Diamond Hogs up to No. 4 in USA TODAY Baseball Coaches Poll

Arkansas was one of eight SEC teams in the Top 25.

A sweep of Illinois-Chicago over the weekend bolstered Arkansas’ status.

The Diamond Hogs jumped three spots to No. 4 in the USA TODAY Baseball Coaches Poll. Two of the three teams ahead of them are from the SEC. The other will be.

Ole Miss took the top spot, Vanderbilt the second and Texas was No. 3. No league has more ranked teams than the SEC, which also landed Tennessee at No. 5, LSU at No. 8, Florida at No. 9, Georgia at No. 20 and Mississippi State at No. 24.

The Razorbacks have been ranked in the poll for 65 straight weeks and have been in the top 10 for 20 straight.

Arkansas is back in action Tuesday and Wednesday against Grambling in Fayetteville. SEC play begins Friday at Baum-Walker Stadium against Kentucky.

1. Ole Miss (13-2)

2. Texas (13-4)

3. Vanderbilt (13-2)

4. Arkansas (11-3)

5. Tennessee (15-1)

6. Oregon State (11-2)

7. Notre Dame (11-1)

8. LSU (13-3)

9. Florida (13-4)

10. Georgia Tech (13-3)

11. Stanford (9-5)

12. Florida State (10-5)

13. Texas Tech (14-3)

14. Liberty (12-2)

15. Oklahoma State (9-6)

16. Arizona (12-4)

T-17. North Carolina (14-2)

T-17. Virginia (14-1)

19. Clemson (14-1)

20. Georgia (13-3)

21. TCU (11-4)

22. Maryland (12-2)

23. Texas State (14-3)

24. Mississippi State (10-7)

25. Gonzaga (11-4)

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Twitter Reacts To Arkansas’ Walk-off Win over UIC

Arkansas fans were excited, here are some of the best reactions from Twitter following the walk-off win. 

The No. 3 Arkansas Razorbacks earned the four-game sweep over UIC on Sunday, defeating the Flames, 10-8 in walk-off fashion.

Arkansas had to storm back twice to get the win. Once in the 8th inning and again in the final at-bat. Down 6-4, Cayden Wallace drilled his second grand slam in as many days into the left field seats to give the Razorbacks the 8-6 lead. After UIC responded by scoring two runs in the top half of the 9th inning to tie the game 8-8, Michael Turner opened the final inning by reaching 2nd base on a liner to right-center field, setting the table for a Chris Lanzilli home run to end the game.

Arkansas fans were excited, here are some of the best reactions from Twitter following the walk-off win.

SWEEP! Pair Of Late Home Runs Lifts Resilient Hogs Over UIC

Two late home runs by Cayden Wallace and Chris Lanzilli push Arkansas over UIC for the weekend sweep.

Wow, what a way to end the final non-conference weekend of the series.

The No. 3 Arkansas Razorbacks (12-3) had to fight off the eager Flames of UIC two different times late in the game, but in the end, it was meant to be for the Hogs to snag the fourth win of the weekend, defeating UIC, 10-8 on Sunday at Baum-Walker Stadium.

After UIC stormed back to tie the game at 8-8 in the top of the 9th, Arkansas got the help they needed from two of the more dependable bats in the lineup, Michael Turner and Chris Lanzilli.

Turner opened the inning by sending a line drive to right field for a double, setting the table for the power-bat of Chris Lanzilli to eat. The Wake Forest transfer crushed the fifth pitch of the at-bat into the Hog Pen in left field to lift the Razorbacks over the Flames.

It would be the second time in as many innings that those spectators on the hill in left field got to see an important long ball. In the 8th inning, down 6-4, Cayden Wallace smacked his second grand slam of the weekend to complete a four-run comeback and give the Razorbacks the 8-6 lead.

That would be the only hit of the afternoon for Wallace, but it would be one of the most important. The grand slam by Wallace would be third home run in as many days, as well as his 6th RBI of the game, and 13th of the weekend.

Arkansas grabbed the first lead of the game in the bottom of the 3rd inning, thanks to the hottest bats of the weekend, Cayden Wallace and Michael Turner.

Wallace plated Braydon Webb on a groundout to shortstop, then Turner reached first base successfully on a bunt, allowing Zack Gregory to score from third base and moving the Razorbacks ahead, 2-0.

The Flames took advantage of a handful of Razorback miscues in the 4th inning by scoring six runs on just one hit to take a 6-2 lead over Arkansas. The big blow in the inning came off the bat of Bryan Rosario, who scored three runs on a double down the left field line.

Mark Adamiak earned the win out of the bullpen. He replaced Brady Tygart once the Flames tied the game again in the top of the 9th, and allowed just a walk in 0.2 innings. Jaxon Wiggins got the start for Arkansas, going 3.1 innings and allowing five earned runs on one hit, and striking out five batters.

Arkansas will host a two-game midweek set with Grambling beginning Tuesday before welcoming the Kentucky Wildcats to Baum-Walker Stadium for the first SEC series of the season beginning Friday.

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Sticks of the game: Homers come up huge as Arkansas sweeps UIC

Chris Lanzilli’s walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth was the game-winner for Arkansas over UIC.

Arkansas baseball is mostly used to rolling through its nonconference schedule with sweeps. There may be an occasional two-out-of-three here or there, but generally Dave Van Horn teams run roughshod over teams from non-power conferences.

That hadn’t been the case in 2022 until Sunday. Cayden Wallace’s eighth-inning grand slam turned a two-run deficit into a two-run lead before the Flames re-tied things in the ninth.

In the bottom of the ninth, after Michael Turner’s double, Chris Lanzilli walked-off with a two-run shot to left-center, lifting the Diamond Hogs to a 10-8 and a four-game sweep.

The third-ranked Diamond Hogs are back at it Tuesday and Wednesday for a two-game set with visiting Grambling. SEC play begins Friday at Baum-Walker Stadium with three games against Kentucky.

Arkansas’ Stick of the Game, catcher Michael Turner, perfect at plate

Arkansas baseball is being led by a pair of transfer in Chris Lanzilli and Michael Turner.

A day after being named in comparison to all-time great Buster Posey, Arkansas catcher Michael Turner looked the part.

The Kent State graduate transfer was named to the watch list for the award in honor of the Florida State and San Francisco Giants great earlier in the week. Saturday, in Arkansas’ 10-1 win over Illinois-Chicago, Turner was perfect from the plate with a home run in the blowout.

He was the best hitter on a day when every member of the Arkansas lineup collected at least one hit. Only two starters didn’t cross the plate, even, as the four home runs the Diamond Hogs jacked at Baum-Walker Stadium gave just about everyone a chance.

Arkansas’ series with UIC closes on Sunday from Fayetteville. First pitch is at 12:30 p.m.

Arkansas baseball smashes UIC for third win of series

Four different Arkansas hitters each homered in Saturday’s blowout of Illinois-Chicago.

Arkansas had a four-run third inning and a five-run sixth Saturday against Illinois-Chicago, providing more than enough to roll over the Flames at Baum-Walker Stadium, 10-1.

The No. 3 Diamond Hogs have won each of the first three games in their first four-game series of the season. They had swept UIC in a doubleheader Thursday before taking Friday off because of the snow. The series capper is Sunday at 12:30 p.m.

Arkansas sent eight hitters to the plate in each of its big innings. Back-to-back home runs by Chris Lanzilli, whose shot was of the three-run type, and Brady Slavens, highlighted the first scoring outburst, which came in the third inning. Both homers came with two outs.

In the sixth, four straight hits started the frame for the Razorbacks. The fourth in that series was a grand slam by third baseman Cayden Wallace. After Robert Moore popped out, catcher Michael Turner followed with a solo shot.

In all, every single of Arkansas’ nine starters in the lineup had a hit. The Diamond Hogs as a team had 13, plus five more reaches via the walk.

Freshman Hagen Smith was on the easy end of the assistance. He struck out eight Flames hitters in five innings, giving up four hits and walking three.

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Sticks of the Games: Big innings carry Arkansas past UIC in two games Thursday

Cayden Wallace is becoming a mainstay on this list for Arkansas. So is Michael Turner.

Great teams sometimes struggle, but the best teams come out the other side most of the team even when it looks like they won’t.

Arkansas is a great team.

The Razorbacks likely haven’t had the start they were hoping for, losing at least one game every weekend in each of the first three to start the season. So far in the fourth weekend, however, two wins in a day marks a good start.

Arkansas beat Illinois-Chicago 12-4 in the first game of a doubleheader on Thursday and then rallied with four runs in the eighth to win the second game, 5-4. 

Five different Arkansas players had multiple hits, led by three from third baseman Cayden Wallace in the first game. Then, in the second, despite only registering six hits, the Diamond Hogs reached base 18 times (10 walks and two bean-balls) to create just enough on the base paths to get the victory.

On a day like that, picking out the best bats of the game is a bit tough. Here goes, anyway.

Arkansas blasts UIC in Game 1, rallies late to win Game 2

A late Arkansas rally in the second game of the doubleheader gave the Razorbacks two wins Thursday.

Two games. Two different types of wins.

Arkansas and Illinois-Chicago played a doubleheader Thursday in advance of expected snow in Fayetteville on Friday. The result was sweep of the day for the third-ranked Diamond Hogs, 12-4 and 5-4.

Connor Noland, Arkansas’ senior starting pitcher, was excellent in the Diamond Hogs’ win in the first of the two games. Noland had 11 strikeouts and gave up just four hits and three runs in the opener.

In Game 2, the Arkansas bats went cold until the eighth, when the Razorbacks plated four runs to turn a three-run deficit into a one-run lead heading into the final frame.

Cayden Wallace, Jalen Battles and Brady Slavens all homered for the Diamond Hogs in the opener, while Michael Turner’s RBI single in the second game proved to be the difference.

Both teams are off Friday before returning Saturday for expected 60-degree temperatures at Baum-Walker Stadium. First pitch that day is scheduled for 2 p.m.

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More Baseball Schedule Changes

For the third weekend in a row, the baseball Hogs will have to play a doubleheader thanks to poor weather. The Razorbacks were scheduled to play University of Illinois-Chicago Thursday – Sunday this weekend with single games each day. Northwest Arkansas is expecting a late winter snowstorm on Friday, though, forcing the teams to adapt. 

For the third weekend in a row, the baseball Hogs will have to play a doubleheader thanks to poor weather. The Razorbacks were scheduled to play University of Illinois-Chicago Thursday – Sunday this weekend with single games each day. Northwest Arkansas is expecting a late winter snowstorm on Friday, though, forcing the teams to adapt.

The two sides will now play a twin bill on Thursday with the first game starting at noon. The second game will start 45 minutes after the conclusion of Game One. For now the Saturday and Sunday games will go off as planned.

Razorbacks Remain No. 3 In Latest D1Baseball Top-25

After going 3-1 last week, Arkansas Baseball remains at No. 3 in the latest D1Baseball.com polls.

Arkansas baseball enjoyed a successful week, going 3-1 by earning wins over Omaha and taking two-of-three from Southeastern, all at Baum-Walker Stadium.

Because of that, the Razorbacks are holding steady at No. 3 in the latest D1Baseball poll released Monday.

Rank Team Overall Record Record Last Week Previous Rank
1 Texas 11-1 3-1 1
2 Ole Miss 10-1 4-1 2
3 Arkansas 7-3 3-1 3
4 Vanderbilt 10-2 5-0 5
5 Stanford 8-3 2-2 6
6 Oklahoma State 6-4 2-2 4
7 Oregon State 9-1 2-1 13
8 Florida State 7-4 2-2 10
9 Notre Dame 8-1 3-0 12
10 Tennessee 10-1 3-1 17
11 Florida 10-3 4-1 14
12 LSU 9-3 2-2 7
13 Georgia Tech 10-2 3-1 18
14 Liberty 10-1 4-0 20
15 North Carolina 11-1 5-0 24
16 Arizona 9-3 2-2 11
17 Texas Tech 10-2 5-0 19
18 Tulane 10-2 4-1 NR
19 Clemson 11-0 4-0 NR
20 Georgia 9-2 2-2 15
21 TCU 8-3 2-2 16
22 NC State 8-4 0-4 8
23 Mississippi State 6-6 2-3 9
24 Maryland 9-2 2-2 21
25 Gonzaga 8-2 2-0 NR
Dropped Out
Miami 8-3 1-2 22
Sacramento State 8-4 1-4 23
Long Beach State 4-6 2-2 25

Arkansas remains with the best in the Southeastern Conference, as six of the top-12 teams in this week’s poll are also members of the league.

The No. 3 Razorbacks open a four-game set with Illinois-Chicago beginning Thursday at 3 p.m. at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville.