Category: Arkansas baseball

Jalen Battles’ homer lifts Arkansas in Round Rock finale

Arkansas won two of three in Texas after beating Louisiana on Sunday night.

With just five outs between Arkansas and a losing weekend in Texas, Jalen Battles came up huge.

The senior shortstop cranked a three-run home run with Arkansas trailing by one in the eighth inning to help lift the Razorbacks, 6-4, over Louisiana in the final game of the Round Rock Classic.

Chris Lanzilli and Jace Bohrofen walked ahead of Battles when he took the second pitch from Drew Shiflett over the rightfield wall to move the Diamond Hogs ahead, 5-3. The knock was Battles’ only one of the game as Louisiana held the Razorbacks to just six hits.

Arkansas pitching was even better. The Ragin’ Cajuns had just three hits, all of which came off starter Jaxon Wiggins who worked six innings while allowing just three runs.

The No. 2 Hogs had lost earlier to No. 8 Stanford, 5-0, in the first of a doubleheader. Weather had caused that game to be postponed from Saturday.

Arkansas is back at Baum-Walker Stadium on Wednesday for a one-off game against Nebraska-Omaha. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.

Round Rock Classic Preview: Louisiana

Arkansas was never tested in its win over Indiana on Friday. That will likely change this afternoon when the #2 Hogs take on #6 Stanford in the Karbach Round Rock Classic. But the tournament does not end for the Razorbacks today. They have a Sunday afternoon matchup set for 4:00pm against the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns. 

Arkansas was never tested in its win over Indiana on Friday. That will likely change this afternoon when the #2 Hogs take on #6 Stanford in the Karbach Round Rock Classic. But the tournament does not end for the Razorbacks today. They have a Sunday afternoon matchup set for 4:00pm against the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns.

Louisiana lost its tournament opener to the Cardinal 5-1 on Friday afternoon. They came to Round Rock with a 4-1 record after taking 2 of 3 from UC-Irvine to open the season. They then knocked off Southeastern Louisiana, a team Arkansas will host next weekend, 6-5 on Tuesday.

Former Arkansas assistant and Dave Van Horn acolyte Matt Deggs leads the Ragin’ Cajuns. This is his third year at the helm in Lafayette and is coming off a 32-23 season when they won their division in the Sun Belt Conference. Connor Kimple leads their offensive attack. He smacked three home runs in the opening series against Irvine and provides veteran leadership in the lineup.

Tommy Ray leads the Cajun pitching staff and was saddled with the loss against the Cardinal on Friday. Jeff Wilson took the ball for Louisiana last Sunday and is lined up to take on the Hogs this weekend, though no starter has officially been named. Wilson is a 6’6″ senior with plenty of experience.

Arm of the Game: Connor Cruises Past Hoosiers

He’s only two starts into the season, but Arkansas righty Connor Noland has looked like the ace of the Razorbacks staff. In yesterday’s 5-2 win over Indiana in the Karbach Round Rock Classic the senior from Greenwood ate up innings, held the Hoosiers at bay, and worked out of the few jams he created for himself.

He’s only two starts into the season, but Arkansas righty Connor Noland has looked like the ace of the Razorbacks staff. In yesterday’s 5-2 win over Indiana in the Karbach Round Rock Classic the senior from Greenwood ate up innings, held the Hoosiers at bay, and worked out of the few jams he created for himself. Noland may not blow you away with his stuff, but he has learned to pitch and looked like the leader of the staff on Friday.

Noland had an efficient outing, completing six full innings on just 86 pitches. He scattered five hits, walked a pair, and struck out 10 while allowing only one earned. In addition to racking up strikeouts (almost 1/3 of all batters faced walk back to the dugout), Noland continued his early trend of inducing weak contact. Through two starts opponents have a .600 ground ball average on balls in play.

The Hogs entered the year with a litany of questions about their pitching staff. And they added another to the list when Peyton Pallette went down with Tommy John surgery. Connor Noland has clearly risen to the challenge after his first two starts.

Cayden Wallace didn’t want to be outdone by Brady Slavens so he went perfect, too

Arkansas’ bats haven’t even truly come alive and yet they continue hitting the ball just fine in their 3-1 start to the year.

Arkansas baseball started strong in Texas at the Round Rock Classic on Friday, dispatching Indiana, 5-2.

The Razorbacks banged out nine hits and walked another four times to chase Hoosiers starter John-Biagio Modugno after five innings. After knocking in four runs against him, the Diamond Hogs tacked on an insurance run in the seventh.

Leading the way were Arkansas’ usual suspects. Cayden Wallace had a perfect day at the plate. Robert Moore knocked in two runs with two hits. Brady Slavens reached twice and Michael Turner tripled.

In the meantime, starter Connor Noland and reliver Kole Ramage struck out 16 Indiana batters en route to the relatively easy victory.

The Hogs are back at it Saturday against No. 6 Stanford. In the meantime, these were the hitters of the game.

Diamond Hogs ease past Indiana down in Texas

No. 2 Arkansas had little trouble with Indiana in the Round Rock Classic on Friday.

Second-ranked Arkansas scored three runs in the fourth inning to build a comfortable lead in ultimately beating Indiana, 5-2, in the Razorbacks’ first game of the Karbach Round Rock Classic on Friday night.

Four straight batters reached in the big inning as Brady Slavens doubled, Michael Turner tripled him home, Jalen Battles walked and Zack Gregory was hit by a pitch. Cayden Wallace walked with the bases loaded and two outs, then Robert Moore reached on an error, allowing Gregory to score, as well.

It was more than enough for starter Connor Noland. The senior right-hander pitched six innings of five-hit ball, allowing one run and two walks while striking out 10.

Indiana put itself on the board in the fifth when Morgan Colopy tripled and Mark Pyne’s double on the next at-bat knocked him home. Noland would leave Pyne stranded as its all the Hoosiers would get in the frame.

Arkansas pulled the run back in the seventh when Wallace doubled, advanced to third on a passed ball and Robert Moore singled for his second RBI of the game.

The Razorbacks are back in action Saturday in the Classic when they play No. 6 Stanford at 4 p.m.

Round Rock Classic Preview: Stanford

The headline matchup of the Karbach Round Rock Classic features the #2 Arkansas Razorbacks against the #6 Stanford Cardinal. The two will face off on Saturday at 4:00pm, weather permitting.

The headline matchup of the Karbach Round Rock Classic features the #2 Arkansas Razorbacks against the #6 Stanford Cardinal. The two will face off on Saturday at 4:00pm, weather permitting. It’s a delayed meeting, as the two were in line to play an opening round game at the 2021 College World Series before North Carolina State went on its upset run through Fayetteville.

Much like Arkansas, Stanford returns a team that expects to make a run to Omaha in 2022. They are led by Golden Spikes contender Brock Jones, a true five-tool player expected to go early in the MLB draft this summer. Jones plays elite centerfield, hits for both power and average, and adds speed when on the bases. He swiped 14 bags last season to go along with his 18 home runs.

From D1Baseball’s Kendal Rogers:

Jones is hitting .364 and hit a double and triple in the series against the Titans. He’s ultra-athletic, plays his position exceptionally well and has a mature offensive approach. He is the guy in this lineup who will dictate Stanford’s offensive success this weekend.

On the mound Stanford is scheduled to start southpaw Quinn Matthews. The junior is coming off a 5-2 season last year, though he also showed a bloated 6.08 ERA. He took the loss last Saturday against Cal State Fullerton, giving up 3 earned runs in 3 innings. In that outing he walked a pair and allowed 4 hits, though he also struck out 4 of the 15 batters he faced. He should give the Hogs a good test with their left-handed-heavy lineup.

Stanford opens the tournament today at noon when they take on Louisiana.

Round Rock Classic Preview: Indiana

The Hoosiers are coming off a decisive road sweep at the hand of traditional power Clemson. But don’t expect Indiana to roll over for the Hogs. They got thrashed by the Tigers on Friday and Saturday (combined score of 28-4) to take Clemson to extras on Sunday before succumbing 5-4 in 10 innings. 

The Omahogs hit the road this weekend, vacating the frozen tundra of Baum-Walker Stadium for the slightly less frozen confines of Dell Diamond in central Texas. That’s where the Karbach Round Rock Classic will be held this weekend, featuring #2 Arkansas, #6 Stanford, Indiana, and Louisiana. Like most early season baseball tournaments, this is a round robin setup where each team will play a new opponent over a three-day stretch.

Saturday afternoon’s matchup between the Razorbacks and the Cardinal is the highlight of the weekend, but the Hogs will get a stern test from the Indiana before first. The Hoosiers are coming off a decisive road sweep at the hand of traditional power Clemson. But don’t expect Indiana to roll over for the Hogs. They got thrashed by the Tigers on Friday and Saturday (combined score of 28-4) to take Clemson to extras on Sunday before succumbing 5-4 in 10 innings.

If nothing else you can count on Indiana to challenge hitters. From Burke Granger’s D1Baseball report from the weekend:

Despite the lopsided run differential this weekend, Indiana fans can take solace in the fact that the pitching staff struck out 41 Clemson hitters. Reese Sharp was true to his surname in relief on Friday, punching out seven hitters and allowing just one hit over three innings. The 6-foot-3 sophomore missed bats with both his 93-94 mph fastball and his power 78-83 mph breaking ball (2600-2729 rpm).

Brayden Tucker threw well in a multi-inning appearance on Sunday with the game on the line. A veteran pitcher with big game experience under his belt, he was unphased by the rowdy crowd. Long and lean at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, the righthander has a loose delivery and showed the ability to sequence a three-pitch mix that included a 90-91 mph fastball, slurvy 78-81 mph breaking ball and an 83-84 mph changeup with late tumble. He struck out three in two and two thirds.

Indiana had its midweek contest against Miami (OH) postponed due to weather, so they’ll be fully rested and ready for Arkansas on Friday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00pm. That time could be pushed back based on the outcome of the first game which features #6 Stanford v. Louisiana.

Changes Coming to Round Rock Classic Schedule

Due to forecasted inclement weather, the itinerary for Arkansas Baseball’s trip to the Round Rock Classic has been shaken up.

Due to forecasted inclement weather, the itinerary for Arkansas Baseball’s trip to the Round Rock Classic has been shaken up.

All three of the Razorbacks’ scheduled games at the home of the Round Rock Express, the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers, has been moved up to accommodate the outgoing snow and incoming rain forecasted for Round Rock, Texas over the next few days, according to a release from Arkansas athletics.

The first game of the weekend scheduled with Indiana has been moved up to 4 p.m. CT Friday, Saturday’s tilt with Stanford will now take place at 4 p.m. CT Saturday, and the finale with Louisiana on Sunday is now scheduled for 4 p.m. CT

According to the Round Rock Express’ website, all tickets purchased for specific games will be honored, despite changes with the schedule.

All games will be available for broadcast on FloBaseball.com, and the Razorback Sports Network.

 

SEC Baseball Power Rankings – Week 1

Opening weekend packs in tons of excitement, but it is admittedly difficult to learn much about a team. The scheduling approach of all 14 SEC teams has a lot to do with it.

Opening weekend packs in tons of excitement, but it is admittedly difficult to learn much about a team. The scheduling approach of all 14 SEC teams has a lot to do with it. Some programs, like Vanderbilt and Mississippi State, come out of the gates with post-season worthy opponents like Oklahoma State and Long Beach State. Others punch down well below their weights like Missouri and Tennessee. Most try to find the sweet spot (like Arkansas did) where they matchup with a quality opponent that should provide a test without a big risk of losing the series.

With that in mind, wins matter above all else. It doesn’t matter who a teams played, the big question is how they handled the competition. So expect some wild fluctuation in these early season power rankings. The #10 team this week may be at or near the top by next Tuesday.

SABR Prattling – Week 1

In this space each week we will take a look at the numbers. What do the analytics say? Who got lucky? Who hit into bad luck over and over again? Baseball is a game told in numbers. Much like notes on a page of sheet music, they provide the roadmap. The game is the jam session that spits out the notes. And we’re the rock writers who decipher them and talk about what it all means. 

The Arkansas Razorbacks won two out of three games this weekend against Illinois State. This was a predictable result, as most teams – even the elite ones – can drop a game on any given weekend against a competent opponent. Just take a look around the weekend scoreboard, and you will see this to be true.

But the Hogs lost their first game. Suddenly a 2-1 weekend record feels more like relief than expectation. Many Hogs fans were in near panic mode after the first game. That’s a result of high expectations. It’s also the result of sequencing, which is but one small part of the great SABR experiment.

In this space each week we will take a look at the numbers. What do the analytics say? Who got lucky? Who hit into bad luck over and over again? Baseball is a game told in numbers. Much like notes on a page of sheet music, they provide the roadmap. The game is the jam session that spits out the notes. And we’re the rock writers who decipher them and talk about what it all means.