Tag: Cayden Wallace

Arkansas receives boost in national polls following sweep of LSU

Arkansas Baseball’s sweep over LSU was deemed impressive by the national polls

Arkansas Baseball is trending upward following a successful week that saw the Razorbacks finish with a 5-0 record.

Arkansas (28-7, 11-4 SEC) bounced back last week after suffering their first SEC weekend series loss since 2019 at Florida April 7-9 in Gainesville by taking two games from in-state foe Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Tuesday, and by sweeping rival LSU, all in front of the home fans at Baum-Walker Stadium.

Because of that, the national polls are on the side of the Razorbacks. Arkansas has now climbed back into the top-5 in all major polls, ranking as high as No. 2 according to one publication.

Arkansas’ placing in the top-5 is very telling, as the Southeastern Conference only has two teams remaining in the top-10 across the board, Arkansas and Tennessee.

Here’s a look at how Arkansas has fared this week in the latest polls:

Tigers Weep? Tiger Sweep: Arkansas sweeps LSU for first time since 2011

Arkansas took all three games from LSU in a battle of national powerhouses and two top-15 teams.

The response [autotag]Arkansas baseball[/autotag] had to losing their first SEC series in three calendar years over the previous week was impressive.

On Saturday, the No. 6 Diamond Hogs, who were ranked No. 2 before falling in two of three in Gainesville against Florida last week, sent No. 15 LSU back to Baton Rouge winless in a three-game set in Fayetteville. A four-run fifth inning was more than enough for the Razorbacks, who stretched their winning streak to five games with a 6-2 win over the Tigers.

[autotag]Jaxon Wiggins[/autotag] kept his record perfect at 5-0 when he went 5 1/3 innings on Saturday. He gave up nine hits and walked three batters, but his nine strikeouts kept Arkansas mostly out of danger, even if he was tagged for two runs.

Down 1-0 after an RBI double from Dylan Crews in the second, Arkansas sent eight batters to the plate in the fifth. [autotag]Peyton Stovall[/autotag] knocked the Diamond Hogs’ first run on a fielder’s choice, [autotag]Cayden Wallace[/autotag] knocked in two more with a single up the middle and [autotag]Brady Slavens[/autotag] added one more with a sacrifice fly.

Slavens would add two more in the seventh on a two-run shot to right field.

The series sweep is Arkansas’ first over LSU since 2011. The sweep also guarantees the Razorbacks will hold on to second place in SEC play with five league series remaining.

Arkansas is back on the diamond Tuesday and Wednesday when it hosts Arkansas State at Baum-Walker Stadium.

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Arkansas fights off LSU comeback attempt to win series opener

Robert Moore’s bat and Brady Tygart’s grit lifted Arkansas over LSU on Thursday.

In a game defined by pitching and defense through the first six innings, Arkansas (26-7, 9-4 SEC) needed a late push to fight off the comeback-minded LSU Tigers (23-10, 7-6 SEC) in Thursday’s series-opener in a 5-4 win.

Down 2-0, LSU was able to fight back to take a 3-2 lead in the 6th inning on RBI singles by the heart of their lineup, Jacob Berry, Cade Doughty, and Josh Pearson.

The Razorbacks responded in the 7th inning by scoring three runs to retake the lead, 5-3, headlined by a two-RBI single by [autotag]Robert Moore[/autotag]. But, as they had proven earlier in the game, LSU had the ability to fight back.

Arkansas called on freshman [autotag]Brady Tygart[/autotag] after a tough start to the 8th inning that began with three batters reaching base before a single out was recorded. LSU got a run back, but once that run scored, Tygart got a groundball that turned into a double play to put an end to the pressure that the Tigers were putting on Arkansas.

“That was absolutely huge. That put absolutely all of the momentum in our dugout. That got our fans really, really into the game,” said Tygart of the 8th inning double play.

The headline prior to LSU stealing the lead in the top of the 6th was [autotag]Connor Noland[/autotag]. Noland had everything working for him through 5 2/3 innings, allowing just one baserunner before Dylan Crews singled up the middle to give the Tigers their first hit.

“I was very aware,” Noland said during the postgame press conference when asked if he knew that he was throwing a no-hitter through five innings.

Noland ended the game with seven strikeouts and four hits allowed in 6.0 innings of work. Evan Taylor earned the win out of the bullpen, allowing an unearned run while striking out three batters in 1.0 innings. Tygart would go on to get his 5th save of the season.

[autotag]Cayden Wallace[/autotag] led the Razorbacks with two hits while [autotag]Braydon Webb[/autotag] and Robert Moore recorded two RBI.

Game two of the series with LSU is set for 6 p.m. CT Friday, and can be seen on SEC Network.

 

Sticks of the Game: Arkansas bats silence Gators’ bark

After a quiet start to the game, Arkansas would go on to outhit Florida, 12-3 in their series-opening win over the Gators on Thursday night.

The series opener between the No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks and the No. 22 Florida Gators began as expected, with both teams getting the most out of their aces.

Arkansas’s [autotag]Connor Noland[/autotag] matched with Florida’s Hunter Barco almost evenly through the first three innings, with Barco facing the minimum and Noland allowing just one hit.

Barco felt good about his performance through the first three innings, in which he had allowed zero baserunners and had three strikeouts. He could be seen on the SEC Network broadcast saying choice words following one of those strikeouts.

Once the lineup began its second rotation, it was very apparent that the Razorbacks had taken notes on how to attack Barco. After sending just three batters to the plate in each of the first three innings, Arkansas would score their first run of the game in the 4th inning on an RBI single to short by [autotag]Michael Turner[/autotag] as part of a seven-plate appearance inning.

Barco would continue to feel pressure, as he would hit his second batter in as many innings to begin the 4th, sending [autotag]Peyton Stovall[/autotag] to the base paths. He would later score on a single by [autotag]Cayden Wallace[/autotag] to extend the Arkansas lead to 2-0. The final run that Barco would surrender would come in the 5th inning, when [autotag]Chris Lanzilli[/autotag] led off the inning by crushing his 4th home run as a Razorback, and 46th of his collegiate career, over the left field wall to move Arkansas’ lead to 3-0. After a single by Turner, and a walk issued to Jalen Battles, Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan had seen enough, pulling Barco in favor of Tyler Nesbitt.

Arkansas’ bats would silence until the top of the 9th, when they exploded to score five runs headlined by back-to-back solo home runs by Cayden Wallace and [autotag]Braydon Webb[/autotag].

All-in-all, Arkansas outhit the Gators 12-3 in the win, with five Razorbacks recording multiple hits. Wallace and Turner paced Arkansas in the run-producing department with two RBI each.

Florida no match for Arkansas series opener

Connor Noland pitched seven innings of one-hit ball in Arkansas’ 8-1 win over Florida.

The SEC has long been the best college baseball conference in the country. Arkansas is making mincemeat of its fellow members in 2022, though.

The Razorbacks, the second-ranked team in the country, dispatched perennial power Florida in Gainesville on Thursday night, 8-1, in the teams’ series opener. The win lifted the Hogs to 23-5 and 8-2 in the SEC. Only Tennessee, the No. 1 team in the nation, has a better record at 28-1 and 9-0. Those two aren’t scheduled to play this year during the regular season.

As for Thursday, it was all Arkansas, even if it started a bit late.

The Diamond Hogs dropped five runs in the ninth for plenty of insurance. [autotag]Cayden Wallace[/autotag] and [autotag]Braydon Webb[/autotag] homered in back-to-back at-bats to start the inning as Arkansas batted around. [autotag]Michael Turner[/autotag] hit an RBI double, [autotag]Jalen Battles[/autotag] plated a run with a sacrifice fly and [autotag]Peyton Stovall[/autotag] singled home a run to complete the scoring in the inning.

Arkansas opened with Turner’s RBI single in the fourth. It was followed in the fifth by a Wallace RBI single and then in the sixth with a solo shot from [autotag]Chris Lanzilli[/autotag].

Florida managed just three hits for the game and didn’t score until the ninth. Arkansas starter [autotag]Connor Noland[/autotag], who was named to the midseason watch list for the Golden Spikes Trophy earlier in the week, worked seven innings, giving up just a single hit and one walk while striking out seven.

Game 2 in the series is set for Friday at 5:30 p.m. CT.

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Sticks of the Weekend: Battles, Wallace lead Razorbacks over Mississippi State

Arkansas’ bats played a key role in their third-straight series win over Mississippi State

The season continues to roll along for the No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks, as they took two-of-three from rival Mississippi State over the weekend at Baum-Walker Stadium.

The Razorbacks could not complete the sweep, as the Bulldogs scored two runs in the top of the 12th inning of Sunday’s finale to salvage a game in the series by defeating Arkansas, 5-3. But, the damage had already been done, as Arkansas outscored Mississippi State 20-6 in the first two games of the series to claim their 13th-straight SEC series win, and their third straight series win over Mississippi State dating back to 2019.

Hitting came at a premium for the Razorbacks in the series win, as they had solid production from [autotag]Jalen Battles[/autotag], [autotag]Cayden Wallace[/autotag], and [autotag]Zack Gregory[/autotag] in all three games, with [autotag]Brayden Webb[/autotag] and [autotag]Brady Slavens[/autotag] using their bats to create scoring opportunities on the weekend.

Battles grabbed up his first multi-home run game of the season in Friday’s 8-1 win over the Bulldogs, he would go on to grab two more hits over the weekend. Cayden Wallace added five more hits to his season total, with his most productive game of the weekend being Saturday’s 12-5 victory, where he went 2-for-5 with four RBI. Finally, Zack Gregory quietly had a solid weekend, as he hit solo home runs in Saturday’s and Sunday’s games.

Brady Slavens only played in two games against the Bulldogs, but he put in the work in the small opportunity he was given. Slavens went 3-for-6 with a double, home run, and four RBI. Brayden Webb did the majority of his work in the finale, as he was the only Arkansas batter to record multiple hits in Sunday’s loss. In the game, Webb hit his sixth home run of the season.

Diamond Hogs blast four home runs, take series from Mississippi State

Arkansas’ bats came alive in taking Game 2 from Mississippi State on Saturday. The Diamond Hogs go for a sweep Sunday.

Every Arkansas and Mississippi State baseball series since 2015 has resulted in a sweep. The 2022 series may be no different.

Arkansas won Game 2 between the two schools on Saturday night from Baum-Walker Stadium, 12-5, behind the strength of four home runs. The Diamond Hogs will go for the sweep Sunday at 2 p.m.

Arkansas scored runs in five straight innings, including four runs in the second and another four in the third. [autotag]Brady Slavens[/autotag] hit a two-run blast in the third. [autotag]Chris Lanzilli[/autotag] hit a solo shot in the fourth and [autotag]Robert Moore[/autotag] followed on the next at-bat with one of his own. [autotag]Zack Gregory[/autotag] sent the last ball over the fence in the fifth.

Slavens knocked in three runs total, going 2 for 4 with a double, a walk and his homer. He was only bested by [autotag]Cayden Wallace[/autotag], who went 2 of 5 with four RBI on a two-run double and a two-run single.

Mississippi State opened the scoring when [autotag]Hagen Smith[/autotag] walked the first three batters of the game and the Bulldogs scored on a sacrifice fly. Smith settled after that, though, ultimately going six innings while not allowing any more walks, striking out seven and giving up three runs.

Arkansas routs Mississippi State in series opener

A six-run second inning lifted Arkansas to an easy win over Mississippi State on Friday.

[autotag]Jalen Battles[/autotag] homered twice and [autotag]Connor Noland[/autotag] worked seven innings in Arkansas’ 8-1 win over Mississippi State in the teams’ series opener on Friday night from Baum-Walker Stadium.

The win kept the Diamond Hogs (20-4, 6-1 in SEC) two games ahead of second-place Texas A&M in the SEC West and one game behind unbeaten Tennessee in the overall conference table.

Arkansas pounced early, scoring six runs in the second inning to put away Mississippi State. Five straight Hogs batters reached in the inning with two outs. [autotag]Robert Moore[/autotag] smacked a two-run triple and Battles hit a two-run home run to highlight the frame.

On the other side, Noland continued his sharpness. The senior moved to 4-1 on the season after allowing just four Bulldogs hits and striking out six in his seven innings.

[autotag]Cayden Wallace[/autotag] joined Battles as the only other Razorbacks batter to collect two knocks, one of which was a double.

The two teams play Game 2 from Fayetteville at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

Arkansas vs. Little Rock: Game preview, how to watch and listen to Wednesday’s game

The No. 2 Razorbacks completed a major comeback on Tuesday against Little Rock. Arkansas will go for a midweek series win Wednesday at 4 p.m.

The No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks host the Little Rock Trojans on Wednesday, and if you’re wondering how you can watch the action live, you’ve come to the right place.

The No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks overcame a 6-0 deficit prior to the bottom of the 3rd inning to take game one of the two-game midweek set with Little Rock on Tuesday, defeating the Trojans 16-8 at Baum-Walker Stadium.

Arkansas began chipping away at the Trojan lead in the bottom half of the 3rd inning when [autotag]Robert Moore[/autotag] and [autotag]Chris Lanzill[/autotag]i each collected an RBI on a double to left and a single to center respectively to cut the Little Rock lead to 6-2 heading to the 4th inning.

Little Rock’s Canyon McWilliams aided his team by coming off of the bench to hit a solo home run in the top of the 5th inning to expand the Trojans’ lead to 7-2. The Razorbacks responded by scoring nine runs over the next two innings to head into the 7th inning with a comfortable 11-7 lead.

[autotag]Cayden Wallace[/autotag], [autotag]Jaden Battles[/autotag], and [autotag]Drake Varnado[/autotag] contributed to the five-run 5th inning with their bats while Kendall Diggs was able to secure an RBI by reaching base on a fielder’s choice. Wallace led off the inning by hitting his 4th home run over the right center-field fence, while Battles and Varnado each grabbed RBI on singles.

Battles and Varnado would contribute to the four-run 6th inning as well by picking up an RBI each. Battles on a single to left field and Varnado on a sacrifice fly to score Moore. The two key bats of the game, [autotag]Braydon Webb[/autotag] and [autotag]Michael Turner[/autotag], scored their first runs of the game in back-to-back at-bats. Webb singled to left field to advance Wallace to 3rd base, who would then score on an error by Little Rock to extend the Razorback lead to 12-7. Webb would later score on an RBI double by Turner.

For safe measure, Arkansas would score five insurance runs in the bottom of the 8th on two swings of the bat. After beginning the inning on two-straight walks, freshman [autotag]Kendall Diggs[/autotag] hit his first career homerun as a Razorback to give Arkansas the 14-7 lead. Varnado would get hit by a pitch in the next at-bat, and would score two batters later when Braydon Webb hit his now team-leading 5th home run of the season, expanding the lead to 16-7.

Little Rock’s Miguel Soto cut into the Razorback lead in the top of the 9th inning on an RBI double, but the Trojans could not storm back, giving Arkansas their 19th win of the season.

Wednesday, the Razorbacks and Trojans will conclude their midweek series. First pitch from Baum-Walker Stadium is set for 4 p.m.

Van Horn’s 300th SEC win is series clincher over Missouri

Arkansas won their 12th straight SEC series by defeating Missouri on Sunday. The win was sentimental for Razorback fans, as Dave Van Horn claimed his 300th SEC win as head coach.

The No. 4 Arkansas Razorbacks won their second consecutive conference series to open league play on Sunday, defeating Missouri, 6-4, winning two of the three-game series to move to 18-4, 5-1 in SEC play.

The win keeps Arkansas in the driver’s seat of the SEC West, as they hold on to a two-game lead over Auburn, Texas A&M, LSU, and Mississippi State through two SEC series weekends. Sunday’s win over Missouri holds sentimental value for Razorback fans, as the leader of their program grabbed his 300th SEC win.

Since Dave Van Horn took over his alma mater’s baseball program in 2003, the Razorbacks have won 768 games, have appeared in the College World Series six times, and have held the title of conference champions three times. Arkansas has also made the postseason in all but one season under the direction of Van Horn.

Arkansas needed to come from behind to grab the series win over the Tigers. Missouri got on the board first on a two-run home run by Luke Mann in the 2nd inning to jump out to a 2-0 lead. The Razorbacks tied the game at 2-2 in the 4th inning thanks to a bases-loaded single by Jalen Battles to score Chris Lanzilli, and a bases-loaded walk to Zack Gregory.

Arkansas placed the dagger in Missouri in the top of the 7th inning, when they pulled away by scoring four runs in the inning, taking advantage of two Missouri errors. After a leadoff walk to Cayden Wallace and Peyton Stovall reaching base on a throwing error by Missouri’s Luke Mann, Michael Turner gave the Razorbacks the lead on a single to score Wallace. The second error of the inning would be a balk by the Tigers’ Austin Troesser that scored Stovall, pushing Arkansas ahead, 4-2.

Braydon Webb delivered the final blow with two outs in the inning by doubling down the third base line to score Robert Moore and Michael Turner to give Arkansas the 6-2 lead.

The Tigers would grab two more runs in the bottom of the 8th inning to cut into the Arkansas lead, 6-4, on a Tre Morris RBI single and a fielder’s choice that allowed Carlos Pena to score.

Seven Razorbacks grabbed a hit in the contest, with Michael Turner grabbing two hits to lead the team. On the mound, Jaxon Wiggins had another solid outing by allowing four hits and striking out eight batters over 7.1 innings of work, grabbing his 4th win of the season.

After another solid outing on Sunday, Wiggins says that he is feeling great about his recent performances, and believes in his team ahead of their next series at Mississippi State.

“For me personally, I have all the confidence in the world,” Wiggins said on the SEC Network broadcast following Arkansas’ win. “As for the team, I have confidence in them, and I’m sure that they have confidence.”

The Razorbacks will host a two-game midweek set with Little Rock before hosting the defending national champion Mississippi State Bulldogs for a three-game weekend series beginning Friday night at Baum-Walker Stadium.

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