Arkansas baseball – Page 7 – Syndication Server

Arkansas baseball on the rise in new D1Baseball Top 25 rankings

The Arkansas Razorbacks moved up in D1Baseball’s new Top 25 rankings, released Monday, May 13.

The Arkansas Razorbacks are back on the move in one of the major college baseball Top 25 rankings following their impressive, hard-earned series victory over Mississippi State.

The Diamond Hogs (42-10 overall) moved up two spots to No. 3 in this week’s D1Baseball Top 25 rankings, released Monday, May 13.

Arkansas rallied from a 6-0 deficit to defeat the Bulldogs, 9-6, to win the series Sunday at Baum-Walker Stadium. The Razorbacks had previously fallen to No. 5 after dropping two of three at Kentucky the previous week.

The SEC made up four of the top five teams in D1Baseball’s new rankings. Kentucky (37-11) jumped Arkansas to move up two spots to No. 2 in the rankings after the Wildcats won another series at Florida over the weekend.

Tennessee (42-10) stayed at No. 1 for the second consecutive week after winning two of three at Vanderbilt.

In other rankings, Arkansas stayed at No. 3 in Baseball America’s Top 25 Monday. Per Baseball America’s Teddy Cahill and Peter Flaherty:

“The Razorbacks got back on track this weekend with a key series win against Mississippi State in which they notched a pair of come-from-behind victories. On Friday, they scored three runs in the eighth inning—headlined by Hudson White’s game-winning, two-run single—before scoring nine unanswered runs on Sunday to take the series. White paced the offense this weekend with six RBIs, while in the series finale Peyton Holt hit the game-winning, two-run home run and Will McEntire (2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 K) and Gabe Gaeckle (2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K) combined to throw four scoreless innings. Arkansas is still alive in the SEC title race, but has its work cut out for it this weekend at Texas A&M.”

Texas A&M, which spent three weeks at No. 1 in every major Top 25 poll before last week, fell two spots to No. 5 in both Baseball America and D1Baseball’s rankings. The Aggies dropped two of three at Ole Miss over the weekend.

Arkansas will close out the regular season against Texas A&M in College Station beginning Thursday night. First pitch Thursday is scheduled for 7 p.m. CDT. The game can be seen on ESPN2.

Diamond Hogs beat Mississippi State in finale to close Baum-Walker regular season

Arkansas trailed 6-0. It won 9-6. Rally!

The Arkansas baseball team closed Baum-Walker Stadium on a high note Sunday.

Closed it for a few weeks, anyway.

The No. 6 Razorbacks beat Mississippi State, 9-6, in the series finale against the Bulldogs to take the three-game set, two games to one. The victory kept Arkansas a game behind SEC leader Kentucky and two games in front of SEC West No. 2 Texas A&M. Arkansas and the Aggies will finish out the regular season next weekend in College Station.

Mississippi State looked like dominant early, racing out to a 6-0 lead after three innings, including a five-run second. That chased starter Mason Molina and Gage Wood held the fort for three innings in relief, allowin two more runs.

From there Arkansas’ bats came alive. The Diamond Hogs scored runs in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh innings to rally. Hudson White’s two-run home run in the sixth tied things and one out later, Peyton Holt popped a two-run homer to give Arkansas the last lead it would need.

Christian Foutch, Will McEntire and Gabe Gaeckle worked the final five innings for Arkansas, scattering five hits and striking out four batters.

The Razorbacks’ final series of the regular season will get started Thursday at A&M. After that, Arkansas will know its seeding for the SEC Tournament, play down at Hoover and prepare to come back to Fayetteville for the NCAA Tournament.

Razorbacks rally falls short in 8-5 loss to Mississippi State

It was too little and too late for the Arkansas baseball team Saturday night at Baum-Walker Stadium.

A rally attempt in the mid to late innings wasn’t enough to help No. 3 Arkansas erase an 8-0 deficit as No. 15 Mississippi State evened the three-game series with an 8-5 victory Saturday night at Baum-Walker Stadium in SEC play.

It was the fourth loss in conference play by a Razorbacks (41-10 overall, 18-8 SEC) team that started 16-4 in league games.

Arkansas starter Brady Tygart’s struggles continued for a second straight start. After giving up five runs in three innings against Kentucky in his last outing, Tygart found himself in trouble right from the start against Mississippi State (33-17, 15-11).

He walked the first two batters he faced and allowed a single to Dakota Jordan to load the bases with no one out in the first inning.

Things only got worse from there.

After a run scored on a ground ball double play that made it 1-0, State’s Amani Larry followed with a two-run home run that upped the early lead to 3-0 after a half-inning.

After getting the first two men to lead off the second inning, the walks continued for Tygart, who issued back-to-back free passes to Johnny Long and Bryce Chance. David Mershon reached on an infield single before Tygart walked in a run for a 4-0 Bulldogs lead.

Tygart’s night was done after that. He threw 54 pitches (27 strikes) in just 1 2/3 innings, allowing five walks to go with four runs and three hits.

Things didn’t get any easier for Arkansas with Ben Bybee on in relief. Bybee walked three more batters in the third inning but escaped without allowing a run. In the fourth, he wasn’t so lucky. Jordan sent a two-run home run to right to up the Bulldogs’ lead to 6-0. After a two-out error by Wehiwa Aloy, Logan Kohler hit State’s third home run of the night for a two-run shot and an 8-0 lead.

Arkansas got a two-run home run from Peyton Stovall in the fifth inning to get back into the game at 8-4. They tacked on another run in the sixth courtesy of a leadoff walk to Nolan Souza, who advanced from first to third on a Ross Lovich single. Kendall Diggs drove in Souza with a sacrifice fly.

The Razorbacks’ best chance to pull even came in the eighth inning when they put runners on first and second and got two cracks to try to tie the game. Instead, Brook Auger struck out Lovich and Diggs looking to get the Bulldogs out of the inning.

In the ninth, Tyler Davis allowed a two-out single to Aloy but struck out Ben McLaughlin looking to end the game.

One night after walking nine batters, Arkansas pitchers walked 11 in Saturday’s contest. Tygart (4-3) suffered the loss with Cam Schuelke (3-2) earning the win in relief for the Bulldogs.

Both teams finished with nine hits apiece. Hudson White continued his hot hitting with a 2-for-4 night. Aloy (3-5) led Arkansas with three hits, including two doubles.

The rubber match of the series is scheduled for 2 p.m. CDT Sunday. The game can be seen on SEC Network.

Wehiwa Aloy, Hudson White fuel Arkansas comeback against Mississippi State

Arkansas Baseball: Hudson White had the game-winning hit as the third-ranked Razorbacks defeated Mississippi State, 7-5, in SEC play Friday night at Baum-Walker Stadium.

Third-ranked Arkansas rallied for three runs in the eighth inning to win a shaky, back-and-forth series opener against No. 15 Mississippi State, 7-5, Friday night at Baum-Walker Stadium in SEC play.

For a while, it looked like it might be the Bulldogs’ night.

After Arkansas grabbed a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning on a two-run home run by Hudson White, Mississippi State answered with three runs of their own a half-inning later.

In the sixth, Jared Sprague-Lott broke a 3-all tie with a 421-foot home run to left-center, a solo blast that put the Razorbacks ahead, 4-3.

Mississippi State (32-17 overall, 14-11 SEC) answered in the eighth by taking advantage of some free bases against otherwise reliable freshman right-hander Gabe Gaeckle. After a fielding error by Ben McLaughlin at first base, Gaeckle hit Nolan Stevens after getting ahead 0-2 in the count.

Gaeckle then walked three of the next four batters he faced to allow the tying and go-ahead runs to score. The Bulldogs evened the game at 4-4 when Johnny Long drew a bases-loaded walk. A well-hit sacrifice fly to center from Bryce Chance scored Nate Chester to give Mississippi State a 5-4 lead.

After Gaeckle allowed his third walk, Will McEntire entered and struck out Dakota Jordan to leave the bases loaded. The big hit — any hit — never came for State, and Arkansas would take advantage in their half of the eighth.

After singles from Peyton Holt and Jared Sprague-Lott, Wehiwa Aloy tied the game with a single to center that scored Holt. McLaughlin walked to load the bases, which set the stage for White’s second big hit of the night.

He lined a two-run single to right for a 7-5 lead that would be enough to give Arkansas the victory — barely.

More drama awaited in the ninth after Mississippi State loaded the bases with no one out on a walk and two singles off McEntire. Gage Wood entered and retired Chester on a popup to second base for the first out. He then struck out Logan Kohler before getting Long on a popup to first base.

The Bulldogs left the bases loaded for the second straight inning, in addition to having previously stranded two runners on base in the seventh. State left 13 on base for the night and failed to fully capitalize on nine walks issued by Razorbacks pitchers.

McEntire (4-0) earned the win in relief with Wood picking up his second save. Tyson Hardin (3-1) suffered the loss after allowing all three runs in the eighth.

Starters Hagen Smith and Khal Stephen received no-decisions. Stephen pitched seven innings and allowed four runs on six hits. He struck out six without allowing a walk.

Smith surrendered three runs and four hits in five innings of work. He struck out 11 but walked four in a 94-pitch effort (58 strikes).

Arkansas (41-9, 18-7) outhit Mississippi State, 10-7. In addition to White’s two hits and four RBIs, Aloy and Sprague-Lott both went 2-for-4.

The Razorbacks remain one game behind Kentucky in the SEC standings. The Wildcats defeated Florida in 10 innings Friday.

Game 2 of the series is scheduled for 6 p.m. CDT Saturday. The game can be seen on SEC Network+.

Arkansas baseball falls several spots in new Field of 64 projections

Arkansas Baseball: Here’s a look at where the Arkansas Razorbacks are ranked in the final regular-season Top 25 polls.

The Arkansas Razorbacks are coming off a rough weekend in SEC play that saw them drop two of three games at Kentucky.

How costly were the Diamond Hogs’ losses in Lexington? Enough to drop the Razorbacks in the latest Field of 64 projections for the 2024 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament in the eyes of two outlets.

In its new forecast for the 64-team postseason, On3 dropped Arkansas from a projected No. 2 seed to a No. 4 seed. That’s enough to keep Arkansas a “safe” best to finish as a top eight national seed, according to On3’s Johnathan Wagner.

Notes Wagner:

“The Razorbacks are still 40-9 overall, 17-7 in the SEC and No. 3 in RPI with remaining weekends vs. Mississippi State and at Texas A&M. It won’t be an easy finish, but Arkansas is still safe to host as a top eight seed. Joining them in Fayetteville is Virginia Tech, Louisiana Tech and New Mexico.”

With the stretch run of the season upon them, the Razorbacks find themselves down two pitchers after coach Dave Van Horn announced that left-handers Colin Fisher and Hunter Dietz would miss the remainder of the season with elbow injuries. Fisher has been the team’s de facto No. 4 starter this season.

While On3 is still relatively high on the Hogs (just a week ago, they predicted that the Arkansas-Texas A&M series in College Station to close the regular season would determine the No. 1 overall national seed), Baseball America wasn’t as favorable in its new postseason outlook.

Baseball America dropped Arkansas from a projected No. 2 national seed to the No. 6 seed. Similarly, BA lifted Kentucky all the way to the top of its projections and forecasts the Wildcats as the new No. 1 overall national seed. Kentucky rose to as high as No. 4 in one of the major Top 25 polls after its series victory over Arkansas.

Joining the Razorbacks in Baseball America’s projected Fayetteville Regional are Oklahoma State, Louisiana Tech and Arkansas-Little Rock. Texas A&M dropped to No. 2 with Clemson at No. 3. Tennessee and North Carolina also jumped Arkansas for higher seeds in Baseball America’s projections.

The final Field of 64 that will make up the NCAA Tournament and compete for a berth in the College World Series in Omaha will be unveiled on Selection Monday, May 27 at 11 a.m. CDT.

Arkansas returns to SEC play Friday night at Baum-Walker Stadium when it hosts Mississippi State beginning at 6:30 p.m. CDT. The Bulldogs (32-16, 14-1) are ranked as high as 12th in one poll this week and are No. 15 in this week’s USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll.

Diamond Hogs lose two pitchers to season-ending injuries

Hunter Dietz hasn’t pitched in months and will undergo a second surgery. Colin Fisher had been a staple for the Diamond Hogs.

Arkansas freshmen left-handers Colin Fisher and Hunter Dietz will miss the rest of the season, coach Dave Van Horn said.

Fisher will undergo elbow surgery. Van Horn said Fisher may undergo Tommy John surgery, though preliminary signs indicate Fisher’s elbow may not be quite that bad. He could have an internal brace operation, instead. That latter is preferred because of the shorter recovery time.

Fisher has been Arkansas’ de facto No. 4 starter this season, getting the nod in a majority of Arkansas’ midweek games. Through those contests, he finished with 2.67 earned-run average with 27 strikeouts in 27 innings with just eight walks.

Dietz, who had surgery in the fall on his elbow, will have to have another one. This one will cause him to miss up to six months. He pitched in just two games after returning from the initial surgery upon the elbow aggravating him again. Dietz ultimately pitched in just one overall inning.

Arkansas, ranked No. 5 in the nation, is preparing for the homestretch of the regular season. The Diamond Hogs are second in the SEC and close with Mississippi State and Texas A&M on consecutive weekends to end the year. The MSU series will be the home finale at Baum-Walker Stadium and starts Friday.

How far did Arkansas fall in new USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll?

Arkansas Baseball: Here’s a look at where the Arkansas Razorbacks are ranked in this week’s USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll for the week of May 6.

After dropping two of three over the weekend at Kentucky, the Arkansas Razorbacks fell from the No. 2 spot in the rankings of every major college baseball poll this week.

That includes the new USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll, released Monday, May 6. The Razorbacks (40-9 overall) fell to No. 3 in the coaches poll, while Texas A&M (40-8) fell one spot to No. 2. The Aggies had been ranked No. 1 for three consecutive weeks before losing two of three at LSU over the weekend.

That means there’s a new unanimous No. 1 at the top of every major poll this week. Tennessee (39-9), which won two of three games against the Florida Gators in Gainesville on Saturday, moved into the top spot in the coaches poll after spending the previous three weeks at No. 3.

It’s the first time this season that the Volunteers have been No. 1. Tennessee is the third SEC team to top the rankings this season; Arkansas spent five weeks atop the coaches poll before Texas A&M’s three-week stay in the top spot.

Tennessee is tied with Arkansas at 17-7 in SEC play. Kentucky is atop the league standings at 18-6 after its series win over Arkansas, which also fell to No. 3 in Baseball America’s weekly Top 25 rankings and to No. 5 in D1Baseball’s new poll. The Wildcats (35-10 overall) moved up three spots to No. 5 in the coaches poll.

Clemson (36-10) stayed at No. 4.

Georgia (35-12) and Mississippi State (32-16) were the biggest movers among SEC teams in this week’s coaches poll. Georgia climbed six spots to No. 12 after sweeping Vanderbilt over the weekend. Mississippi State also rose six spots to No. 15 after a 3-1 week that saw them defeat Ole Miss in midweek play before winning two of three against Alabama.

The SEC had the most teams ranked in the coaches poll with eight, followed by the ACC with seven.

Arkansas returns to the diamond Friday when the Razorbacks welcome Mississippi State to Baum-Walker Stadium. First pitch Friday is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CDT. The game can be seen on SEC Network+.

New No. 1 college baseball team atop latest Top 25 polls

Arkansas baseball: The Razorbacks fell in both D1Baseball and Baseball America’s new Top 25 polls, released Monday, May 6.

A new No. 1 team sits atop the Top 25 rankings for both D1Baseball and Baseball America for the week of Monday, May 6.

After both Arkansas and Texas A&M dropped two of three over the weekend in SEC play to Kentucky and LSU, respectively, Tennessee surged to No. 1 in both polls after winning two of three against Florida in Gainesville.

The Volunteers (39-9 overall) edged out Clemson (36-10) for the top spot in D1Baseball’s new poll while the Aggies fell one spot to No. 2 in Baseball America’s rankings.

Arkansas (40-9) slid one spot to No. 3 in Baseball America’s Top 25 but dropped three spots to No. 5 in D1Baseball’s poll.

Kentucky (35-10) moved past the Razorbacks for fourth in D1Baseball’s poll.

Texas A&M (40-8) had spent three weeks at No. 1 before its series loss in Baton Rouge. Arkansas had been No. 2 in that same span after previously spending five weeks at No. 1.

The SEC and ACC tied for the most teams ranked of any conference with seven apiece. The SEC took four of the first five spots in D1Baseball’s new poll while six ACC schools made up the top 12.

In addition to Tennessee, Texas A&M, Arkansas and Kentucky as the top-ranked SEC teams in the new polls, Mississippi State moved up 11 spots in Baseball America’s rankings to No. 12. The Bulldogs travel to Fayetteville this weekend to face the Razorbacks in a three-game series beginning Friday at 6:30 p.m. CDT at Baum-Walker Stadium.

Georgia also placed in the 15 in both polls, checking in at No. 14 in Baseball America’s rankings and at No. 15 in D1Baseball’s poll.

Kentucky overtakes Arkansas for first place in SEC standings

Arkansas Baseball: The Kentucky Wildcats are the new leader atop the SEC baseball standings.

There’s a new team atop the SEC standings.

Mason Molina struggled in three innings of work, and for the second straight day No. 2 Arkansas failed to capitalize with runners on base in a 7-4 loss to No. 8 Kentucky Sunday at Kentucky Pride Park.

The Wildcats (35-10 overall, 18-6 conference) won the rubber match of the series to overtake the Razorbacks (40-9, 17-7) for first place in the SEC with two weekend series’ remaining.

Just two batters into Molina’s outing, Émilien Pitre homered off the wall in right on an 0-2 fastball up in the zone to give Kentucky a 1-0 lead. Molina (3-2) was forced to throw 26 pitches in the first inning.

After tossing a scoreless second inning, Molina ran into trouble again in the third when he allowed a one-out walk to Devin Burkes. Nick Lopez then reached down in the zone to pull a two-run homer down the left-field line for a 3-0 Wildcats lead.

Kentucky chased Molina after just three innings of work, then upped the lead to 6-0 with a three-run fourth inning off reliever Will McEntire that included an RBI double from Pitre.

Arkansas broke through in the fifth when Wehiwa Aloy scored Hudson White with an RBI single for the Razorbacks’ first run. Jared Sprague-Lott added a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 6-2 before Kendall Diggs singled in the seventh to make it 6-3.

But Kentucky tacked on another run for insurance on a Ryan Nicholson single in the bottom of the seventh, and the Razorbacks stranded two more runners in the ninth off Wildcats closer Johnny Hummel after a leadoff home run from Peyton Stovall. Hummel earned his sixth save of the season by retiring Diggs and Peyton Holt for the final two outs.

Mason Moore (8-1) earned the win for Kentucky despite allowing three hits and walking four in five innings of work. Moore struck out six batters in a 93-pitch effort.

Pitre, Lopez and Nolan McCarthy all had two hits for Kentucky. Pitre drove in six runs over the final two games of the series.

Arkansas finished with seven hits, including a three-hit performance atop the lineup from Stovall (3-for-5). White (2-3) added two hits. The Razorbacks stranded 11 on base in Sunday’s game after leaving nine on base Saturday.

The Diamond Hogs return home to face No. 21 Mississippi State in a three-game series beginning Friday at Baum-Walker Stadium. The Bulldogs took two of three from No. 17 Alabama over the weekend. First pitch Friday is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CDT.

Kentucky strikes back to even series with Arkansas

Arkansas Baseball: No. 2 Arkansas was no match for No. 8 Kentucky Saturday.

Arkansas pitching didn’t have an answer for Kentucky’s bats Saturday. Three big innings at the plate — against three different pitchers — were enough to lead the eighth-ranked Wildcats past the second-ranked Razorbacks, 11-3, at Kentucky Pride Park.

Kentucky (34-10 overall, 17-6 conference) evened the three-game at a game apiece series and moved back into a first-place tie with Arkansas (40-8, 17-6 conference) atop the SEC standings.

Hudson White put Arkansas on the board in the second inning with a no-doubt two-run homer to deep left off Kentucky starter Dominic Niman. It was White’s first home run since the Razorbacks’ season-opener against James Madison.

Ross Lovich followed with a sharp single to right center, then advanced from first to third on two wild pitches. That got Kentucky’s bullpen up and going early, and it looked as if the Diamond Hogs’ bats were picking up right where they’d left off following Friday’s series-opening 10-3 victory.

Things didn’t work out that way.

Lovich was left stranded at third, and Arkansas starter Brady Tygart struggled on the bump right from the start. Tygart allowed five baserunners his first time through the order, and when Émilien Pitre batted for the second time, he lifted a deep fly to the warning track in left that Lovich appeared to misplay. The ball dropped for a two-run double to tie the game.

Devin Burkes followed with a go-ahead double down the left field line to give the Wildcats a 3-2 lead as seven of the first 12 Kentucky batters reached base.

Kentucky never trailed afterwards, adding four runs in the fourth inning off Tygart and reliever Gage Wood. Pitre had another two-run double, this time to right field off Wood, and Burkes grounded out to plate another run for a 6-2 lead. Nick Lopez followed with a run-scoring single to end the inning with Kentucky up 7-2.

The Wildcats struck for four more in the eighth inning off Koty Frank thanks to a three-run bases-clearing double from Lopez and an RBI single from Mitchell Daly to cap their scoring.

Arkansas got a run in the ninth inning on an RBI groundout from Peyton Stovall against Ryan Hagenow.

Kentucky out-hit Arkansas, 11-8. Niman (8-3) picked up his eighth win of the year with Tygart (4-2) suffering his second loss. Stovall (2-for-5) was the only player to pick up two hits for Arkansas, which left nine on base.

Pitre (2-for-3) had four RBIs, and Burkes (2-4), Lopez (2-5) and Daly (2-4) also had two hits apiece for Kentucky.

The rubber match of the series is scheduled for noon CDT Sunday. The game can be seen on SEC Network+.