Tag: Dave Van Horn

Hogs drop Game 3 against JMU after seventh-inning implosion, 7-3

A seventh-inning implosion was the difference in Arkansas’ 7-3 loss to JMU.

This one was ugly, but the Hogs have a long season to go.

Arkansas lost its first game of the season to James Madison, 7-3, on Sunday. The game marked the first time in over 20 years that the Dukes pulled off a win against a Top-10 opponent.

Aside from a promising first inning, the Razorbacks floundered one good opportunity after another over the next eight innings. Arkansas finished with 10 hits, six walks, and a hit batter, but only scored three runs. Nearly every inning ended with runners stranded on base.

Pitching was still excellent for the Hogs, despite a four-run, seventh implosion that happened to be the difference in the game. Even then, freshman Gabe Gaeckle—the pitcher that allowed three of the four runs—showed flashes of dominance, throwing just 22 pitches against seven batters in innings five and six.

But let’s give credit where it’s due; JMU’s Joe Vogatsky pitched a great game. The Warrenton, Virginia, native was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 14th round last year but decided to stay at the collegiate level for one more year. Vogatsky pitched 4 1/3 innings with a stat line of four strikeouts, three walks and one earned run.

Coach Dave Van Horn’s Razorbacks tend to be anemic at the plate following big performances, such as yesterday’s dominant 15-5 win over the Dukes. Hitting production comes and goes, but the Hogs have one of the deepest pitching staffs in the nation. It should be enough to pull the Hogs out of sticky situations the rest of the season.

The Razorbacks have a chance to take the series vs JMU in their final game tomorrow. The first pitch is scheduled for Monday, February 19 at noon.

Arkansas baseball vs. James Madison – Game 2: How to watch, stream, listen

Arkansas baseball vs. James Madison – Game 2: How to watch, stream, listen

The Diamond Hogs take the field for game two of their series with James Madison University.

Friday’s game began with big offensive performances from both dugouts. The runs flooded the scoreboard in the first three innings as Arkansas scored two runs in each while JMU scored 75 percent of its night’s total in the first.

Once each team sat their aces, the pace of play nearly ground to a halt. Will McEntire single-handedly put a stop to the Dukes’ bats while JMU took a different strategy. James Madison played a new pitcher every inning—save Jackson Logar who played two—never allowing the Hogs to get comfortable with a pitcher.

On Saturday, Arkansas will have a fresh bullpen. JMU, on the other hand, might need to start searching for arms to play on Monday if they continue with game one’s strategy. Apart from Hagen Smith’s rough go in game one, James Madison’s batters had a tough time dealing with Arkansas’ pitchers. With a pitching staff as deep as Arkansas, expect to see the trouble persist.

For Arkansas, watch out for Wehiwa Aloy when he comes to the plate. Aloy was the talk of the media this preseason, and after going 0/3 Friday, he’ll be more than motivated to show Arkansas fans what he’s got.

If you can’t make it up to Baum-Walker, here’s how you can watch/listen:

Fans on social media more content after Diamond Hogs start with a ‘W’

Arkansas fans find some relief with baseball’s 6-3 opening-day win.

With the football and baseball seasons seemingly going down thew tubes, Arkansas fans have high hopes for the No. 3 Diamond Hogs to rally the fan fan base.

After a first-inning hiccup that had the Razorbacks down 3-0 in their season-opener against James Madison Friday afternoon, the bats began to heat up in a 6-4 victory over the Dukes.

Arkansas All-American lefty Hagen Smith showed some first-game jitters, walking a pair of batters, before surrendering a three-run homer to JMU’s Fenwick Trimble.

But the Arkansas crowd didn’t have to wait long to begin Calling the Hogs, as they plated two runs in each of the first three innings, to take a 6-3 lead. The real celebration began after sophomore Gage Wood sat down the Dukes in order in the ninth inning.

The Hogs are now 21-1 in opening-day games under Head Coach Dave Van Horn.

The two teams are slated to play three more games in as many day, beginning Saturday at 2 p.m.

Here is some of the chatter on X, following the baseball season-opener:

Arkansas baseball to begin 2024 with four-game series against JMU

Sophomore ace Hagen Smith will take the ball in Friday’s season-opener against James Madison.

After suffering through dismal football and basketball seasons, Arkansas fans are hopeful that Razorback baseball team can finally shake the doldrums and return some joy to the faithful fanbase.

Ranked in the top four of all five major polls, the Diamond Hogs begin their journey on Friday, as James Madison comes to Baum Walker Stadium for the first of a four-game series to open the season.

The opener has been moved up an hour, due to inclement weather, and will begin at 2 p.m.

Head Coach Dave Van Horn has tabbed ace left-hander and consensus All-American Hagen Smith to take the hill in Game 1, making him the first Arkansas hurler to start consecutive Opening Days since Blaine Knight did it in 2017 and 2018.

Smith tossed five scoreless innings in a 3-2 win over Texas in last season’s opener in Arlington, striking out eight Longhorns. The 6-foot-3 junior Texas native is one of the top returning pitcher in the country, following a stellar 8-2 sophomore campaign, in which he had a team-best 3.64 ERA and 109 strikeouts in 71.2 innings.

After holding opposing batters to a .217 batting average and being named a semifinalist for both, the Golden Spikes and College Baseball Foundation’s National Pitcher of the Year Awards, Smith has been flooded with numerous preseason accolades.

Junior right-hander Brady Tygart, who finished 3-1 in an injury-plagued 2023, will take the ball for the Razorbacks on Saturday at 2 p.m. Junior lefty Mason Molina, a Texas Tech transfer, will make his Arkansas debut on Sunday at 1 p.m., while freshman left-hander Colin Fisher will start Monday’s finale at noon.

The Razorbacks return a solid core of veterans, while welcoming in the nation’s top freshman class, as well as some key additions from the transfer portal. The Hogs had a disappointing ending in the Fayetteville Regional after posting a 43-18 overall record a year ago and claiming their fourth SEC title. They are the only conference program, and one of just two teams in the country, to win at least 40 games in each of the last six full seasons.

Arkansas enters the season ranked No. 2 by Perfect Game, No. 3 by Baseball America and D1Baseball, and No. 4 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers and the USA TODAY Coaches polls.

Now entering his 22nd season in Fayetteville, Van Horn has never lost a season-opening home series, and has led the Razorbacks to 12 series sweeps on Opening Weekend. Van Horn’s 1,424 overall collegiate wins are the most among all active Division I head coaches. He was won 839 at Arkansas, including 333 SEC wins.

This will mark the first time that Arkansas has met James Madison on the diamond. The Dukes went 31-25 overall last season and finished 15-13 in their first season competing in the Sun Belt Conference.

All four games will be aired on the SEC Network+, and on the radio, along the Razorback Sports Network.

Arkansas baseball coach Dave Van Horn: MLB Draft is too early

Dave Van Horn has a good point. But it doesn’t appear the MLB wants to change.

Dave Van Horn is hardly alone in the opinion he levied Tuesday.

The MLB Draft is too early in the summer.

The Arkansas baseball head coach, heading into his 22nd season with the Razorbacks, spoke with the media on Tuesday ahead of the Diamond Hogs’ season-opening series against James Madison, which begins on Friday. Van Horn, who is no stranger to having his best players taken, isn’t a fan of where the draft currently sits in the calendar.

“he numbers don’t add up if enough kids don’t sign,” Van Horn said. “But you’ve got to have enough to compete in our league. It’s a tough pull. We need more time to get our roster squared away.”

What he means is when Arkansas or, really, any other team, is recruiting, if a player decides to turn pro when he is taken in mid-July, college teams are left in a bind. It’s too late at that point to hit the recruiting trail to make up for the loss of those bodies.

Most recently, the Diamond Hogs lost six players to the draft, including Aidan Miller, a third baseman who would have been in position to start this season. Instead, Miller chose to ink with the Philadelphia Phillies after being selected in the first round.

“You just have to get your guys in and hope the culture of your program will handle it,” Van Horn said. “It’s just like NIL and anything else. It’s what we have to deal with and that’s the way we have to go about it.”

The good news for Arkansas is that the losses from the summer don’t seem to have damaged the Diamond Hogs’ prospects for the 2024 season. Arkansas is ranked in the top four in all major college baseball polls.

Van Horn and the Razorbacks will go against a JMU in a four-game set starting Friday at 3 p.m.

SEC coaches choose Arkansas to win conference baseball title

Hagen Smith and Kendall Diggs were chosen first-team All-SEC preseason selections, while Hogs picked to win it all.

The SEC’s 14 head baseball coaches have voted Arkansas the favorite to win the conference championship this season, according to the annual preseason poll released Thursday.

Nine of the coaches chose the Razorbacks to win the Western Division and nine also picked the Diamond Hogs to win the overall title, with LSU taking three votes and Florida getting two.

Arkansas junior right-fielder Kendall Diggs and junior starting pitcher Hagen Smith were also named to the Coaches Preseason All-SEC First Team, adding to the program’s already numerous preseason accolades.

After a disappointing early exit from the Fayetteville Regional last May, expectations are soaring for Head Coach Dave Van Horn’s revamped Hogs, as they try to reach the College World Series for the fourth time in six years. Arkansas is ranked No. 2 in the Perfect Game Preseason Top 25, and No. 3 in the D1Baseball and Baseball America polls.

The Razorbacks welcome back a solid core of veterans, but have also added the the nation’s top recruiting class, as well as a few key weapons from the transfer portal.

Diggs looks to bring stability to the lineup after slashing .299/.436/.547 last season, with 12 home runs, and team highs with 63 runs batted in and 46 walks, over 58 games. The Olathe, Kan., native, was rewarded with All-SEC second-team honors as designated hitter/utility player.

The highly-touted Smith comes in as one of the top pitchers in the country after being named a consensus All-American last season. The big 6-foot-3 lefty made 18 appearances a year ago, with 11 starts and an 8-2 record. He led the team with a 3.64 ERA, and 109 strikeouts in 71.2 innings of work during his outstanding sophomore campaign. He also recorded two saves in relief, and held opposing hitters to a .217 batting average.

Smith was a semifinalist for last year’s Golden Spikes Award and the College Baseball Foundation’s National Pitcher of the Year Award, and has already been named to numerous preseason All-American lists.

Arkansas opens the season at Baum-Walker Stadium on Feb. 16, hosting James Madison in the first of a four-game series.

2024 SEC Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll

Eastern Division

  1. Florida (11) – 88
  2. Tennessee (2) – 75
  3. Vanderbilt (1) – 73
  4. South Carolina – 50
  5. Kentucky – 44
  6. Georgia – 36
  7. Missouri – 19

Western Division

  1. Arkansas (9) – 87
  2. LSU (5) – 82
  3. Texas A&M – 68
  4. Alabama – 47
  5. Auburn – 46
  6. Ole Miss – 32
  7. Mississippi State – 23

SEC Champion: Arkansas (9), LSU (3), Florida (2)

(x) = First place votes

2024 SEC Baseball Coaches Preseason All-SEC Team

First Team
C: Cole Messina, South Carolina
1B: Jac Caglianone, Florida
2B: Cade Kurland, Florida
3B: Tommy White, LSU
SS: Colby Shelton, Florida
OF: Jace LaViolette, Texas A&M
OF: Ethan Petry, South Carolina
OF: Kendall Diggs, Arkansas
DH/UTL: Ike Irish, Auburn
SP: Hagen Smith, Arkansas
SP: Drew Beam, Tennessee
RP: Brandon Neely, Florida

Second Team
C: Devin Burkes, Kentucky
1B: Charlie Condon, Georgia
2B: Christian Moore, Tennessee
3B: Billy Amick, Tennessee
SS: Jonathan Vastine, Vanderbilt
OF: Braden Montgomery, Texas A&M
OF: Dakota Jordan, Mississippi State
OF: Bobby Peirce, Auburn
DH/UTL: Hayden Travinski, LSU
SP: Jac Caglianone, Florida
SP: Carter Holton, Vanderbilt
RP: Alton Davis II, Alabama

Trio of Diamond Hogs named NCBWA preseason All-Americans

Smith leads three Razorbacks in preseason All-Americans honors.

Three Diamond Hogs. including a pair of newcomers, have been named preseason All-Americans by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

Returning junior ace Hagen Smith and transfer shortstop Wehiwa Aloy were both named to the second team, while transfer starting pitcher Mason Molina was on the third team.

Smith, a big 6-foot-3 lefty from Bullard, Texas, has already garnered a number of preseason accolades following a consensus All-American campaign a season ago. He made 18 appearances as a sophomore, with 11 starts, posting an 8-2 record with a 3.64 ERA, and a team-leading 109 strikeouts. His 71.2 innings of work also included a pair of saves in relief. He was named first-team All-SEC and was a semifinalist for both, the 2023 Golden Spikes Award and the College Baseball Foundation’s National Pitcher of the Year Award.

Smith has already been named a first-team preseason All-American by Baseball America, D1Baseball and Perfect Game. He has also been tabbed SEC Preseason Pitcher of the Year by both, D1Baseball and Perfect Game.

The 6-foot-2 Aloy is a native Hawaiian who transferred in from Sacramento State, after being a named a consensus Freshman All-American for the Hornets last season. Not only did he shine with his glove, but raked at the plate – slashing .376/.427/.662 with 14 home runs and 46 RBIs in 56 games. He was named the Western Athletic Conference’s Freshman of the Year after racking up 88 hits, with 15 doubles and five triples, and scoring 69 runs.

Molina, a 6-foot-2 lefty transfer from Texas Tech, was an All-Big 12 performer for the Red Raiders last season, starting 16 games on the hill, with a 6-2 record and a 3.67 ERA over 83.1 innings. The California native racked up a team-leading 108 strikeouts while limiting opposing hitters to a .208 batting average. He will likely join Smith in the starting rotation for conference games.

Arkansas opens the season with a four-game series against James Madison at Baum-Walker Stadium next Friday, Feb. 16.

Arkansas second-baseman Stovall back on shelf with broken foot

The Razorbacks’ junior team captain sustained the injury during a scrimmage on Monday

After returning from shoulder surgery in the offseason, Arkansas junior second-baseman Peyton Stovall will now miss 4-6 weeks with a broken foot, sustained during a scrimmage on Monday.

The 5-foot-11, 200-pound Louisiana product was struck in the right foot by a pitch from freshman Colin Fisher in the first inning. He stayed in the game and logged a pair of base hits, but did not run the bases.

After receiving X-rays, Arkansas Head Coach Dave Van Horn announced Wednesday that Stovall would miss the start of the season, which begins on Feb. 16.

One of the team captains this season, Stovall started 38 games a year ago, slashing a respectable .253/.330/.393, with five home runs and 31 RBIs.

Until he returns, the Diamond Hogs could move senior Peyton Holt back over to second base, where he took over for Stovall last season and gave the team a late spark with timely hitting and solid defense. That would likely leave third base to incoming Richmond-transfer junior Jared Sprague-Lott, who has been working alongside Holt at the hot corner in the preseason.

Stovall could return by the first SEC series against Missouri, beginning on March 15. The Razorbacks open the season next Friday at Baum-Walker Stadium, with James Madison coming in for a four-game series.

Hogs’ prized freshman lefty Dietz should return to mound in April

Freshman left-hander Hunter Dietz struck out 13 of the 25 batters he faced for the Razorbacks in the fall.

Although he won’t be ready for Opening Day, highly-touted freshman pitcher Hunter Dietz is firmly in the plans for Arkansas Head Coach Dave Van Horn this spring.

The 6-6, 230-pound left-hander from Clearwater (Fla.) Calvary Christian High School, came to Fayetteville in the fall with a chronic elbow issue. After discussion with Van Horn and his family, Dietz decided to have a minor procedure to repair a stress fracture in his throwing arm, following the fall season.

With an already deep pitching staff in place, Van Horn is not rushing the pitcher’s recovery, but is targeting an April return.

“You won’t see him pitch until probably early April,” Van Horn said at a Swatter’s Club meeting last week. “But when you do see him pitch, you’re really going to like watching him pitch. That’s all I’m going to say.”

Perfect Game ranked Dietz as the No. 57 overall prospect, nationally, and the No. 7 lefty in the Class of 2023. He finished his senior season with a perfect 9-0 record, a 1.47 ERA, while recording 102 strikeouts in 57 innings, and led the Warriors to the Class 3A Florida state championship.

He is the highest ranked pitcher Arkansas has landed since Keaton McKinney in the Class of 2014 and the highest ranked left-hander the Razorbacks have ever had, since Perfect Game began its rankings in 2002.

Reaching upward of 95 miles per hour, Dietz pitched eight innings for the Diamond Hogs during the fall scrimmages, allowing a team-low two hits, while striking out 13 of the 25 batters he faced.

Dietz is one of the cornerstones to Arkansas’ freshman class than ranks No. 1 in the country. He would likely have been a prized selection in the 2023 MLB Draft, but had a desire to first play Division I baseball, and signed with the Razorbacks.

Arkansas will begin the season on Feb. 16, facing James Madison at Baum-Walker Stadium, in the first of a four-game series with the Dukes.

Holt, Aloy show off power in Diamond Hogs’ fifth scrimmage

Arkansas completed it’s fifth scrimmage of the preseason on Monday, getting a glimpse of what the season holds.

The Arkansas baseball team is beginning to ramp up toward Opening Day on Feb. 16, and held it’s fifth open scrimmage of the preseason on Monday afternoon.

The intrasquad clash lasted just four innings, but gave a glimpse of the young, yet loaded, roster. The White team benefited from three home runs to beat the Cardinal team, 10-7.

The two biggest standouts of the day were returning senior third-baseman Peyton Holt and incoming sophomore shortstop Wehiwa Aloy.

Holt, a 5-foot-10 Greenwood product, had two homeruns in two at-bats, with three RBIs for the Cardinal, including a mammoth 415-foot shot over the left field wall in the first inning. He and Richmond-transfer Jared Sprague-Lott then launched back-to-back dingers in the third.

Aloy, a 6-foot-2 shortstop, transferred in from Sacramento State this season and has already flashed his bat and glove. The native Hawaiian went 2-for-3 for the White on Monday, with a 417-foot bomb and three RBIs. He has gone 7 for 12 in the scrimmages, with a walk, four runs scored and six RBIs.

Arkansas did get a bit of a scare when junior second-baseman Peyton Stovall was hit in the foot by a pitch, leading off the bottom of the first. He continued to hit in the game, going 2 for 3 with an RBI, but was replaced by a pinch-runner each time he reached first.

Head Coach Dave Van Horn sent five freshman pitchers to the mound, including both starters, left-hander Colin Fisher for the White team, and righty Tate McGuire for the Cardinal.

Both youngsters struggled early, as Fisher surrendering the three-run homer to Holt, and McGuire gave up four earned runs in the first, including Aloy’s long ball. Fellow freshman Diego Ramos relieved McGuire with two out in the first and promptly gave up a 388-foot, two-run homer to sophomore infielder Reese Robinett. Ramos then struck out Hunter Grimes to end the inning.

All four of the primary catchers got base hits in the game, as seniors Parker Rowland and Hudson Polk, and freshman Ryder Helfrick, each smashed doubles. Junior Hudson White had a single, but also scored a pair of runs. Helfrick also showed his defensive prowess by throwing out a base-runner at second-base.

Van Horn confirmed that this was the most depth at catcher that he has ever had here, and is still unsure what each player’s role will be.

“Usually you just hope that you have one real good one, and then one that’s going to be,” Van Horn said. “But having, really, four guys that can catch is a great situation, but it’s also a hard situation.”

Arkansas will open the season at Baum-Walker Stadium on Feb. 16, in the first of a four-game series with James Madison.