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Martin sits on bench as Razorbacks drop third straight game in Houston

Casey Martin probably shouldn’t have been that surprised when Dave Van Horn kept him on the bench Sunday night as Arkansas dropped its third straight game the Shriner’s Classic.

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Casey Martin probably shouldn’t have been that surprised when Dave Van Horn kept him on the bench Sunday night as Arkansas dropped its third straight game the Shriner’s Classic, falling to Baylor, 3-2.

“He needs to sit over here (in the dugout) and watch,” Van Horn told the media after Saturday’s 8-7 loss to Texas. “I want to win every game, but sometimes you got to do what you got to do.”

To say Martin struggled through the first nine games of the year may be an understatement.

The preseason All-American is hitting .182 and leads the team in strikeouts and errors, which he did for the entire SEC last season but made up for it by hitting the ball … when nobody throws a curve.

In the loss to the Longhorns, Martin went ohmygosh-for-5 at the plate and failed to cut off a throw that led to a run.

“He’s had a few of those performances and there’s really not much you can say anymore,” Van Horn said Saturday night.

How long Martin gets to sit in the dugout and watch may depend on how he responds. Van Horn has defended the errors, saying Martin’s speed lets him get to some balls other people would never reach, much less get charged with an error.

Quite simply, other teams have scouting reports, too. They’ve figured out how to pitch to Martin, who can still get to a fast ball enough to give teams fits if the pitcher’s location isn’t razor-sharp.

Against Baylor on Saturday night, the Hogs didn’t do much until late and then it wasn’t enough.

Don’t look for Van Horn to be hitting any panic buttons. He’s seen this before.

Robert Moore moved over to Martin’s shortstop spot from second. He played there in high school and, quite frankly, plays far beyond being a 17-year-old that should be getting ready for the senior prom instead of starting for an SEC team.

Most expected Martin to be headed to pro ball after this season. This is his draft-eligible year.

If he doesn’t get his issues at the plate and in the field straightened out, though, that might not be in his best interest.

The coaches weren’t born yesterday and are likely fully aware of Martin’s struggles. It obviously hasn’t worked.

Which is not going to boost Martin’s stock in the major league’s annual selection of players. Baseball players that either need a ton of coaching or have a problem listening start riding buses to games and making the same salary as a normal person.

Or maybe it is one of those infamous baseball slumps that players get into at times. This one, though, seems ot have carried over from last season.

And the guess here is that it’s up to Martin to get fixed.

There’s only so much Van Horn can do.

 

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2024 Razorbacks Football

Thu, Aug 29vs UAPB (Little Rock)W, 70-0
Sat, Sep 7@ Oklahoma StateL, 31-39 2OT
Sat, Sep 14vs UABW, 37-27
Sat, Sep 21@ AuburnW, 24-14
Sat, Sep 28vs Texas A&M (Arl)L, 21-17
Sat, Oct 5vs TennesseeW, 19-14
Sat, Oct 19vs LSUL, 34-10
Sat, Oct 26@ Mississippi StateW, 58-25
Sat, Nov 2vs Ole MissL, 63-35
Sat, Nov 16vs Texas11:00 AM
Sat, Nov 23vs Louisiana TechTBD
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Sat, Nov 30@ MissouriTBD
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2024 High School Rankings

Following is the Arkansas Sports Media High School Football Poll including the Overall Top 10, the top five in Classes 7A, 6A, 5A, 4A, 3A and 2A, plus the top three in the 8-man division, as voted by a panel of sports media from around the state for the week ending August 24. Ranking is given with first-place votes received, records, total points and ranking from last week's poll:
OVERALLRecordPtsPrv
1.Bryant (18)8-02521
2.Conway (6)8-02302
3.Greenwood (2)8-02103
4.Little Rock Parkview7-11714
5.Bentonville5-31416
6.Benton7-11265
7.Fayetteville6-21008
8.Pulaski Academy6-2757
9.Rogers5-3459
10.Shiloh Christian6-24010
Others receiving votes: Marion 13, Valley View 9, Joe T Robinson 8, Mountain Home 4, Cabot 3, Elkins 3.
CLASS 7A
1.Bryant (20)8-01241
2.Conway (6)8-01052
3.Bentonville5-3753
4.Fayetteville6-2455
5.Pulaski Academy6-2354
Others receiving votes: Rogers 5.
CLASS 6A
1.Greenwood (26)8-01301
2.Benton7-11022
3.Shiloh Christian6-2713
4.Marion7-1524
5.Mountain Home7-131
Others receiving votes: Little Rock Catholic 4.
CLASS 5A
1.Little Rock Parkview (23)7-11271
2.Joe T Robinson7-1902
3.Valley View (3)8-0803
4.Hot Springs Lakeside7-1484
5.Farmington7-130
Others receiving votes: Camden Fairview 4, Maumelle 4, Morrilton 3, Greenbrier 2, Harding Academy 1.
CLASS 4A
1.Elkins (19)8-01161
2.Arkadelphia (5)6-2792
3.Little Rock Mills (1)8-0703
4.Warren6-2404
5.Malvern (1)8-0315
Others receiving votes: Dardanelle 22, Southside Batesville 11, Mena 8, Bauxite 7, DeWitt 4, Highland 2.
CLASS 3A
4.Bismarck (15)8-01054
5.Fordyce (4)8-0765
Prescott (3)7-1531t
1.Osceola (2)6-149
3.Mayflower (1)8-036
Others receiving votes: Booneville (1) 31, Rivercrest 19, Mansfield 14, Charleston 4, Rison 3.
CLASS 2A
1.Carlisle (21)8-01211
2.Conway Christian (4)8-01042
3.Des Arc7-1663
4.Bigelow (1)6-2455
5.Murfreesboro6-230
Others receiving votes: Marked Tree 10, Mineral Springs 6, Junction City 5, Cross County 1, Mount Ida 1, Poyen 1
8-MAN SANCTIONED
1.Strong-Huttig (25)5-0761
2.Midland (1)7-0502
3.Cedar Ridge7-1253
Others receiving votes: Rector 5.

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ESPN ARKANSAS 99.5 IN FAYETTEVILLE, 95.3 IN THE RIVER VALLEY, 96.3 IN HOT SPRINGS, 104.3 IN HARRISON-MOUNTAIN HOME.