Hogs pull out nailbiter win in NLR against Grambling State
NORTH LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas pulled out another nailbiting win at Dickey-Stephens Park on Tuesday night with an eighth-inning rally for a 7-6 win over Grambling.
After the Tigers had a four-run eighth inning, the Razorbacks answered.
Eric Cole’s two-out, two-run single in the eighth inning gave Arkansas the lead for good. It came after an RBI single by Jordan McFarland and sacrifice fly by Jax Biggers.
“I hit a fastball in,” Cole said in a postgame radio interview. “I was little bit out front, but luckily still caught a barrel and got it through the hole.”
The rally was necessitated by Kole Ramage’s meltdown in the top of the eighth. He gave up four earned runs on three hits and a hit by pitch and got only two outs in the inning after retiring six of the first seven batters he faced.
Jackson Rutledge actually allowed Drexler Macaay’s go-ahead two-run double with two outs, but the runs were charged to Ramage because he put them on base.
Arkansas had to bring in ace closer Matt Cronin to close it out and earn his seventh save.
Making his third career start, Caleb Bolden, allowed two earned runs and struck out six in five innings.
Despite a team ERA of 7.12, Grambling kept Arkansas’ potent offense quiet thanks to a steady rotation on the mound.
The Tigers used eight of the 11 pitchers that have made an appearance this season, with only starter Elijah Saunders pitching more than one inning.
“There’s always going to be a little period of adjustment,” Cole said. “Every pitcher is different, every release point is different. We had to change our approach a little bit.”
The Razorbacks couldn’t get into a groove until Grambling inserted Raul Baduel, a usual weekend starter, in the eighth. He didn’t retire any of the four batters he faced and they all eventually scored.
Such a close game is nothing new for Arkansas at Dickey-Stephens Park.
In nine trips to the home of the Arkansas Travelers, the Razorbacks have played five one-run games despite playing teams with an average RPI of 179.
Included in that is a 2-1 victory over Mississippi Valley State in 2013, when the Delta Devils finished dead last in the RPI.
The Razorbacks typically come out on top, though. Their lone loss was to Memphis in 2015, when they eventually made it to the College World Series.
Arkansas returns to Baum Stadium later this week for a three-game series against South Carolina beginning Thursday. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. and it will be televised on the SEC Network.
Morris in Fort Smith talking at Razorback Club banquet
Arkansas coach Chad Morris visited with the Morning Rush’s John Nabors before signing autographs and speaking to the Fort Smith Razorback Club on Tuesday night at the Fort Smith Convention Center.
Allen gets Chism Reed Award at Razorback Club banquet
Austin Allen was in Fort Smith on Tuesday night for the Fort Smith Razorback Club banquet at the Convention Center. Allen was named the recipient of the Chism Reed Award, given every year to a graduating senior that “exemplifies the Razorback Spirit in athletics, academics and citizenship.”
Pitching leads way to doubleheader sweep at SLU
ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Playing under a new No. 19 national ranking, Arkansas swept its Tuesday doubleheader at Saint Louis behind a pair of complete-game shutouts from Mary Haff and Autumn Storms.
Collectively, the duo registered 21 strikeouts and allowed just five hits between the two games. Arkansas improves to 31-8 this year, equaling last year’s win total.
Up Next
The Razorbacks host No. 15 Alabama this weekend at Bogle Park to begin the second half of conference play.
First pitch of Friday’s opener is scheduled for 6 p.m. Admission is free with gates opening one hour prior to start time.
Game 1: #19/20 Arkansas 7, Saint Louis 0 | Box Score
For a second-consecutive start, Haff carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning before giving up a single to the lead-off hitter in the frame.
With her 13-strikeout performance, the freshman pitcher established a new season high, improving upon three previous outings with 12 strikeouts.
Haff becomes just the sixth pitcher in program history to record at least 13 strikeouts in a game and the first to do so since the 2013 campaign.
Senior Tori Cooper paced the offense with her sixth multi-hit game of the season, including a two-run double in the first and a two-run big fly in the fifth frame. The home run was her third of the year.
In the fourth frame, the Razorbacks scored twice with the help of an Aly Manzo RBI and sacrifice fly off the bat of Hannah McEwen. Arkansas led 5-0 before Cooper’s home run in the fifth.
Game 2: #19/20 Arkansas 5, Saint Louis 0 | Box Score
Storms was as impressive in game two of Tuesday’s doubleheader, retiring 15 hitters in row at one point. She finished the game with eight strikeouts — just one shy of her career high — and no walks.
Storms gave up an infield single in the second and didn’t allow another base runner until Saint Louis (21-18) strung together three hits in the seventh.
On the final play of the game, the home team attempted to score from second on a single to left but Sydney Parr threw a strike to the plate that freshman catcher Kayla Green gloved and applied the tag for the 21st out of the game.
With Tuesday’s wins, the Razorbacks improve to 8-0 in their all-time series against Saint Louis.
Arkansas’ offense generated 10 hits including a three-hit effort by McEwen, the 12th multi-hit showing of her freshman year.
Two of her hits left the ball park which puts her in the team lead with eight home runs. With four RBI, McEwen has driven in 41 runs this season to become the eighth player in program history with at least 40 RBI in a single season. Her three-run shot in the sixth pushed the score to its final 5-0 score.
Junior Haydi Bugarin was 2-for-3 with an RBI double in the second to plate the first run of the game.
Frat house incident under investigation by UA police
FAYETTEVILLE — As of now, the only thing known about an altercation at a fraternity party Saturday night is that some Razorback football players were there.
Exactly who and whether they were involved is not known.
There has been a complaint of third-degree battery filed, which is a Class A misdemeanor, the most serious of misdemeanors.
The incident occurred at the Kappa Alpha fraternity house, according to the police log. A call reporting the incident came in at 1:38 a.m. on Sunday, prompting an investigation.
“It’s all under investigation,” UA Police Capt. Gary Crain told WholeHogSports.com. “Nobody has been arrested, and we don’t know the circumstances. We have a complaint of battery in the third degree, and we’re investigating.”
UA spokesman Kevin Trainor issued a statement Tuesday confirming the athletic department’s knowledge of the issue:
“The University of Arkansas Department of Intercollegiate Athletics has been made aware of an incident occurring this past weekend at an event. The event was attended by University of Arkansas students, including members of the football team. The incident is currently being reviewed by UAPD and the Office of Student Standards and Conduct. The Department of Intercollegiate Athletics will have no further comment until the completion of the review.”
Coach Chad Morris, who is addressing the Fort Smith Razorback Club on Tuesday night, met with reporters at the event prior to the release of the UA statement, so it was not addressed.
News of the incident reached the media in attendance after Morris had concluded his comments to the media and was interacting with fans.
No players have been arrested since Morris got the job Dec. 7.
Annual game in NLR next up for streaking Razorbacks
NORTH LITTLE ROCK — Riding a five-game winning streak, including a sweep of Auburn, third-ranked Arkansas will look to stay hot as they take on Grambling State for a single midweek game in North Little Rock at Dickey-Stephens Park on Tuesday night.
First pitch with the Tigers is set for 6:30 p.m.
This is the ninth-consecutive year that the Hogs have played a game in North Little Rock at the home of the Double-A affiliate Arkansas Travelers.
Arkansas has won two straight at Dickey-Stephens Park going back to 2015.
Caleb Bolden will be taking the mound Tuesday night, for his third mid-week start of the year. In his previous two starts, Bolden has thrown at least six innings without giving up a run and has struck out 11 combined.
Last week against ULM, Bolden earned his third win of the year after throwing seven scoreless innings, a career-long outing, and didn’t walk a batter for the second time in six appearances.
Offensively, the Hogs continue to mash as they have a combined .311 average through 33 games with 263 runs scored and 56 home runs.
The runs are the second most in the SEC, while the home run total is best in the league and second in the nation.
Junior Eric Cole is coming off a strong week where he hit .348 with a team-leading eight hits over five games, including two doubles, and four RBIs.
Cole has started all 33 games in the outfield this year and is hitting .348 out of the two hole with seven home runs and 24 RBIs.
His .348 average is 11th-highest in the SEC and his RBI total is just one less than Cole had all last year.
FOLLOW LIVE
Tuesday’s game will not have a video stream of any kind, but Phil Elson and Bubba Carpenter will be bringing you the gave via radio on the Razorback Sports Network from IMG.
You can hear the game in Arkansas at ESPN Arkansas on 95.3 FM in the River Valley, 96.3 FM in Hot Springs and 104.3 FM in Harrison.
The radio stream can also be found on the Razorback Gameday app.
IMPORTANT LINKS (ALL TIMES CENTRAL)
Tue, April 9 – Arkansas vs. Grambling State – 6:30 p.m. – LIVE STATS
PROBABLE STARTERS
TUE: ARK RHP Caleb Bolden (2.61 ERA, 3-0, 15 K, 8 BB) vs. GRAM RHP Elijah Saunders (8.41 ERA, 0-3, 11 K, 16 BB)
RAZORBACK PRIME 9
• Freshman Caleb Bolden will be making his second start in as many weeks on Tuesday against Grambling. Last week, he threw seven scoreless innings, striking out five and not allowing a walk.
• Kjerstad’s second-inning home run Wednesday against ULM was a tape-measure shot, traveling 430 feet well over the right-centerfield scoreboard at Baum Stadium. He leads the team with eight homers.
• Arkansas still leads the SEC and ranks second in the nation with 56 home runs, 16 ahead of its SEC-leading pace last year.
• The Razorbacks have played eleven one-run games this season, winning six of them. Most recently, Arkansas won in the bottom of the ninth against No. 13 Auburn thanks to a walk-off single from Heston Kjerstad. It’s the third walk-off win for the Razorbacks this year.
• Blaine Knight won his third-consecutive start last week against No. 13 Auburn, moving to 6-0. In six of his eight starts, Knight has thrown six or more innings and struck out four or more.
• In 19 games this year, Arkansas has totaled 10 or more hits. In those games, the Hogs are 16-3 with 14 of those wins coming at Baum Stadium.
• Heston Kjerstad leads SEC freshmen in hits (46), home runs (8), runs batted in (32), slugging percentage (.642) and total bases (79).
• Sophmore Matt Cronin picked up his sixth save of the season against Auburn on Friday, moving him to a tie for second in the SEC. Cronin also leads all SEC pitchers with a .160 opponents’ batting average in league play.
• Arkansas will be playing in North Little Rock at Dickey-Stephens Park for the ninth-consecutive season. The Hogs are 7-1 in games played at DSP, including winning two-straight.
Noland will be a Hog; playing youngsters nothing new
Connor Noland is going to be playing for Arkansas and the idea that he has no shot at being THE quarterback come fall isn’t out of the question.
It’s a different world and quarterbacks come into college with more competitive experience than maybe any other position. They play 7-on-7 all summer, work with specialized quarterback coaches and compete against the best almost year-round.
But rookies starting at quarterback is nothing new in college football.
“If a dog’s gonna bite you, he’ll do it as a pup,” was one of former Texas coach Darrell Royal’s sayings.
Royal was talking about Bill Bradley, who started as a sophomore for the Longhorns in 1966. Bradley was the mid-60’s equivalent of today’s 5-star “can’t miss” quarterback. Believe it or not, there were no recruiting services or such back then, but the legend of “Super Bill” at Palestine was the stuff of Texas high school legends.
Former Razorback tailback David Dickey (66-69) grew up and played with Bradley in high school at Palestine, so he had a pretty good vantage point.
“He was the best white athlete I ever saw until Matt Jones,” Dickey said this week. “Matt was taller, faster and had bigger hands! Bill had small hands and was susceptible to fumbling. But he was a competitor.
“When he was a freshman at Palestine, he asked the coach if he could run the mile in the district track meet to see if he could letter as a freshman. A top five finish in the district meet earned a letter. He never had run the mile before. He finished fifth and lettered.”
In case you were wondering, Bradley was actually the first Wishbone quarterback. The small hands weren’t great in that offense and Royal moved James Street in at quarterback and, as they say, the rest is history.
But the athleticism was there. He moved to safety and ended up setting Texas records in interceptions, punt returns and punting. He had an All-Pro NFL career, mostly with the Philadelphia Eagles.
The bottom line is talent trumps experience. Championship coaches have followed that theory since Knute Rockne was running around Notre Dame in knickers in the early 1900’s.
Noland is talented.
Forget all that stuff about him heading off to pro baseball this summer. After talking to some people last fall, the thought here was he was going to be a Razorback. He made it official Monday, taking his name out of the discussion for pro baseball for the immediate future.
Connor Noland on Twitter
I’m 100% committed to being an Arkansas Razorback! Can’t wait to be on campus in Fayetteville very soon with @RazorbackFB & @RazorbackBSB!!! #HammerDown #OmaHogs #WooPig ????????⚾️
Others said forget it when his name came up in the quarterback picture.
“He’ll be playing baseball,” they said.
This included some folks in the media. Many fans expressed the same thought. Some figured it was a waste of a signing when he signed his letter of intent in Rome back in February.
“I told you in November he wasn’t going to play baseball,” one fan told me in a text message after Noland’s tweet came out. It’s not just us media guys that tend to drop an occasional told-ya.
Looking back, Noland never really appeared to be anything but headed to Fayetteville to play for the Hogs.
And it wouldn’t be surprising if he’s the starting quarterback as a freshman. Before the typical knee-jerk reaction many fans have about freshmen playing, Noland has more experience in an offensive system as close to what they now have in Fayetteville than everybody else … combined.
Greenwood coach Rick Jones has an offense similar to Chad Morris’ because, well, he’s known him awhile. He’s had Noland making decisions for years.
“If we snapped it 70 times a game, Connor probably made 65 decisions,” Jones said in an interview right after Noland signed with the Hogs.
That’s the problem with the quarterbacks on the roster now. Their decision-making is not to the break-neck pace Morris wants in this new offense.
Noland — and fellow incoming freshman John Stephen Jones from Highland Park — can probably run Morris’ offense better than anybody on the Hogs’ roster right now.
Remember, it’s about making decisions on the fly in this offense. The days of the quarterback simply running the play the coach called have been over for a few years.
There’s a decision to be made almost every snap now.
Noland made the decision Hog fans were hoping he’d make earlier rather than later.
He may be making more on the field in September.
Reindl’s pitching, Kjerstad’s hit gives Hogs series sweep
Arkansas (24-9, 8-4 SEC) had already completed the four-run comeback after tying the game in the bottom of the seventh and then got two on in the bottom of the ninth as Carson Shaddy and Eric Cole both walked.
As Kjerstad stepped up with two outs, the Amarillo, Texas, native laced a 2-1 pitch back up the middle to easily score Shaddy from second.
It’s the third walk-off win for the Razorbacks this year and second of the week. Arkansas beat Louisiana-Monroe in 10 innings on Tuesday winning on a walk-off error for the 10-9 victory.
Sunday’s win over Auburn (23-10, 4-8 SEC) was also the Hogs’ sixth by one run this year and 11th one-run game overall.
Arkansas now sits at 8-4 in conference play, one game ahead of Ole Miss in the SEC West. The Rebels suffered a series loss to in-state rival Mississippi State this weekend.
The weekend sweep also marks the first time since joining the SEC that Arkansas has won its first six home conference games and first time overall since 1990.
The Hitting
Junior Eric Cole had the big day at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored to lead all Arkansas hitters.
His two-out two RBI single in the bottom of the seventh tied the game at 4-4 and was one of only two hits in the inning.
Cole now leads all Razorback hitters with 13 multi-hit games this year and he also has six multi-RBI games.
Cole finished the series 5-for-14 (.357) with a double and four runs driven in. He currently has 24 RBIs on the year, tying for third on the team and just one less than he had all of last year.
Aside from Cole, five other Razorbacks tallied one in the hit column on Sunday. Carson Shaddy and Dominic Fletcher both extended their hitting streaks to four games, while Casey Martin doubled home a run in the fourth and Jared Gates singled as part of the two-run seventh.
For the weekend, Arkansas hit .310 as a team, but only hit one home run, courtesy of Luke Bonfield in Friday’s 2-1 win. The Hogs still have 56 home runs on the season, good for best in the SEC.
The Pitching
Redshirt sophomore Isaiah Campbell earned the start on Sunday after taking last week off.
He struggled in the second inning, giving up three earned runs on six hits, but struck out four and didn’t give up a walk on 44 pitches.
After Dave Van Horn went to the bullpen for the start of the third inning, he never had to make the call a second time as junior Jake Reindl was back to form.
The Fayetteville native was nearly spotless over the final seven innings, giving up just one run on one hit, while striking out a career-high nine batters.
Reindl, who had scuffled for much of this season, came into the game with a 5.62 ERA in 16 innings over nine appearances.
The numbers didn’t matter as he showed why he was one of the best pitchers in league play last year, retiring the final 18 batters he faced en route to his second victory of the year.
Combined, Arkansas needed only six pitchers for the entire Auburn series, using two each day. Over the three games, Arkansas pitchers compiled a 2.33 ERA, walking only five, and holding opposing batters to a .196 average.
Razorback Quotables
“We’d been talking all week about needing Jake Reindl and he showed up in a big way. He continued to get better as the game went on. He gave us a chance to start chipping away and win the game. He was huge. He hasn’t pitched that well all year. Today was last year’s Jake Reindl. He’s a guy that can throw the fastball 89-93 with a breaking ball, a changeup, all different kinds of looks and arm slots. It was huge for us.” — Coach Dave Van Horn on Jake Reindl’s performance on the mound
“I thought he did a great job. I told him he was going to get another at-bat in this game after his third strikeout and it was going to be the biggest at-bat. That’s what we always tell the guys when they’re struggling a little bit or having a bad game, it’s always about ‘the’ at-bat.” — Van Horn on Heston Kjestad coming through after struggling all game
“We had a long talk in the outfield after the game, I told them to enjoy this Sunday night off. Every game is important from here on out. We didn’t talk about us winning the league right now, but there’s a lot of schedule left. We hung in there after two tough game threes on the road. For us to come back and have a 5-0 week was huge. I reminded them on Tuesday night when we came back to win in 10 against ULM, we earned that win. It really got us going to have a perfect week.” — Van Horn on responding well after a tough start to the conference schedule
“I was just trying to hit something hard and go through my normal routine. I just wanted to get that winning run in for my team to finish off the sweep. Honestly, the water wasn’t that cold because my adrenaline was pumping. It was fun for all of us.” — Heston Kjerstad on his game-winning hit and what the celebration was like
“It felt good to finally get back into the swing of things and get to being who I was last year and who everyone expected me to be. It was a culmination of getting more confidence in my pitches and using that to have more confidence in myself and executing. My breaking ball has been pretty bad all year. To get that back was big. Coach (Wes) Johnson and I made a little mechanical tweak during the week and it helped. It’s a weapon I can use.” — Jake Reindl on how he pitched effectively for seven innings
Up Next
Arkansas heads just a couple hours south to North Little Rock for its annual game at Dickey-Stephens Park, home of the Double-A affiliate Arkansas Travelers on Tuesday.
The Hogs will face Grambling State for its only midweek game next week. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.
Van Horn pleased to get win, sweep over Auburn on Sunday
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn was pleased with pitcher Jake Reindl’s relief performance and battling back to sweep the Tigers.
