Category: Arkansas baseball

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.

Hogs Hold on to No. 2 in D1Baseball Rankings

Despite an Opening Day loss to Illinois State the Arkansas Razorbacks retained their lofty ranking in the latest D1Baseball rankings this week. The Hogs rallied to win on Saturday and Sunday and sit at 2-1 on the young season. They head to Texas this weekend for a Top Ten showdown with #6 Stanford (2-1) in the Karbach Round Rock Classic on Saturday. 

Despite an Opening Day loss to Illinois State the Arkansas Razorbacks retained their lofty ranking in the latest D1Baseball rankings this week. The Hogs rallied to win on Saturday and Sunday and sit at 2-1 on the young season. They head to Texas this weekend for a Top Ten showdown with #6 Stanford (2-1) in the Karbach Round Rock Classic on Saturday.

Arkansas opens the tournament on Friday against Indiana (0-3) and wrap up on Sunday against Louisiana (2-1).

Texas held onto the top spot after its weekend sweep of Rice. Ole Miss (3-0), Oklahoma State (2-1), and Vanderbilt (1-2) round out the top five. The Cowboys are riding high coming off taking two of three in Nashville against the Commodores over the weekend. The SEC has 8 teams in this week’s rankings.

  1. Texas
  2. Arkansas
  3. Ole Miss
  4. Oklahoma State
  5. Vanderbilt 
  6. Stanford
  7. Mississippi State
  8. LSU
  9. North Carolina State
  10. Florida State
  11. Arizona
  12. Long Beach State
  13. Notre Dame
  14. Oregon State
  15. Florida
  16. Georgia
  17. TCU
  18. Tennessee
  19. Georgia Tech
  20. Texas Tech
  21. Liberty
  22. Maryland
  23. Duke
  24. Miami
  25. East Carolina

Arm Of The Game: Ramage Is Redeemed

In four innings of relief, Ramage earned the save by striking out six batters, allowing two hits and an earned run.

In Friday’s season opener with Illinois State, Redshirt Senior Kole Ramage caught a tough break following a perfect 6th inning of relief.

After retiring the first batter of the 7th inning, Illinois State’s Kyle Soberano reached base on a single to center field and later scored on a double down the left field line by Aiden Huggins, which gave the Redbirds the 3-2 lead, and ultimately the win.

In Sunday’s finale, Ramage redeemed himself.

The Southlake, Texas product entered the game at the top of the 6th inning, just after Arkansas scored two runs to take the 3-1 lead, and could not have set the tone any better. Ramage struck out the side on just 14 pitches, keeping momentum on the side of the Hogs.

In four innings of relief, Ramage earned the save by striking out six batters, allowing two hits and an earned run. His only falter was a leadoff home run in the top of the 8th inning to Illinois State’s Ryan Cermak.

With the save, Ramage’s ERA has dropped to 3.18, and he now leads the staff in strikeouts with six.

Sticks of the Game: Slavens perfect as Hogs take series from Illinois State

It’s harder to more at the plate than Brady Slavens did in Arkansas’ 4-2 win on Sunday. Perfect is just fine.

Arkansas racked up 12 hits and drew five walks in Sunday’s 4-2 over Illinois State and almost everyone got in on the act.

Unfortunately, the Diamond Hogs left 12 runners on base, but runs in the fourth, fifth and eighth innings were enough to keep the Redbirds from a would-be surprise season-opening series win.

Eight of Arkansas’ nine starters reached base, though none as efficiently as Brady Slavens, who served as the designated hitter.

He was joined in a multi-hit game by freshman first baseman Peyton Stovall, preseason All-American Robert Moore, and slick-fielding shortstop Jalen Battles.

Four of the Hogs’ 12 hits went for extra-bases, including Battles’ RBI double in the eighth that provided a run of insurance for reliever Kole Ramage, who picked up a four-inning save.

Here is a closer look at Arkansas’ Sticks of the Game.

Arkansas takes season-opening series with win over Illinois State on Sunday

Eight of Arkansas’ nine starters reached base while Jaxon Wiggins and Kole Ramage limited Illinois State in the Diamond Hogs’ win.

Arkansas baseball salvaged a series win after dropping the season opener on Friday, beating Illinois State, 4-2, Sunday afternoon in Fayetteville.

Chris Lanzilli and Brady Slavens hit back-to-back RBI singles in the fifth to break a 1-all tie while Jaxon Wiggins and Kole Ramage worked around trouble over nine to limit Illinois State.

The Redbirds pulled within a run in the eighth when Ryan Cermak hit a solo home run off Ramage to start the inning. But Arkansas’ right-hander retired the next three to keep Illinois State at bay.

Arkansas built the lead back to two in the bottom of the inning when Jalen Battles doubled home Zack Gregory, who walked as the inning’s first batter.

Wiggins allowed seven baserunners and a run in his five innings of work, striking out five, as well. He worked himself into trouble in the second when he allowed back-to-back singles at the beginning of the inning and a wild pitch gave Illinois State runners at second and third. A fielder’s choice allowed the Redbirds to score first, but Wiggins induced a flyout and groundout to get out of it.

Ramage worked four innings in relief, striking out six and giving up two hits, including the solo homer.

Slavens went 3 for 3 with an RBI and a walk. Battles, Robert Moore and Peyton Stovall each had two hits with Moore crossing the plate twice and Stovall once.

Arkansas will travel to Round Rock, Texas, on the weekend for three games as part of the Karbach Round Rock Classic. The Diamond Hogs play Indiana on Friday, Stanford on Saturday and Louisiana on Sunday.

Pitcher of the Game: Hagen Smith

Hagen Smith, the freshman lefty lived up to the hype and then some. He scattered five hits over six innings without yielding a run. The long, tall Texan struck out five and walked only one.

This one was a no-brainer.

Hagen Smith, the freshman lefty lived up to the hype and then some. He scattered five hits over six innings without yielding a run. The long, tall Texan struck out five and walked only one. Even more impressive than the numbers, Smith looked like he belonged out there. 

Fans will quickly fall in love with the kid’s easy, smooth delivery. He throws from a three-quarter slot, a la Chris Sale. But his delivery is far less violent than the Boston lefty’s, putting less stress on that golden left arm. Smith was a joy to watch today.

Bullpen Notes:

  • Mark Adamiak threw his first pitches of the year. He was questionable this weekend after taking a Peyton Stovall line drive off the shin last week during a scrimmage. Adamiak showed the power we expected but lacked some command, giving up 3 hits and a walk in 1 1/3 IP.
  • Evan Taylor made a nice audition for Mr. Matchup Lefty. He faced one batter, striking out Jake McCaw.
  • Heston Tole earned the rare 4-run save after entering with two runners on in the eighth inning. Tole ended up giving up a run on one hit, though he looked pretty sharp in doing so. Tole is one to watch this season. He could be a useful swingman out of the bullpen.

Sticks of the Game: Robert Moore, Cayden Wallace rake in Hogs’ win

Robert Moore, Cayden Wallace and Michael Turner had the best hitting days for the Diamond Hogs on Saturday.

The two most dangerous hitters in the Arkansas lineup gave an early glimpse on Saturday of what Diamond Hogs fans hope will be a regularity this season.

Preseason All-American Robert Moore and high-round MLB prospect Cayden Wallace did a bulk of the Razorbacks’ damage in the team’s 5-1 win over Illinois State at Baum-Walker Stadium. The win avenged the Diamond Hogs’ loss in the season opener the day before.

Accordingly, Moore, Wallace and catcher Michael Turner earned the Sticks of the Game honors for Game 2 of the series. Read more about each of their days below.

Arkansas and Illinois State play the rubber match Sunday at 1 p.m.

Hagen Smith BRILLIANT in Arkansas debut as Diamond Hogs beat Illinois State

Hagen Smith, a freshman from Texas, looked every bit the part of SEC weekend starter in his collegiate debut.

Hagen Smith was rated as the top left-handed high-school pitcher in the country last year. When it became clear the MLB draft was out of the picture, Arkansas as all too happy to receive his services.

Saturday showed why.

Smith pitched six innings of shutout ball in his collegiate debut and preseason All-American Robert Moore knocked in three runs as Arkansas bounced back from its season-opening loss to Illinois State on Saturday, 5-1.

Smith was dynamite from the word go, striking out three of the first six batters he faced, eliminating all of them. Even by the sixth, his final inning, on 77 pitches, he still retired the Redbirds in order, 1-2-3.

By that point he had already been staked to a 4-0 lead. Moore had hit a solo home run in the first and Cayden Wallace had an RBI single in the second for the early Arkansas runs. Moore blasted a two-run home double in the fifth to give the Diamond Hogs even more breathing room. Moore and Wallace each went 2 for 4 on the day with Wallace also cranking a double.

But the game belonged to the southpaw pitcher as coach Dave Van Horn completely re-organizes his weekend rotation from last year. Smith is almost assuredly going to be in it.

Kent State transfer Michael Turner had an RBI double in the eighth for Arkansas’ final run. Connor Olson singled home Illinois State’s lone run in the ninth.

Arkansas baseball vs Illinois State Game 2: How to watch, stream, listen

After dropping a heartbreaker in the opener, Arkansas seeks to bounce back Saturday against Illinois State.

Things didn’t begin the way Arkansas baseball would have wanted Friday.

The Diamond Hogs dropped their season opener for the first time in forever as Illinois State shocked the home crowd at Baum-Walker Stadium, 3-2. Saturday, though, is a new day.

Game 2 between the Redbirds and Razorbacks is scheduled to start noon.

The Diamond Hogs are ranked No. 2 in the nation by D1Baseball.com and in the Top 10 in five other polls. The Collegiate Baseball poll is the outlier as it has Arkansas ranked No. 20 in the nation..

Illinois State was picked to finish third in the Missouri Valley Conference, a league that occasionally gets two teams in the NCAA Tournament. Dallas Baptist, a team Arkansas has seen recently in the Tournament, was a unanimous first-place selection.

Left-handed freshman Hagen Smith is set to make his debut for the Diamond Hogs. He was ranked as the No. 1 southpaw in the Class of 2021.

How to Watch

When: 12 p.m.

Where: Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville

Traditional TV: SEC Network+

Online live stream: ESPN.com/watch

For those seeking the radio broadcast of the game, you can find the complete list below. In Northwest Arkansas, KQSM 92.1 will be the broadcaster in 2022.

Arkansas radio affiliates

Batesville, KWOZ-FM, 103.3

Camden, KCXY-FM, 95.3

Crossett, KAGH-FM, 104.9

Crossett, KAGH-AM, 800

DeQueen, KDQN-FM, 92.1

DeWitt, KDEW-FM, 97.3

El Dorado, KMRX-FM, 96.1

Fayetteville, KQSM-FM, 92.1

Forrest City, KBFC-FM, 93.5

Fort Smith, KERX-FM, 95.3

Glenwood, KHGZ-FM, 98.9

Glenwood, KHGZ-AM, 670

Hot Springs, KTTG-FM, 96.3

Jonesboro, KEGI-FM, 100.5

Little Rock, KABZ-FM, 103.7

Magnolia, KZHE-FM, 100.5

Marshall, KBCN-FM, 104.3

Mena, KTTG-FM, 96.3

Mena, KENA-FM, 104.1

Monticello, KGPQ-FM, 99.9

Morrilton, KCON-FM, 99.3

Mountain Home, KOMT-FM, 93.5

Ozark, KDYN-FM, 96.7

Ozark, KDYN-AM, 1540

Searcy, KRZS-FM, 99.1

Texarkana, KKTK-AM, 1400

Wynne, KWYN-FM, 92.5

Pitcher of the Game: Illinois St 3 – Arkansas 2

Arkansas pitching handed out six free passes, hit a batter, and allowed seven base hits. The defense helped limit the damage, and pitchers were able to get out of james they created for themselves. To only allow 3 runs out of 14 baserunners is a notable accomplishment. 

A frustrating afternoon gave way to an even more frustrating evening in Fayetteville on Friday. The #2 Arkansas Razorbacks dropped their home opener for the first time since the Clinton Administration in a 3-2 loss at the hands of Illinois State. That loss, though, was not due to bad pitching.

The pitching was not great, to be sure, but it was more than good enough to win. This may be the only time for the whole year the Hogs lose after limiting their opponents to only three runs. As is so often the case, this game was lost on the margins.

Arkansas pitching handed out six free passes, hit a batter, and allowed seven base hits. The defense helped limit the damage, and pitchers were able to get out of james they created for themselves. To only allow 3 runs out of 14 baserunners is a notable accomplishment.

The game ball for pitching today goes to Gabriel Starks. The Pine Bluff native came into the game in a sticky situation. He spike his first pitch in the dirt for a WP, then came back to strikeout the Redbirds best hitter. He followed that up with another WP, only to cover home plate in time to tag out Kyle Soberano as he tried to score from third.

Starks was the only Razorback to not issue a walk, and he – along with catcher Michale Turner – turned lemons into lemonade in the ninth inning. They gave Arkansas a chance in the home half of the inning.