Tag: Brady Slavens

Arkansas Baseball to open season in Arlington

By competing in the State Farm College Baseball Showdown, Arkansas is guaranteed a rematch against a 2021 tournament opponent.

Arkansas Baseball enjoyed a three-game sweep over top-10 teams to open the 2021 season at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, defeating Big 12 powers Texas Tech, Texas, and TCU.

The Razorbacks will get a chance to capitalize on that weekend by opening the 2023 season at the home of the Texas Rangers, as part of the State Farm College Baseball Showdown February 17-19.

The three-game weekend set will feature three teams from the SEC, and three teams from the Big 12. Arkansas will be joined by Vanderbilt and Missouri at next season’s classic, and will compete against Oklahoma State, Texas, and TCU.

“We’re thrilled to be included in the field for the 2023 State Farm College Baseball Showdown at Globe Life Field,” Arkansas head baseball coach [autotag]Dave Van Horn[/autotag] said in a press release. “It’s a great season-opening event at an incredible venue right down the road from Fayetteville. We loved our experience there to begin the 2021 season, and our fans did too.”

One of Arkansas’ key wins in the inaugural classic in 2021 was a 4-0 shutout of rival Texas. In the game, [autotag]Brady Slavens[/autotag] went 2-for-4 with two RBI while [autotag]Peyton Pallette[/autotag] struck out eight Longhorns in 4.1 innings. Out of the bullpen, [autotag]Caleb Bolden[/autotag] struck out seven batters.

Texas was only limited to two hits, both were by Murphy Stehly. The announced attendance for the game was 17,587, which marked the second-highest attended college baseball game of the season.

As part of the State Farm College Baseball Showdown, Arkansas is guaranteed a rematch with Oklahoma State. The Razorbacks and the Cowboys battled in three classic games during the Stillwater Regional in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, with Arkansas winning the deciding game, 7-3, to advance them to the Chapel Hill Super Regional, and ultimately to the College World Series.

He’s back! Brady Slavens will play one more year with Arkansas

Brady Slavens’ return to Arkansas in 2023 gives the Diamond Hogs back their leading home-run hitter.

Ask an Arkansas baseball fan and he or she will likely tell you Brady Slavens should have been taken in the 2022 MLB Draft.

But sometimes the serendipitous thing happens to Razorbacks country.

The professional ranks’ loss is the Diamond Hogs gain as Slavens announced he would be returning to the Arkansas baseball team next year.

Slavens spent most of the season as Arkansas’ designated hitter and tied for the team lead with 16 home runs while his 58 RBIs was second. He slashed .255/.332/.523 in what was though to be his final season of college baseball.

Slavens’ return gives Arkansas two starters back in the field, as he joins rising sophomore Peyton Stovall.

Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn has been busy in the transfer portal to fill the holes left off last season’s College World Series team, including a transfer from Austin Peay at shortstop and a catcher from New Mexico State as recently as Thursday.

Stayin’ Alive: Arkansas forces winner-take-all game with Ole Miss after win Wednesday

Zack Morris’ brilliant ninth inning saves Arkansas, forces winner-take-all game against Ole Miss on Thursday.

With the bases loaded, nobody out in the ninth inning and Arkansas nursing a two-run lead, Zack Morris made his jog from the bullpen. Two nights before he recorded a grand total of one out in a start against Ole Miss.

On Wednesday, he recorded three. In that exact situation.

The junior gave up a run-scoring infield hit, but recorded a strikeout, induced a flyout and a lineout to lift Arkansas to a win, 3-2, over the Rebels.

The victory forced a winner-take-all game between the two teams on Thursday night. The winner of that will play in the national championship series against Oklahoma, which eliminated No. 5 Texas A&M earlier in the day.

Ole Miss loaded the bases with no one out in the ninth after Evan Taylor allowed a single on the first pitch and Brady Tygart hit back-to-back Rebels batters on consecutive pitches. Van Horn called for Morris.

Chris Lanzilli homered for Arkansas in the second but was immediately followed in the bottom of the inning by Kemp Alderman going solo. Hagen Smith came out recorded strikeouts on eight of the next nine outs he recorded.

Meanwhile, Brady Slavens went yard with another solo home run in the fifth and Michael Turner hit an RBI single in the eighth to provide a bit of insurance.

Taylor entered in the sixth and allowed just a single hit through his first three innings. Alderman took the first pitch of the ninth to right field, though, to bring the tying run to the plate and finish Taylor’s night for Brady Tygart, the man who served as Arkansas’ closer most of the year.

But it was Morris who closed it and kept the Diamond Hogs alive for another day.

WATCH: Phil Elson calls Arkansas’ Omaha-clinching walk-off single

Here’s how Brady Slavens’ walk-off single sounded from the voice of Arkansas Baseball

“And you can call them the Omahogs!”

Those words were exclaimed by Phil Elson, the radio voice of Arkansas Baseball, following [autotag]Brady Slavens[/autotag]’ walk-off single in the bottom of the 9th inning that lifted Arkansas over North Carolina on Sunday afternoon to clinch a spot in the College World Series for the 11th time in program history.

North Carolina broke the 2-2 tie in the top of the 9th inning on an RBI single to take the 3-2 lead, hoping that it would be enough to beat Arkansas and force a winner-take-all game three on Monday.

As they have proven all postseason, the Razorbacks were not going to go away that easily.

The inning started with back to back singles by [autotag]Jalen Battles[/autotag] and [autotag]Peyton Stovall[/autotag]. In the next at-bat, [autotag]Kendall Diggs[/autotag] would reach on a walk, loading the bases for [autotag]Braydon Webb[/autotag]. Webb hit a grounder that resulted in a fielder’s choice, allowing Battles to score from 3rd base to tie the game again at 3-3.

With two on and no outs, Slavens delivered the game winning hit that would send Arkansas to Omaha.

Here is how the walk-off sounded from the voice of Elson:

Arkansas will face the winner of Monday’s Stanford Super Regional between Stanford and UConn in the College World Series later this week at Charles Schawb Field in Omaha, Nebraska. Official dates and times will be released at a later time.

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Arkansas Baseball plays “the right way”

Despite his team ending their season on Sunday to Arkansas, North Carolina head coach Scott Forbes was complimentary of the Razorbacks style of play.

Arkansas Baseball claimed a spot in the College World Series for the 11th time in program history on Sunday by defeating North Carolina, 4-3 on a walk-off single by [autotag]Brady Slavens[/autotag] in the bottom of the 9th inning.

The Razorbacks swept the Tar Heels in two games at the Chapel Hill Super Regional. In addition to Sunday’s win, Arkansas defeated North Carolina in game one of the best-of-three series, 4-1 on Saturday behind a strong outing from [autotag]Connor Noland[/autotag] on the mound.

North Carolina, who came into the Super Regional as winners of 11 of their previous 12 games, was obviously disappointed in dropping their final game of the year in heartbreaking fashion. However, that did not stop Tar Heels head coach Scott Forbes from being complimentary of the Razorbacks led by [autotag]Dave Van Horn[/autotag].

In his postgame press conference, Forbes congratulated the Razorbacks for their Super Regional victory, and says that he sees a lot of his team in Arkansas. 

“What a battle. Two great teams. I want to congratulate Arkansas. (They are) a heck of a team, what a heck of a season that they have had. Coach Van Horn and his coaches all do a tremendous job, and they have always done a tremendous job. It’s like watching our own team across the field. They play the right way. They play hard. They don’t showboat. They keep their mouth shut and play how baseball is supposed to be played. Congrats to Arkansas.” 

Arkansas’ season continues later this week in Omaha, Neb., and the College World Series. The next game for the Razorbacks, as well as their opponent, will be revealed at a later time.

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Hello, Omaha! Arkansas eliminates North Carolina in walk-off fashion

Arkansas clinched a spot in the College World Series by beating North Carolina in a walk-off Sunday.

Brady Slavens will be forever remembers in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

The senior from Olathe, Kansas, in his senior season, was a hero.

Arkansas rallied from a one-run deficit in the final inning to clinch a spot in the College World Series with a 4-3 win over No. 10 North Carolina. The trip to Omaha, Nebraska, is Arkansas third in the last four years and 11th in school history

Braydon Webb’s RBI groundout tied the game at three after Arkansas loaded the bases in the ninth with nobody out. Slavens followed and took the second pitch just out of the reach of North Carolina second baseman Patrick Alvarez and Peyton Stovall trotted home to the disappointment of the literal home team.

Alvarez had given the Tar Heels the lead in the top after he entered in the seventh as a defensive replacement. He had four hits on the season before his sinking line drive plated Thomas Frick and suggested a Game 3 was on the horizon.

Two straight singles, a walk and Slavens walk-off changed things in a hurry.

Will McEntire went 5 2/3 innings for Arkansas and allowed just three hits and two walks. North Carolina’s runs were scored off his replacement, Kole Ramage.

Arkansas took the lead in the fourth on a Jalen Battles RBI double then made it, 2-0, when Braydon Webb homered in the fifth. They were only two extra-base hits the Diamond Hogs managed on the day.

North Carolina tied it on an RBI groundout and a wild pitch in the seventh.

Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn will be making his 10th trip to the College World Series, eight of which have come while coaching the Razorbacks.

One down, one to go: Arkansas beats North Carolina in Game 1 of Supers

Connor Noland spun a gem and Peyton Stovall’s home run led the way for Arkansas in a Game 1 win over North Carolina in the Super Regionals.

Arkansas baseball is one game away from the College World Series.

The Razorbacks beat No. 10 in Game 1 of the Chapel Hill Super Regionals, 4-1, on Saturday. The victory means Arkansas needs just one more win, either in Sunday’s Game 2 or a potential Game 3 on Monday, to clinch a spot in Omaha for the third time since 2018.

The Diamond Hogs scored three runs in the fifth inning to take control. Peyton Stovall started events with a solo home run. Brady Slavens followed with an RBI single and Cayden Wallace’s sacrifice fly tacked on the final of the frame.

Meanwhile, Arkansas starter Connor Noland dazzled. He worked 6 2/3 innings, giving up six hits and a walk while striking out six.

North Carolina had its best chance against Noland in the first when a single, double and a walk loaded the bases with one out. But the Arkansas right-hander struck out Alberto Osuna and induced a come-backer from Mikey Madej to get out of the inning.

Noland retired 14 of the next 16 batters he faced. He was lifted with two outs in the seventh after giving up a single. By that point, he had another run of insurance thanks to another RBI single from Slavens in the half-inning before. Evan Taylor needed just one pitch to finish the frame.

North Carolina freshman Vance Honeycutt pulled the Tar Heels within striking distance heading to the ninth with a solo home run. Hagen Smith, Arkansas’ freshman who was the Razorbacks’ Saturday starter for most of the season, replaced Taylor for the final outs.

Smith gave up a single, but the Heels never had a chance to bring the tying run to the plate as the lefty recorded a strikeout and a flyout to end things.

Arkansas will look to clinch its spot in Omaha on Sunday at noon CT.

Razorbacks win shootout with Cowboys to win Stillwater Regional

Arkansas stood tall once the dust settled in Stillwater. They will now travel to North Carolina to meet the Tar Heels in the Super Regionals.

In a weekend fueled by long balls, marathon games, and a plethora of runs scored, the eventful Stillwater Regional has now come to an end.

Arkansas and Oklahoma State provided offensive fireworks in their previous two meetings in the Stillwater Regional, but when it came down to one final battle in the war, it was the mighty Razorbacks who stood tall when the dust settled.

All Arkansas needed was an early lead and a shutdown effort by a freshman on the mound to move on to their 4th straight Super Regional by defeating Oklahoma State, 7-3, on Monday night at O’Brate Stadium in Stillwater, Okla.

Monday’s winner-take-all game did not begin as swiftly as the previous two meetings between the Razorbacks and Cowboys, with neither team scoring a run through the first three innings.

Trailing 5-3 in the 8th inning, Oklahoma State threatened to take the lead before ending the frame with the bases loaded.

Freshman [autotag]Hagen Smith[/autotag], who lasted just 1.1 innings in Saturday’s win over the Cowboys, entered the game in relief of [autotag]Zebulon Vermillion[/autotag]. Smith struggled to find command early on, as he allowed the first three runners of his outing to reach base. However, with the bases loaded, Smith struck out the final two batters of the inning, including the thorn in the Razorbacks side this regional, Roc Riggio.

Smith would gain momentum in the top of the 9th as Michael Turner doubled home two runners to extend the lead to 7-3, and to give him a four-run cushion. Smith would use that confidence to sit down Oklahoma State in order, ending the game with two strikeouts.

In two innings of work, Smith struck out four batters while allowing one walk and hitting a batter. The outing was a breath of fresh air for Smith, as the usual Saturday starter has seen his role change over the last month.

Arkansas found its’ groove in the 4th inning by plating four runs to jump out to a comfortable lead. [autotag]Brady Slavens[/autotag] led off the inning by hitting his 15th home run of the season to put Arkansas on the board, 1-0.

Arkansas would then get two baserunners on with two outs for [autotag]Jalen Battles[/autotag], who then delivered a single that would be deep enough to score those runners, and to give the Razorbacks the 3-0 lead.

Battles would score one at-bat later on an RBI single by [autotag]Peyton Stovall[/autotag].

The Stovall-Battles connection teamed up again in the 6th inning to add one more to Arkansas’ total. Stovall singled up the middle to score Battles from 2nd base to move the Arkansas lead to 5-0.

The Cowboys began chipping away at Arkansas’ lead, by scoring three runs over the next two innings. Oklahoma State’s David Mendham hit a solo home run in the 6th inning to erase the shutout. Then, in the 7th inning, Roc Riggio and Zach Ehrhard each grabbed an RBI to cut the Razorbacks lead to 5-3.

Battles and Stovall would lead the Arkansas offense with two hits and two RBI each. Turner also grabbed two RBI on his 9th inning double. [autotag]Kole Ramage[/autotag] earned the win out of the bullpen for Arkansas, where he allowed three earned runs on four hits while striking out five batters in 2.2 innings of work.

Arkansas’ season will continue next weekend in the Super Regionals. Their next stop on the road to Omaha is Chapel Hill, N.C., where they will face the North Carolina Tar Heels. North Carolina went 4-1 in the Chapel Hill Regional, defeating Virginia Commonwealth, 7-3 in Monday’s championship game.

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Solid production at the plate lifts Arkansas over Grand Canyon

The Razorbacks silenced one of the country’s hardest-hitting teams to win game one of the Stillwater Regional

After a week away from competition, the Arkansas Razorbacks seemed to re-discover their groove at the plate, which lifted them to a much-needed opening-day win.

Arkansas jumped ahead early, and coasted the rest of the way in their regional-opener against Grand Canyon, defeating the Antelopes, 7-1 at O’Brate Stadium on the campus of Oklahoma State University.

Arkansas and Grand Canyon nearly matched each other in the hit column, with the Razorbacks holding a 9-8 advantage. But Arkansas got more production from their hits. The Razorbacks scored five runs over the first two innings on four hits to gain a comfortable advantage, while limiting Grand Canyon, who had seven players batting at .300 or better, to just one run.

The Razorbacks needed a great game to erase their recent struggles and a four-game losing skid. They got the hot start that they desperately needed in the bottom of the 1st inning on a solo moon shot by [autotag]Cayden Wallace[/autotag] to give Arkansas the 1-0 lead.

Arkansas extended their lead to 5-0 by the end of the 2nd inning, headlined by a two-RBI single by [autotag]Michael Turner[/autotag]. With two runs across already, and the bases loaded, Turner sent a grounder up the middle to score [autotag]Braydon Webb[/autotag] and [autotag]Brady Slavens[/autotag] to give Arkansas the five-run cushion.

The Antelopes top hitter put his team on the board in the top of the 4th inning. GCU’s Tayler Aguliar cut the Arkansas lead to 5-1 by crushing his 21st home run of the season to right field.

But, as the old saying goes, “the best teams find ways to respond.” That is exactly what Arkansas did in the bottom half of the inning. With two outs in the inning, Wallace drilled his second home run of the game into the Arkansas bullpen to give the Razorbacks the 6-1 advantage.

The final run of the game came in the bottom of the 6th inning on a single by Turner to score Slavens, which was the second time that the duo combined to give Arkansas a run.

Turner and Wallace combined to plate six runs for Arkansas on five hits for Arkansas. Webb, [autotag]Chris Lanzilli[/autotag], [autotag]Peyton Stovall[/autotag], and [autotag]Jalen Battles[/autotag] also collected hits for the Razorbacks.

The biggest takeaway from the game, was that Arkansas used only two pitchers in the game, which boosts their options for later games in the regional. [autotag]Connor Noland[/autotag] allowed just six hits and one earned run in 7.0 innings, and [autotag]Kole Ramage[/autotag] shut the door by tossing three innings of shutout baseball, grabbing three strikeouts in the meantime.

Next up for Arkansas will be the winner of the Oklahoma State-Missouri State game. The two teams will meet Saturday evening at 6 p.m. CDT.

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Arkansas rallies late to take game one of series with Auburn

In what was a wild game, Arkansas scored seven runs in the 7th and 8th innings to solidify a win over the No. 19 Tigers.

The No. 4 Arkansas Razorbacks continue to push the “they just win” mantra, doing so again on Friday night in Auburn.

Arkansas stormed back from being down 5-0 to take game one of the series with No. 19 Auburn, 11-8 at Plainsman Park.

The Razorbacks fought back to cut Auburn’s lead to 5-4 in the 6th inning, before grabbing their first lead on a three-run home run by Kendall Diggs as part of a four-run 7th inning. Arkansas grabbed three more insurance runs in the 8th inning to put the Tigers away.

Auburn struck first in a game that was slow to warm up. The Tigers loaded the bases with Bobby Pierce at the plate. Pierce hit a ground ball to shortstop [autotag]Jalen Battles[/autotag], and with two outs, Battles put too much power into his throw to [autotag]Brady Slavens[/autotag] at first base, sending the baseball into the Auburn dugout. The costly error allowed two Auburn runs to score, giving them the 2-0 advantage in the 3rd inning.

After Arkansas went down in order on only five pitches from Mason Barnett in their half of the 4th inning, Auburn went on a tear by scoring three more runs in the inning to push their lead to 5-0.

Brooks Carlson led off the inning with a solo home run, then two of the next three batters would reach base on singles, allowing Auburn to use small ball to extend their lead. Blake Rambusch dropped a bunt down the first base line that was recovered by [autotag]Connor Noland[/autotag]. However, 1st base was left uncovered as Slavens also attempted to play the bunt, allowing Brody Moore to score from 3rd base. Cole Foster would close scoring in the inning on a single by Kason Howell.

After being startled by the early 5-0 advantage, Arkansas got on the board in the 5th inning thanks to a slow-rolling single to short stop by [autotag]Cayden Wallace[/autotag] that scored Battles, who reached base on a full-count walk to lead off the inning. Following a controversial call that determined Michael Turner caused interference on his pursuit of 2nd base, erasing a run, Slavens hit a sacrifice fly to score [autotag]Zach Gregory[/autotag], cutting the lead to 5-2.

The next three runs between Arkansas and Auburn came via the long ball. Moore hit Auburn’s second home run of the day, a solo bomb to the right center field to extend the Tiger lead to 6-2. Arkansas wanted to one-up Auburn in the top of the 6th inning, and did so with a two-run blast by Jace Bohrofen to cut the lead to 6-4.

The Razorbacks kept chipping away at Auburn, ultimately grabbing their first lead of the game in the 7th inning. [autotag]Robert Moore[/autotag] singled on a ground ball to the pitcher, with the throw to first resulting in an error which allowed Turner to score, trimming the lead to 6-5.

Slavens would reach base in the next at-bat on a single of his own, setting up [autotag]Kendall Diggs[/autotag] with an opportunity to keep the momentum going. Diggs did so, by nailing a three-run blast to right field. The home run would give Arkansas their first lead of the game, 8-6.

In what ended up being a much-needed insurance swing, Moore would smack a three-run blast over the left field monster to push the Razorbacks lead to 11-6 in the top of the 8th. The home run proved to be major, as Auburn scored two runs in the bottom half on a double by Foster, and a single by Pierce, trimming the Arkansas lead to 11-8.

Arkansas looks to take the series with Auburn on Saturday. First pitch is set for 4:30 p.m., and can be seen on SEC Network. Hagen Smith will battle Auburn’s Trace Bright on the mound.