Tag: Zebulon Vermillion

Zebulon Vermillion inks deal with New York Mets

Vermillion has signed a money-saving deal with the New York Mets, which brings Arkansas’ signing total to seven players.

A former Arkansas reliever is the latest to sign his rookie contract.

[autotag]Zebulon Vermillion[/autotag], the No. 299 overall selection by the New York Mets, has agreed to terms with the organization according to Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline.

According to Callis, the deal is a money-saver for the Mets, who have signed Vermillion for $20,000.

Vermillion posted an overall record of 10-1 in five seasons at Arkansas, recording an even 100 strikeouts in 71 appearances. Vermillion saw his most action during the 2022 season, a season in which he used his extra season of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic-shortened season of 2020.

In 24 appearances, Vermillion struck out 28 batters while walking ten and allowing 22 hits in 26.1 innings of work on the mound, posting a career-low in ERA with 2.39.

Vermillion becomes the seventh Razorback draftee to sign a rookie deal. At the time of this post, no deals had been reported for [autotag]Cayden Wallace[/autotag] (49th overall selection by Kansas City), and [autotag]Mark Adamiak[/autotag] (454th overall selection by Oakland).

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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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Update on status of Freshman pitcher Brady Tygart

Tygart did not suffer an injury as many feared in Friday’s game against Florida, according to a reliable source.

Arkansas fans were discouraged while watching the Razorbacks fall to Florida, 7-5 on Friday, a loss that would end their stay at the SEC Tournament.

During the 6th inning of Friday’s game, fans’ disappointment turned to worry as one of the most reliable arms in the Arkansas bullpen left the game after facing just four batters.

[autotag]Brady Tygart[/autotag], a freshman from Hernando, Miss. who has been used primarily as the Arkansas closer, left the game in the 6th inning in what seemed to be earlier than anticipated.

During the SEC Network broadcast of the Arkansas-Florida game, cameras showed Tygart exhibiting signs of discomfort during a mound visit with pitching coach [autotag]Matt Hobbs[/autotag]. After chatting with Hobbs briefly, Tygart exited the game and [autotag]Zebulon Vermillion[/autotag] entered from the bullpen.

While most feared that Tygart had suffered an injury, fans can now breathe a sigh of relief now that a reliable source, Tygart’s mother Belinda, has shared that Tygart was just feeling lightheaded.

Head coach [autotag]Dave Van Horn[/autotag] confirmed after the game that Tygart felt nauseated during the game, and that there was no injury.

In his first year at Arkansas, Tygart has recorded eight saves while striking out 47 batters in 34.0 innings of work.

Next up for Arkansas is the regional round of the NCAA Tournament. The announcement of Arkansas’ post season destination will be revealed Monday morning.

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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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Tygart Bends Mizzou into Knots

The #3 Arkansas Razorbacks outlasted Missouri on Friday night, beating the Tigers 7-5 in Columbia, Missouri, in a back-and-forth affair. While Mizzou never led, they pushed the Hogs by answering Razorback runs time and again. That is, until the 8th inning.

Enter Brady Tygart

The #3 Arkansas Razorbacks outlasted Missouri on Friday night, beating the Tigers 7-5 in Columbia, Missouri, in a back-and-forth affair. While Mizzou never led, they pushed the Hogs by answering Razorback runs time and again. That is, until the 8th inning.

Enter Brady Tygart

The electric freshman baffled the black and gold, making SEC hitters look silly by striking out 5 of the 8 batters he faced. Even after Missouri brought the tying run to the plate, Tygart answered the bell by striking out Mike Colleta to end the game.

Conor Noland started the game for Arkansas, leaving after 5 complete innings on 101 pitches. The Tigers worked the Hogs senior, scratching out 7 hits – 3 of which that never left the infield – while only earning one walk. Noland padded his impressive strikeout total but K-ing 9 batters, giving him 47 for the year. He has an impressive 12.3 K/9 rate this year, notably without an overpowering fastball.

Zebulon Vermillion picked up the win after surrendering the lead by giving up his first three hits and first earned run of the season. Evan Taylor gave up a run in relief but also looked sharp at times.

Any win is a good win the SEC, especially on a Friday night. It was not the prettiest or most dominating win of the season, but it was good to see the Hogs respond after being pushed by a scrappy Missouri team. They’ll play again on Saturday in CoMo. First pitch is set for 2:00pm and will be televised on ESPN Plus.

Smith Settles, Vermillion Slams the Door

In his first SEC start, freshman lefty Hagen Smith got off to a bit of a rocky start. But by the time he took the ball to start the 3rd inning, Smith had a three-run lead and settled down to earn his fourth win of the season.

In his first SEC start, freshman lefty Hagen Smith got off to a bit of a rocky start. But by the time he took the ball to start the 3rd inning, Smith had a three-run lead and settled down to earn his fourth win of the season. He retired 12 of the 14 batters he faced after the second inning before handing the ball over to Zebulon Vermillion.

The towering righty issued a leadoff walk in the seventh before mowing through the Wildcats for the rest of the night. Zeb did not allow a hit and whiffed five of the 10 batters he faced. It was as dominant a performance as we’ve ever seen from Vermillion.

Hogs Pitchers Leaving Grambling Grumbling

It was a bullpen day for the 3rd-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks baseball team on Tuesday. Sometimes that can lead to long, inconsistent games as each pitcher who takes the mound never finds time to get comfortable. That was not the case for the Hogs, though. Four pitchers combined to strikeout 13 Grambling Tigers en route to a 14-1 victory in 8 innings.

It was a bullpen day for the 3rd-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks baseball team on Tuesday. Sometimes that can lead to long, inconsistent games as each pitcher who takes the mound never finds time to get comfortable. That was not the case for the Hogs, though. Four pitchers combined to strikeout 13 Grambling Tigers en route to a 14-1 victory in 8 innings.

Each guy did his job for the Hogs tonight. With SEC play looming this weekend, head coach Dave Van Horn and pitching coach Matt Hobbs are surely relieved to see a nice, smooth ride from their bullpen men against Grambling.

The pitching staff combined to sit down 22 of the final 23 Tigers batters. And the one that got away did so thanks to a loosely untucked jersey that caught a Gabe Starks riding fastball.

It was complete dominance after an uneven first inning from Mark Adamiak. And it was such a team effort we decided to highlight each of them as our Arms of the Game.