NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — For a midweek game that involves a quick drive down I-40, Arkansas’ 8-6 loss to Lipscomb on Tuesday night at Dickey-Stephens Park here probably took a little longer than anyone really wanted.
About the only thing the Razorbacks got out of this game was four innings from Austin Ledbetter and two innings from Parker Coil early on the mound that didn’t allow any runs. The Hogs used a total nine pitchers on the mound, which isn’t surprised in the middle of the week when the game takes 11 innings to decide.
Especially when the Hogs’ bats can’t deliver hits at critical times, which has been a nagging problem for this team. They left 10 runners on base in scoring position for the evening. For the game the Hogs were 1-of-12, so it was a big deal.
“Even if we would have won the game, we didn’t play good,” Hogs coach Dave Van Horn said later. “We didn’t play good at all. Really, in any phase of the game — we didn’t pitch good, we didn’t field good, we did not drive in runs. Defensively, we kicked a couple balls, made a bad throw. I mean, overall it was probably one of our worst games of the year, honestly.”
Now Van Horn probably has a ton of questions about his pitching, too. Christian Foutch got pulled without getting a single out for the third straight game and it’s down to crunch time for this team.
“Now you go to Mississippi State wondering if can put him in the game,” Van Horn said. “It’s a tough situation.”
The Hogs got three runs in the first inning on a homer by Harold Coll, then the offense basically disappared while Lipscomb pulled away to a 6-3 lead. In the eighth inning, the Hogs managed to tie it up. Ben McLaughlin led off with a single before Brady Slavens came the the plate with two outs and the Bison pitcher managed to throw a couple of wild pitches, scoring all three Hogs on the bases.
Lipscomb got a couple of runs in the 11th inning and the Hogs went down in order.
Once again, the Hogs got on the road with three SEC series left, playing Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss., starting at 6 p.m. Friday night.
