There is bad weather forecast for Northwest Arkansas which may force changes in the Thursday-Sunday games scheduled against Gonzaga at Baum-Walker Stadium.
In case you missed it, Pittman was on Finebaum Show last weekd
New Arkansas coach Sam Pittman was on the Paul Finebaum Show last week on the SEC Network and if you missed it, here is the complete interview on how he goes about recruiting and his relationship with transfer quarterback Feleipe Franks.
Noland on solid outing in season opener last week, looking ahead to Gonzaga
Razorbacks pitcher Connor Noland talked with the media Tuesday about his strong outing in the opener against Eastern Illinois last Friday that garnered him top pitcher honors in SEC.
Bud Light Seltzer Morning Rush Podcast — Mike Anderson Jr. speaks out, plus Tom Murphy
Tye & Tommy touch on Mike Anderson Jr.’s comments directed at Ark. radio hosts, Tom Murphy joins, plus a Florida preview!
Green captures league’s top player award after big week at FGCU Invitational
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Arkansas junior catcher Kayla Green has earned SEC Player of the Week honors for the first time in her career, the conference office announced Tuesday.
The award is the first weekly honor for the Razorbacks this year and is the sixth SEC Player of the Week won by an Arkansas player during coach Courtney Deifel’s tenure.
Green is only the second Razorback catcher to win the award as Jennifer Cirigliano was the program’s first in 1997.
Green compiled a 6-for-9 (.667 ba.) week and paced the SEC’s leading offense (.376 team ba.) to a perfect 3-0 weekend at the FGCU Invitational.
She went 3-for-4 at the plate with three singles against Furman in an 8-1 victory to open the weekend, and later that day collected a season-best three RBIs against UIC.
To cap off the weekend, she went 2-for-4 against FGCU and plated a run in the second inning on a single and drove home another run with a two out double in the third. The junior posted a .750 on base percentage.
Defensively she anchored the Arkansas pitching staff to 33 strikeouts and just six walks. The California product also caught two runners attempting to steal a base.
Information from Razorback Sports Communications is included in this story.
Nolan, Kjerstad get league’s player, pitcher honors after first week
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas’ Heston Kjerstad and Connor Noland have been picked as the first SEC Player of the Week and Pitcher of the Week honors for the 2020 season.
Kjerstad’s honor gets the “Co-“ tag and is his first player of the week award from the conference. It is also Noland’s first pitcher of the week accolade, picking up a co-freshman of the week distinction last season.
Arkansas has never earned both SEC Player of the Week and Pitcher of the Week before the 2020 week one awards.
Kjerstad, a junior outfielder from Amarillo, Texas, put together a 7-for-12 performance at the plate, recording five extra-base hits, including four home runs. He tallied 10 RBIs, scoring six times, walking twice, to finish with 20 total bases.
He began the year with a 3-for-4 performance on Feb. 14, including an RBI single and two solo home runs. It was the fifth time in his career he had hit multiple homers in a game. Kjerstad would accomplish the feat again in the series finale as part of a 3-for-5 day, launching a three-run dinger and a solo hot, as well as a two-RBI double.
All seven hits brought in at least one run during the weekend against the Panthers. Kjerstad finished the series with a .583/1.667/.643 line at the plate in 12 at-bats. He was also named one of Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s National Players of the Week on Feb. 17.
Noland, a sophomore right-handed pitcher from Greenwood, earned the Opening Day win after tossing 6.2 innings on Friday afternoon. He allowed just one run, unearned, on two hits, walking one batter while striking out a career-high 11. Half of the batters he faced, he struck out.
He held opposing hitters to measly .095 batting average at the plate in the opening contest. It was his eighth career performance with one or fewer runs allowed, as he set the tone for Arkansas’ series sweep of Eastern Illinois.
Kjerstad and the Razorbacks face a short week and an extended weekend as Arkansas welcomes Gonzaga to Baum-Walker Stadium for a four-game series on Feb. 20-23.
Information from Razorback Sports Communications is included in this story.
Kjerstad garners one of ‘Players of Week’ honors after opening series
FAYETTEVILLE — Heston Kjerstad has been named one of Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s National Players of the Week for his opening weekend performance against Eastern Illinois.
Kjerstad, a junior outfielder from Amarillo, Texas, put together a 7-for-12 performance at the plate, recording five extra-base hits, including four home runs. He had 10 RBIs, scoring six times, walking twice, to finish with 20 total bases.
He began the year with a 3-for-4 performance on Feb. 14, including an RBI single and two solo home runs.
It was the fifth time in his career he had hit multiple homers in a game. Kjerstad would accomplish the feat again in the series finale as part of a 3-for-5 day, launching a three-run dinger and a solo hot, as well as a two-RBI double.
All seven hits brought in at least one run during the weekend against the Panthers. Kjerstad finished the series with a .583/1.667/.643 line at the plate in 12 at-bats.
Kjerstad and the Razorbacks face a short week and an extended weekend as Arkansas welcomes Gonzaga to Baum-Walker Stadium for a four-game series on Feb. 20-23.
Information from Razorback Sports Communications is included in this story.
Bud Light Seltzer Morning Rush Podcast — Carson Shaddy and Tyler Wilson
Tye & Tommy on the Hogs’ loss to MSU, Carson Shaddy talks baseball, Tyler Wilson talks Connor Noland and Rick Jones!
Kjerstad flexes muscles as Hogs sweep opening series of new season
Arkansas baseball radio color analyst Bubba Carpenter had some high praise for junior right fielder Heston Kjerstad the other day.
Carpenter, a former Razorback player and Major League Baseball alum, said during the broadcast of Friday’s opener against Eastern Illinois that Kjerstad could fill a spot in an MLB lineup today.
“That’s a bold statement because those big leaguers probably would take offense to that because they had to work their way there,” Razorbacks coach Dave Van Horn said. “But Heston’s well on his way.”
Kjerstad lived up to the hype, torching Eastern Illinois pitching in the opening series. Kjerstad blasted four home runs and hit .583 with 10 RBI in the sweep of EIU.
“I don’t have anything to say [on Carpenter’s comment] honestly,” Kjerstad said sheepishly. “I am just playing baseball [at Arkansas], and we will see what happens.”
The lefty right fielder hit two titanic blasts in a 12-3 win over the Panthers Sunday. He also stroked the first pitch he saw in his final at-bat off the center field wall for a standup double.
He finished 3-for-5 with six RBI after Curtis Washington pinch ran for him in the seventh inning.
“I’m kind of running out of words,” Arkansas senior catcher Casey Opitz said. “He’s been doing the same thing for three years. So, he’s just going to keep doing it this year. It’s fun to watch. It’s fun to have him on our team.”
Opitz is right, but Kjerstad may even be better this year. Van Horn has seen a difference in workouts leading up to the season.
“He hasn’t stopped hitting since he walked back on campus for his junior year,” Van Horn said. “He’s taking more pitches. He’s being a little more patient, not going after balls in the dirt as much, not pressing.
“He’s really developing as a hitter. He’s learning, and he’s going to be a tough out this year.”
On Sunday, Kjerstad, who hit four home runs in the series, showed the confidence of one of the best players in the country. When he stepped to the plate, the Hogs’ faithful held its collective breath expecting something spectacular.
For some reason, EIU didn’t intentionally walk him in the seventh inning with first base open. Kjerstad nearly hit his third home run of the day as he drilled the first pitch from EIU reliever Ben Stephens off the bottom of the center field wall.
The crowd greeted him with a standing ovation as he exited the game and capped off an epic weekend.
“He reminds me of Paul De Jong of the [St. Louis] Cardinals when he was in college at Illinois State, and he obviously has a bright future ahead of him,” said EIU coach Brian Anderson, who pitched with three different MLB teams. “We would have loved to pitch around him, but they didn’t give us a chance to do it.
“We were able to pitch around [Casey] Martin a little bit, walk him a few times and just go after the next guy, but it just kind of hard when that lineup is so good.”
Cleanup hitter Matt Godheart hit behind Kjerstad and finished 3-for-6 with an RBI and moved his average to just over .300 for the weekend. The preseason All-American Martin was held at bay only hitting .200 in the fifth hole.
Braydon Webb was a bright spot leading off the lineup going 2-for-6 Sunday and hitting at a .357 clip to begin the season.
Arkansas has one of the more dangerous lineups in the country and would be a favorite to go to Omaha even if it didn’t boast a standout pitching staff. The Hogs will score runs in bunches as witnessed this weekend.
And Kjerstad did look like out of place on a college diamond this weekend. Van Horn and Co. are glad he won’t be getting called up to the big leagues this year.
“[Kjerstad] is definitely a player we want on our side against the competition,” Webb said. “He’s a hard worker, and he earns everything he gets. He had a great weekend.”
Kjerstad on big finale, series, to start 2020 season against Eastern Illinois
Arkansas right fielder Heston Kjerstad talked after Sunday’s 12-3 win that finished the series sweep over Eastern Illinois to open the 2020 season.
