Baseball
Goodheart top SEC player for last week; Razorback recap
Looking back and ahead to this week’s games for Razorback baseball after going on road and sweeping Mississippi State last weekend.
Overall Record: 19-3
Conference Record: 5-1
Streak: W7
In The Polls – Week 6
Baseball America – No. 1
D1Baseball – No. 2
USA Today Coaches – No. 2
NCBWA – No. 3
Perfect Game – No. 3
Collegiate Baseball – No. 5
Week 6 Results (5-0)
Tuesday, Memphis, W, 14-1
Wednesday, Memphis, W, 9-4
Friday, at No. 2 Mississippi State, W, 8-2
Saturday, at No. 2 Mississippi State, W, 11-5
Sunday, at No. 2 Mississippi State, W, 364
This Week
Tuesday, Central Arkansas, 6:30 p.m. (SEC Network+)
Thursday, Auburn, 6:30 p.m. [SEC Network+]
Friday, Auburn, 6:30 p.m. [SEC Network+]
Saturday, Auburn, 2 p.m. [SEC Network+]
Top Player of the Week
Matt Goodheart
INF – Sr. – 6-1 – 185 –Magnolia, Ark.
Weekly totals: 4 GP/4 GS, .421/450/1.053, 8-for-19, 4 R, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 1 BB
Goodheart homered in all four contests he played during Arkansas’ perfect 5-0 week, smashing a two-run dinger as part of his career-best four-hit day in the midweek series finale at home against Memphis before homering in all three games at Mississippi State.
The Razorback designated hitter hit a solo shot in the series opener against the Bulldogs at Dudy Noble Field, launching a two-run homer in the second game before swatting another solo shot in the finale. He helped lead Arkansas to a three-game road sweep of Mississippi State.
Monday morning Goodheart was named the SEC’s Player of the Week.
Pitcher of the Week
Kevin Kopps
RHP – Sr. – 6-4 – 230 – Prairie Village, Kan.
Weekly totals: 1 G, 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 1 SV
In an outing reminiscent of teammate Caleb Bolden’s SEC weekly award-winning performance to begin the season, Kopps came out of the bullpen in relief of starter Zebulon Vermillion in game two of the road series against Mississippi State and was dominant. The right struck out seven in four scoreless innings, allowing only two hits and a walk in an otherwise lights-out performance. His effort out of the bullpen earned him the save in Arkansas’ series-clinching 11-5 victory.
Freshman of the Week
Cayden Wallace
INF/OF – Fr. – 6-0 – 205 – Greenbrier, Ark.
Weekly totals: 5 GP/5 GS, .381/.500/.667, 8-for-21, 5 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 4 BB, 1 HBP
Wallace played in all five games during Arkansas’ perfect 5-0 stretch, hammering two home runs and driving in four runs for the week. He went deep in the midweek series opener against Memphis before launching his second of the week in the series opener at Mississippi State. The freshman had at least one hit in all five contests, including two multi-hit efforts, and has now had a base hit in seven consecutive games.
Razorback Notes
• Matt Goodheart is the first Hog to hit a home run in four consecutive games since Aaron Murphree did so against Ohio State, South Dakota State and Siena in 2008 (March 2-8).