Tag: Razorbacks Baseball

Arkansas vs. Kentucky: Game preview, how to stream Friday’s opener

Arkansas has another big opportunity awaiting them this weekend, when they take on No. 12 Kentucky at Bogle Park

Last week, No. 6 Arkansas had an opportunity to prove just how talented and worthy they were of a higher ranking by hosting the No. 17 Auburn Tigers. Arkansas took the chance that they were given, and ran with it.

The Razorbacks (30-7, 9-3 SEC) swept the Tigers, outscoring Auburn, 28-11, which included a 17-4 drubbing in run-rule fashion on Sunday.

This weekend, Arkansas has the opportunity to build on its impressive resume by hosting No. 12 Kentucky (28-9, 8-4 SEC) in a three-game series beginning Friday at Bogle Park.

The Wildcats started off the SEC schedule on the wrong foot, by losing two-of-three games to Alabama, but have since bounced back to win three straight series over Auburn, Ole Miss, and a three-game sweep of LSU in Baton Rouge.

Razorbacks shut out LSU to take series

The Razorbacks clinched the series over LSU by relying on the long ball and solid pitching.

In game one of the much-anticipated series between rivals No. 6 Arkansas and No. 12 LSU, the Razorbacks relied on solid pitching from Connor Noland, who carried a no-hitter into the 6th inning, and again on Brady Tygart late in the game to secure the win.

Friday’s game was much of the same, as freshman [autotag]Hagen Smith[/autotag] was dominant from the very beginning in Arkansas’ 4-0 win over LSU at Baum-Walker Stadium.

Arkansas (27-7, 10-4 SEC) got a solid outing from Smith on Friday, as he pitched arguably his best game against an SEC opponent in his young career. In the win over LSU (23-11, 7-7 SEC), Smith matched his season-high in strikeouts against SEC foes with seven and allowed a season-low two hits and zero earned runs in SEC play in seven innings of work.

[autotag]Zebulon Vermillion[/autotag] and [autotag]Evan Taylor[/autotag] finished the game and combined to allow one hit in the final three frames.

While Smith did his job on the mound, the Arkansas defense backed him up as well. The Razorbacks played errorless ball, and made elite plays such as this one from short stop [autotag]Jalen Battles[/autotag]:

All four of Arkansas’ runs came via the long ball, with two coming in the 3rd inning.

[autotag]Zack Gregory[/autotag] put the Razorbacks on the board with a solo home run to lead off the inning. He smashed the second pitch of the at-bat to left field to give Arkansas the 1-0 lead. [autotag]Brady Slavens[/autotag] walked later in the inning, setting up [autotag]Michael Turner[/autotag] to extend the lead by nailing his 4th home run to lift Arkansas to a 3-0 lead.

To add insurance, [autotag]Chris Lanzilli[/autotag] joined the home run party by hitting a lazer to left field, pushing the Arkansas lead to 4-0. Lanzilli’s 47th career home run traveled 361 feet, and left his bat at a screaming 100 miles per hour according to Arkansas Baseball Player Development.

Arkansas will go for the sweep over LSU on Saturday. First pitch for the final game of the series is set for 2 p.m. CT.

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Arkansas Baseball: How series loss to Florida affected Arkansas in polls

Arkansas lost their first SEC series since 2019 last weekend. How did that affect their place in the polls?

The streak was destined to come to an end at some point.

Arkansas Baseball suffered their first SEC weekend series loss of the season and their first since 2019 last weekend to the Florida Gators. After taking game one easily, 8-1, Arkansas fell to the Gators in consecutive games, 7-2 and 9-7 respectively.

Arkansas was ranked as high as No. 2 in most major polls last week while ranking as low as No. 4. How much did Arkansas drop in the latest polls? Not as much as one would think.

Due to the success of Tennessee, who swept another SEC opponent in Missouri last weekend to move to an impressive 12-0 in SEC play, they remain at No. 1 across the board. However, teams who were mainstays in the top-10 most of the season have fallen off recently, including Ole Miss and Vanderbilt, who have lost two SEC series in a row.

Arkansas collectively remains in the top-10, with the average polling placement being No. 6, and the highest-ranking being No. 5. Here’s a look at how the Razorbacks will enter the week based on the top-25 polls of major news outlets.