefty Hagen Smith got off to a bit of a rocky start. But by the time he took the ball to start the 3rd inning, Smith had a three-run lead and settled down to earn his fourth win of the season.

In his first SEC start, freshman lefty Hagen Smith got off to a bit of a rocky start. But by the time he took the ball to start the 3rd inning, Smith had a three-run lead and settled down to earn his fourth win of the season. He retired 12 of the 14 batters he faced after the second inning before handing the ball over to Zebulon Vermillion.

The towering righty issued a leadoff walk in the seventh before mowing through the Wildcats for the rest of the night. Zeb did not allow a hit and whiffed five of the 10 batters he faced. It was as dominant a performance as we’ve ever seen from Vermillion.

Noland and Bullpen Bros Help Hogs Win SEC Opener

It seems the number one question entering the season for Dave Van Horn and the Razorbacks baseball squad was, “How will you replace Golden Spikes Award winner Kevin Kopps?”

The answer appears to be, “with every arm available.”

It seems the number one question entering the season for Dave Van Horn and the Razorbacks baseball squad was, “How will you replace Golden Spikes Award winner Kevin Kopps?”

The answer appears to be, “with every arm available.”

Nineteen different Razorbacks have recorded an out this year, but only three were needed to dispatch the Kentucky Wildcats in Friday’s conference opener for both. The Hogs woke up Saturday morning in a familiar position: atop the SEC West standings. Yes, it’s only one game. But there are five other teams (Texas A&M is tied with Arkansas) that wish they could trade places with the Razorbacks.

The offense founds its way – thanks in large part to the horrid Kentucky defense – but the pitching is what stood out. Connor Noland continues to look like a true SEC Friday night starter, Evan Taylor was wicked out of the bullpen, and Kole Ramage continued to show he made the right decision to come back for one more ride in red.

Arkansas vs. Kentucky: How To Watch, Stream, Listen To Friday’s SEC Opener

The No. 4 Arkansas Razorbacks host Kentucky for the SEC Opener on Friday night at Baum-Walker Stadium.

The No. 4 Arkansas Razorbacks play Kentucky on Friday for the Southeastern Conference opener, and if you’re wondering how you can watch the action live, you’ve come to the right place.

Kentucky enters the series at 14-4 overall, most recently falling to Indiana on the road, 20-7. Kentucky and Indiana were tied at 4-4 at the end of the first inning, but the Hoosier offense was too much to handle going forward, as they scored at least one run in every following inning. The Wildcats used seven arms in the game, with the starter, Seth Logue, being the only one to stay on the mound for at least 2.0 innings.

But don’t let the skid at Indiana fool you, these Wildcats are still a good baseball team. Prior to the game with the Hoosiers, Kentucky had won six of their last eight, with two of those being a series win at home against No. 21 TCU.

Chase Estep is the bat to watch for Kentucky. He is currently hitting at a .471 clip with seven home runs and 21 RBI. He is currently on a 16-game hitting streak, and has reached base in 17 of Kentucky’s 18 games.

The conference-opening weekend could not come at a better time for the Razorbacks, as they are beginning to produce hits and score runs. Three Razorbacks have extensive hitting streaks, led by Chris Lanzilli’s ten-game streak. Not far behind Lanzilli is Peyton Stovall, who has recorded a hit in nine consecutive games.

In game one of the series with the Wildcats, Connor Noland will get the start for Arkansas. Noland is coming off his longest outing of the season where he tossed 6.2 innings of four-hit baseball in March 10’s victory over UIC, where he matched his career-high in strikeouts with 11.

Ledbetter Saved by the Bell

It was bound to happen. Austin Ledbetter showed on Wednesday that he is human after all. The Bryant sophomore did not pitch poorly, but Grambling made some better swings on good pitches. Ultimately Ledbetter was unable to get out of the third inning after allowing 3 earned runs on 5 hits in just 2 1/3 IP. The bright spot for Ledbetter is that he did not issue a walk in his 43 pitches.

It was bound to happen. Austin Ledbetter showed on Wednesday that he is human after all. The Bryant sophomore did not pitch poorly, but Grambling made some better swings on good pitches. Ultimately Ledbetter was unable to get out of the third inning after allowing 3 earned runs on 5 hits in just 2 1/3 IP. The bright spot for Ledbetter is that he did not issue a walk in his 43 pitches.

Zack Morris came on in relief and shut down a Grambling rally, tossing 2 2/3 scoreless relief en route to a win.

Tuesday’s pitching performance was far more dominant, but Ledbetter, Morris, Heston Tole, and Nick Griffin combined to shut down a frisky Grambling offense. And they were all largely efficient, with all four combining to only thrown 134 pitches.

Sticks Of The Game: Five Hogs Grab Multiple Hits In Dismantling Of Grambling

Chris Lanzilli, Brady Slavens, and Peyton Stovall were the leaders at the plate again for Arkansas, combining to slug eight hits and score six runs in the win.

The No. 3 Arkansas Razorbacks closed out their two-game midweek set with Grambling on Wednesday, defeating the Tigers 13-3 in 8 innings, giving them their second straight run-rule victory, and the third consecutive game that the Razorbacks have won on their final at-bat.

Despite the wide-margin victory, Grambling put up more of a fight in this game than in Tuesday’s matchup. Arkansas only out-hit the Tigers 14-11, opposed to Tuesday, where the Hogs had a six-hit advantage, 8-2.

Chris Lanzilli, Brady Slavens, and Peyton Stovall were the leaders at the plate again for Arkansas, combining to slug eight hits and score six runs in the win. Braydon Webb and Drake Varnado also collected multiple hits. Lanzilli, Slavens, and Stovall have also extended their extensive hitting streaks as well, which will be crucial for the SEC opening series this weekend against Kentucky.

Sticks Of The Game: Hitting Streaks Continue for Stovall, Turner, Lanzilli

Three of Arkansas’ most reliable bats keep adding games to their impressive hit streaks.

When it comes to hitting the baseball, Arkansas did not get off to the start that they had hoped.

However, with Southeastern Conference play opening up this weekend, it seems that the bats are coming alive at the right time.

The No. 3 Arkansas Razorbacks defeated Grambling, 14-1 on Tuesday by only grabbing eight hits all the while taking advantage of four Tiger errors. The headlining swing came off the bat of Braydon Webb, who crushed a grand slam over the right field wall that rattled off of the newly-opened development center to place the run-rule into effect. 

The home run was important for the team, but more so for Webb, who finally slugged his first hit of the season after 23 previous at-bats.

The other story from the game, is the extension of hit streaks for three of Arkansas’ key bats… Peyton Stovall, Michael Turner, and Chris Lanzilli.

Lanzilli extended his streak to a team-best nine games by adding two more to his season total. Peyton Stovall led the team in hits Tuesday with three, which added to his streak of eight games. Finally, Turner added a home run to his season total, extending his streak to seven games.

Hogs Pitchers Leaving Grambling Grumbling

It was a bullpen day for the 3rd-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks baseball team on Tuesday. Sometimes that can lead to long, inconsistent games as each pitcher who takes the mound never finds time to get comfortable. That was not the case for the Hogs, though. Four pitchers combined to strikeout 13 Grambling Tigers en route to a 14-1 victory in 8 innings.

It was a bullpen day for the 3rd-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks baseball team on Tuesday. Sometimes that can lead to long, inconsistent games as each pitcher who takes the mound never finds time to get comfortable. That was not the case for the Hogs, though. Four pitchers combined to strikeout 13 Grambling Tigers en route to a 14-1 victory in 8 innings.

Each guy did his job for the Hogs tonight. With SEC play looming this weekend, head coach Dave Van Horn and pitching coach Matt Hobbs are surely relieved to see a nice, smooth ride from their bullpen men against Grambling.

The pitching staff combined to sit down 22 of the final 23 Tigers batters. And the one that got away did so thanks to a loosely untucked jersey that caught a Gabe Starks riding fastball.

It was complete dominance after an uneven first inning from Mark Adamiak. And it was such a team effort we decided to highlight each of them as our Arms of the Game.

Arkansas Makes Statement In Run-Rule Win Over Grambling

The top of the lineup was productive for the Razorbacks in their 14-4 win over Grambling Tuesday Night.

When you play for a team that is beginning to hit the ball well, you want to do whatever you can to join the fun.

On Tuesday, Braydon Webb no longer feels left out.

With the bases loaded in the bottom of the 8th inning, Webb stepped to the plate with a chance to score the necessary two runs to give his team the run-rule win over Grambling to begin the two-game mid-week set.

When given the change, he went above and beyond. Webb hit a grand slam to right field to give Arkansas the 14-4 win over Grambling Tuesday night at Baum-Walker Stadium.

For Webb, that would be his first hit of the season in 24 at-bats. It was also the third grand slam hit by the Razorbacks in as many games. Cayden Wallace earned SEC Co-Player of the Week after he hit two grand slams in the series with UIC last weekend. 

Grambling took an early lead over the Razorbacks in the 1st inning on a double by Shemar Page. With two outs in the inning, Cameron Bufford walked and later scored on the double by Page to give the Tigers the 1-0 lead.

Arkansas answered in the bottom of the 2nd inning by scoring three runs on just one hit. After two walks to Razorback hitters and a fielding error in the inning, Dylan Leach earned an RBI by taking a hit by pitch with the bases loaded to tie the game at 1-1. Cayden Wallace gave the Razorbacks the lead on a sacrifice fly to center field in the next at-bat, scoring Jaden Battles to pull Arkansas ahead, 2-1.

The lone hit of the inning came off the bat of Peyton Stovall, who hit a single up the middle to plate Braydon Webb, which ended the inning with Arkansas leading, 3-1.

Arkansas would extend their lead in the 5th inning. Stovall would lead off the inning with a double to right field, and ended up at 3rd base after the Grambling right fielder misplayed the ball. Two pitches into the next at-bat, Michael Turner hit his 4th home run of the year over the right field fence, bouncing off the videoboard at Baum-Walker Stadium to extend the Arkansas lead to 5-1.

Those two would collaborate again in the 6th inning to score two more runs. Leach and Wallace would lead off the inning with walks. Leach scored on a single by Stovall, and Wallace would come home on a sacrifice fly by Turner, giving Arkansas the 7-1 advantage.

Brady Slavens would add his name to the stat sheet in the 8th inning, scoring two runs on a bases-loaded single to extend the Razorback lead to 9-1.

Mark Adamiak earned the win on the mound, striking out six batters while allowing two hits and one earned run in 4.0 innings pitched. He anchored a unit that struck out 13 batters on the night. Elijah Trest and Zebulon Vermillion combined to throw two innings of perfect baseball, striking out three total batters. Gabriel Starks had the best outing of his season to this point. In his third appearance of the season, striking out four batters in 2.0 innings of work.

The final game of the two-game series with Grambling is set for 4 p.m. CDT Wednesday at Baum-Walker Stadium.

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