Category: Arkansas baseball

Hagen Smith, Kendall Diggs power Arkansas in series-opening win at Kentucky

No. 2 Arkansas scored nine runs over the sixth and seventh innings to take down No. 8 Kentucky, 10-3, Friday in Lexington.

Hagen Smith turned in another gem pitching performance, Kendall Diggs drove in four runs, and No. 2 Arkansas defeated No. 8 Kentucky, 10-3, on Friday night at Kentucky Proud Park.

The win gave Arkansas (40-7 overall, 17-5 SEC) a one-game lead over Kentucky (33-10, 16-6) in conference standings.

Smith (9-0) struck out 14 batters in his 12th start and limited the Wildcats to one run on three hits over six innings. He threw 101 pitches, 70 for strikes.

After Ryan Waldschmidt’s RBI double in the third inning gave Kentucky a 1-0 lead, Smith settled in to allow only one hit the rest of the night. The final five outs recorded by the left-hander were all strikeouts.

Will McEntire and Dylan Carter pitched the final four innings in relief to close things out. Kentucky plated two ninth-inning runs against Carter after the game was already out of reach.

Arkansas built its lead by erupting for nine runs over the course of the sixth and seventh innings.

After Peyton Stovall tied the game with a ground-rule double in the fifth off Kentucky starter Trey Pooser, the Razorbacks took the lead for good with a three-run sixth inning.

Peyton Holt and Ryder Helfrick drew back-to-back walks before Kendall Diggs doubled both runners home for a 3-1 lead. One out later, Ross Lovich pinch hit for Ty Wilmsmeyer and scored Diggs with an RBI double that made it 4-1.

In the seventh, the Hogs put the game out of reach by tacking on six runs — all with two outs. Diggs started the scoring with a two-run bases-loaded single to center that gave him four RBIs for the night and pushed the lead to 6-1. Hudson White followed Diggs with an RBI single for another run.

Arkansas then drew three consecutive walks against Kentucky pitching, including two with the bases loaded for a 9-1 lead. Lovich scored on a wild pitch to plate the final Razorback run for a 10-1 lead. The Hogs batted 11 times in the seventh against Kentucky relievers Cooper Robinson and Jackson Nove, who allowed four runs.

Arkansas out-hit Kentucky, 11-5. Stovall (2-for-5), Diggs (2-4) and White (2-4) had two hits apiece for the Razorbacks.

Pooser (3-1) suffered his first loss in seven starts, finishing the night with three runs allowed on four hits in 5 1/3 innings.

The series resumes Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. CDT. The game can be seen on SEC Network+.

Arkansas baseball sweeps Missouri State

The second-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks completed a perfect 12-0 season in midweek play by downing Missouri State, 8-5, Wednesday at Baum-Walker Stadium.

Peyton Stovall went 5-for-5 at the plate to help No. 2 Arkansas defeat Missouri State, 8-5, at Baum-Walker Stadium Wednesday to complete a two-game series sweep.

The Razorbacks (39-7 overall) finished the regular season a perfect 12-0 in midweek play. It’s the first time Arkansas has gone unbeaten in midweek games since 2005. The win was also the team’s 31st victory of the season at Baum-Walker.

Jared Sprague-Lott drove in the game’s first run on a ground ball that swallowed up Curry Sutherland at third base for a 1-0 Razorbacks lead.

In the fifth inning, the Diamond Hogs broke a 1-1 tie when Stovall reached on a single that would score Parker Rowland. Later that inning, Kendall Diggs lifted a sacrifice fly to right to score Stovall for a 3-1 Arkansas lead.

The Razorbacks made it 5-1 in the sixth when Peyton Holt notched his third home run of the season before Stovall added a run-scoring single to score Rowland.

Three more runs crossed the plate for Arkansas in the seventh courtesy of a two-run single to center from Nolan Souza and a sacrifice fly from Rowland that scored Wehiwa Aloy. That upped the lead to 8-2.

Missouri State put up three runs in the ninth against Koty Frank, who pitched the final 2 2/3 innings in relief and earned his fourth save of the season. Nick Rodriguez homered to lead off the inning, and Tyler Epstein doubled home a run and scored on a wild pitch before Frank struck out Caden Bogenpohl to end the game.

Arkansas used three pitchers in Wednesday’s victory with Ben Bybee making his sixth start. The right-hander pitched four scoreless innings and allowed three hits. He struck out six without walking a batter in a no-decision.

Dylan Carter (1-0) picked up his first win in relief, pitching 2 1/3 innings in relief and allowing two runs — one in the fifth and another in the seventh. Reed Metz (1-3) was tagged with the loss for Missouri State, allowing two runs in 1 2/3 innings.

Arkansas out-hit the Bears, 10-8. Stovall’s perfect day at the plate was the first five-hit game of the season for coach Dave Van Horn’s team and the second of Stovall’s career; he also went 5-for-5 in a 2022 College World Series game against Auburn.

The Diamond Hogs will close the regular season with three straight weekend series against Top 25-ranked teams in No. 8 Kentucky in Lexington, No. 21 Mississippi State (at home), and No. 1 Texas A&M in College Station. The Wildcats are tied with Arkansas for first place in the SEC standings at 15-6.

First pitch for Friday’s series opener against Kentucky is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CDT. The game can be seen on SEC Network+.

It’s Arkansas vs. Texas A&M for top seed in NCAA Baseball Tournament in Field of 64 forecast

Arkansas Baseball: On3 Sports projects it’s the Arkansas Razorbacks vs. the Texas A&M in the bottom for the No. 1 overall national seed in the NCAA Division 1 Baseball Tournament with three weekends remaining in the regular season.

The 2024 college baseball season is officially into its stretch run.

With the calendar turning to May and only three weekend series remaining in the regular season for most leagues, conference tournaments are scheduled to get underway in less than a month. The SEC Tournament is slated to begin Tuesday, March 21 at the Hoover Met in Birmingham.

With that, various publications are ramping up their weekly Field of 64 projections for the 2024 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. In those projections, Arkansas (38-7 overall) and Texas A&M (39-6) are considered the heavy favorites to land the top overall seed when Regional host sites are announced later this month.

The Aggies and Razorbacks are ranked Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, in every major poll this week, including the USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll.

The two teams will meet for a pivotal three-game series to close the regular season in College Station beginning Thursday, March 16.

According to On3’s Field of 64 projections this week, the winner of that series is a “pretty safe” bet to determine the top overall seed among the top eight national seeds/regional host sites for the NCAA Tournament.

Per On3’s Jonathan Wagner:

“Arkansas could very easily sneak into the top spot with a series against Texas A&M coming up, but they remain in the second seed right now. The Razorbacks are 37-7 overall, 16-5 in the SEC and sit at No. 2 in RPI. It seems pretty safe to assume that Texas A&M and Arkansas will be the top two seeds when it’s all said and done. Joining Arkansas in the Fayetteville Regional this week is Virginia Tech, Lamar and Florida A&M.”

Texas A&M also edges out the Hogs in Baseball America’s latest projections. Baseball America has Arkansas hosting UConn, Louisiana Tech, and Arkansas-Little Rock in the Fayetteville Regional.

Besides the Aggies and Diamond Hogs, only two other teams are still in contention for the top spot in SEC standings: third-ranked Tennessee (15-6 conference) and No. 8 Kentucky (16-5). Arkansas will meet the Wildcats this weekend in Lexington in a top 10 showdown beginning Friday.

The final Field of 64 that will make up the NCAA Tournament for a potential berth in the College World Series in Omaha will be unveiled at 11 a.m. CDT on Selection Monday, May 27 on ESPN2.

Arkansas wraps up a two-game midweek series with Missouri State Wednesday at Baum-Walker Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. CDT. The game can be seen on SEC Network+.

Wehiwa Aloy’s first-inning grand slam helps Arkansas past Missouri State

Arkansas Baseball: The Arkansas Razorbacks continued its roll through midweek play with a 12-7 victory over Missouri State Tuesday night at Baum-Walker Stadium.

Wehiwa Aloy’s first-inning grand slam gave No. 2 Arkansas the early lead, and the hits kept coming in a 12-7 Razorbacks victory over Missouri State in midweek play Tuesday at Baum-Walker Stadium.

It took only 10 pitches from Missouri State starter Brandon Beaver for the Razorbacks (38-7 overall) to grab a 4-0 lead on Aloy’s home run, a tape-measure shot to straight-away center field. It was Aloy’s 11th homer of the season and third grand slam.

The Diamond Hogs upped the lead to 5-0 an inning later on an RBI single from Peyton Holt before erupting for four runs in the third. Jack Wagner and Hudson White had run-scoring hits before two more scored on a hard-hit ball from Peyton Stovall that made it 9-0 after three innings.

After Missouri State (18-25) plated four runs against right-hander Cooper Dossett to pull to within five at 9-4, the Razorbacks continued their onslaught in the bottom of the fourth by tacking on two more runs. Ryder Helfrick doubled on a ball that caromed off the wall down the left field line to score Jared Sprague-Lott from first. Jayson Jones then brought Helfrick home with an RBI single that made the score 11-4.

Leading by four in the eighth inning, Arkansas tacked on an insurance run when Sprague-Lott hit his sixth home run of the season to cap the scoring at 12-7.

Arkansas used eight pitchers to get the win. Gage Wood (3-1) started and pitched three scoreless innings for the win, yielding just one hit and striking out four batters without allowing a walk.

Will McEntire pitched a scoreless sixth inning in his team-leading 21st relief appearance. Jake Faherty pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning, striking out two to lower his ERA to 1.08 in 11 appearances.

Beaver (2-3) was the losing pitcher for Missouri State, allowing five runs (all earned) in two innings. Arkansas out-hit the Bears, 10-5.

The win was the 31st home victory of the year for the Razorbacks, who remain unbeaten in midweek play at 11-0.

First pitch for the second game of the midweek series against Missouri State is scheduled for 4 p.m. CDT Wednesday.

Where Arkansas ranks 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 April 29.

For the third straight week, Arkansas stayed at No. 2 in the new USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll, released Monday, April 29.

Coach Dave Van Horn’s Razorbacks (37-7 overall) are coming off a 3-1 week that included an 11-1 run rule victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff in midweek play and a hard-fought series win over Florida in SEC action. The Diamond Hogs are 7-3 against current Top 25 teams.

Texas A&M (38-6) stayed at No. 1 in the coaches poll for the third straight week. The Aggies also remained No. 1 in the new Baseball America Top 25 rankings and D1Baseball poll after taking two of three from No. 18 Georgia over the weekend.

Tennessee (37-7) stayed at No. 3 while Clemson (34-9) held at No. 4. The Volunteers had a perfect 4-0 week that included a three-game sweep of Missouri in SEC play.

The only change in the top five was at No. 5, where East Carolina (35-8) jumped two spots after outscoring Memphis 36-6 over the weekend in a three-game sweep in the American Athletic Conference.

The SEC had the most schools ranked per conference with nine teams total, including No. 8 Kentucky, No. 13 Vanderbilt, No. 14 South Carolina, No. 17 Alabama, No. 18 Georgia, and No. 21 Mississippi State.

UP NEXT

Arkansas welcomes Missouri State to Fayetteville for two midweek games Tuesday and Wednesday. First pitch for Tuesday’s game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CDT. Both games against Missouri State can be seen on SEC Network+. The Razorbacks will then travel to Lexington for a three-game series against Kentucky in conference play.

Change in new D1Baseball, Baseball America top five rankings

Arkansas Baseball: Here’s a look at where coach Dave Van Horn’s Arkansas Razorbacks are ranked in this week’s D1Baseball and Baseball America Top 25 rankings for the week of April 29.

There’s been a change in the top five rankings in both D1Baseball’s Top 25 poll and Baseball America’s Top 25 rankings, released Monday, April 29.

While Texas A&M (38-6 overall) stayed at No. 1 and Arkansas (37-7) remained at No. 2 for the third consecutive week in both polls, Clemson (34-9) moved up one spot to No. 4 in the new D1Baseball poll.

East Carolina (35-8) joined the Razorbacks in D1Baseball’s new top five, as did Florida State (34-9) in Baseball America’s new rankings.

Tennessee remained at No. 3 in both rankings after a 4-0 week. In all, four of the top 10 teams in this week’s D1Baseball and Baseball America rankings were from the SEC — including No. 8/9 Kentucky.

The SEC had the most teams ranked of any conference with nine. Outside of the top 10, South Carolina (29-14) rose nine spots to No. 15 in D1Baseball’s poll after winning two of three from Kentucky over the weekend.

Mississippi State (29-15) jumped into the Top 25 in both rankings after earning a hard-fought series win at Vanderbilt. The Bulldogs climbed to No. 16 in D1Baseball’s poll. Vanderbilt (31-13) fell six spots in the same poll to land at No. 17.

No. 19 Georgia (31-12) and No. 23 Alabama (28-16) rounded out the contingent of SEC teams that placed in D1Baseball’s new Top 25.

Arkansas returns to the diamond when the Razorbacks welcome Missouri State to Fayetteville for two midweek games beginning Tuesday. First pitch Tuesday is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CDT. The game can be seen on SEC Network+.

Florida snaps Arkansas’ 27-game home winning streak

I told the team, ‘Start a new one,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said.

The streak stopped at 27.

The second-ranked Arkansas baseball team finally saw its home winning streak snapped Saturday in the second game of a doubleheader as Florida, which lost the first two games of the series, knocked off the Diamond Hogs, 9-5.

Twenty-seven straight wins at Baum-Walker tied a school history.

“We knew we were going to get beat sometime with who we’re playing. (The streak has) been amazing. I told the team, ‘Start a new one,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said.

Florida jumped on spot-starter Ben Bybee and Koty Frank in the third and fourth innings, chasing Bybee with three runs allowed and tagging Frank for four more.

Arkansas responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth when Peyton Stovall hit a two-run double, but it made the score only 7-3. Ty Evans hit a two-run home run in the sixth to seal things for the Gators.

The Razorbacks outhit Florida, 12-8, but five Arkansas pitchers gave up eight walks in the game to make things too difficult.

Arkansas is back at home Tuesday and Wednesday for a quick two-game series with visiting Missouri State before heading to Lexington on the weekend for a series at SEC-leading Kentucky.

Hagen Smith stellar as No. 2 Arkansas edges Florida in series opener

Arkansas Razorbacks Baseball: Hagen Smith continued his dominance in SEC play with another stellar start, and Arkansas defeated Florida, 2-1.

A sacrifice fly by Jared Sprague-Lott in the bottom of the eighth inning broke a 1-1 tie, and No. 2 Arkansas defeated Florida in a 2-1 series-opening victory in SEC play Friday night at Baum-Walker Stadium.

The win was the 26th straight at home for the Razorbacks (36-6 overall, 15-4 SEC), one shy of tying the school record set in 1984-85 for consecutive home victories.

Hagen Smith continued his dominance in SEC play with another stellar start. Smith pitched seven innings of two-hit ball, allowing just one unearned run while striking out 11 batters in a no-decision. He retired 17 straight batters at one point and lowered his ERA to 1.35 for the season.

With his 11 punchouts, Smith surpassed 300 strikeouts in his career and rose to second on Arkansas’ all-time strikeout list behind only Nick Schmidt.

Gabe Gaeckle (3-2) pitched two innings in relief to pick up his third win.

Offense was hard to come by for either team all night. Arkansas scored first off Florida starter Pierce Coppola in the second inning when Ryder Helfrick launched the game’s only home run to deep left field. The two-out solo shot was Helfrick’s third of the season.

Florida (21-20, 8-11) scored its only run in the seventh by way of a throwing error before the Razorbacks reclaimed the lead for good in the eighth.

Both teams were held to just three hits apiece.

The series will resume Saturday with a scheduled doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m. CDT. The first game of the doubleheader can be seen on ESPN2.

Dave Van Horn says Mason Molina will miss Arkansas-Florida weekend series

Arkansas Razorbacks Baseball: Left-handed starter Mason Molina will miss this weekend’s SEC series when No. 2 Arkansas welcomes Florida to Baum-Walker Stadium.  

Arkansas starter Mason Molina will miss this weekend’s SEC series against Florida at Baum-Walker Stadium.

Coach Dave Van Horn told WholeHogSports’ Matt Jones Thursday that Molina had twisted his right ankle during a recent workout. Molina is coming off his shortest outing of the season. The left-hander completed just 3 1/3 innings in Saturday’s 6-3 loss to No. 21 South Carolina. He threw only 30 of 70 pitches for strikes and issued a season-high seven walks.

Van Horn said he expects Molina to be back in the rotation when the second-ranked Razorbacks (35-6 overall, 14-4 SEC) head to Kentucky the following week. The Wildcats are ranked No. 5 in this week’s USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll.

In the meantime, who will Arkansas turn to with Molina out? Van Horn isn’t yet sure. Hagen Smith is the team’s scheduled Friday night starter and will start the series opener against Florida (21-19, 8-10). Brady Tygart will start the second game with Game 3’s starter still up in the air.

From Jones’ story:

Van Horn said right-hander Ben Bybee was limited to two innings against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Tuesday with Molina’s injury in mind. Bybee and freshman left-hander Colin Fisher have started multiple midweek games this season.

“We’ll go with the best option,” Van Horn said of a Game 3 starter. “We could staff it. We could pitch it like a Tuesday game. We’ll figure it out after we finish a couple games on who we’re going to throw, or at least start….Whoever we start is only going to go a few innings anyway.”

Friday’s first pitch against Florida is scheduled for 7 p.m. CDT at Baum-Walker Stadium. The game can be seen on SEC Network.

How good is Hogs pitching? Three different Razorbacks named to Stopper of the Year watch list

Dude. Look at the Arkansas pitching numbers from these three. Mercy.

The Arkansas baseball team entered the 2024 banking its pitching staff. Considering the Diamond Hogs spent more than a month at No. 1 and are now No. 2 in the nation, the bet was smart.

And it isn’t just Hagen Smith for the Razorbacks, either, though he is a front-runner for first-team All-American honors and is on a short list of Golden Spikes possibilities. No, the arms behind him are getting things done, too.

Arkansas relievers Will McEntire, Gabe Gaeckle and Stone Hewlett were each named to the midseason watch list for college baseball’s Stopper of the Year. The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association gives the award to the top reliever in the game each year.

Gaeckle carries a 2.81 earned-run average and 0.86 WHIP in 25 2/3 innings. McEntire has 53 strikeouts and a 1.05 WHIP in 42 innings. And Hewlett, the lefty specialist, has a 0.70 WHIP in 10 innings.

 Arkansas is tops in the SEC in team ERA by almost a whole run, tops in opposing batting average by 20 points, strikeouts by almost 30 and lead in fewest doubles and fewest home runs allowed.