Phil is in Hoover gearing up for the 2024 SEC Baseball Tournament.
Mike Irwin joins!
Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: 5-20-24
With Tye Richardson, Tommy Craft & Chuck Barrett
Produced by Christian Johnston
Arkansas Baseball wins the SEC West! Next Stop: —> HOOVER!
Razorbacks get run-ruled by Texas A&M to finish regular season
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — No. 3 Arkansas was run-ruled in seven innings by the Texas A&M Aggies, 14-4, to lose the series on Saturday afternoon at Blue Bell Park. Despite dropping the season finale, the Razorbacks have already claimed the SEC West and Razorbacks coach Dave Van Horn wasn’t to going to waste pitchers or anybody else when it got out of hand late.
“It is what it is,” Van Horn said later after being asked about the run-rule loss he wasn’t pleased with, but he’s got bigger things in mind. “Like I’ve said four times now we weren’t going to use a couple more pitchers we may need Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and hopefully beyond.”
The SEC Tournament starts this week in Hoover, Ala., and that’s one of those bigger goals Van Horn may have on his mond, but the ultimate goal is in Omaha, Neb., at the College World Series. He’s been around long enough to know that sometimes what’s ahead is far more important than winning a game that literally means nothing.
Will McEntire started on the mound and struggled again, going just 1.1 innings and giving up four run on four hitsand a walk in 45 pitches. McEntire’s ERA jumped from 3.67 to 4.29 across 50.1 frames of work this season.
Texas A&M immediately jumped on McEntire in the bottom of the first after Jace LaViolette hit a two-run homer to right field. The Hogs responded in the top of the second with a solo shot by Hudson White to cut the lead to one, but the Aggies answered back with another two-run blast by Caden Sorrell to left to give Texas A&M a 4-1 lead.
The Razorbacks tied the game in the top of the third after Wehiwa Aloy scorched a three-run home run to left for his team-high 13th jack of the year. The tie was short-lived when the Aggies took the lead back on a leadoff solo shot by Braden Montgomery in the bottom half of the third.
Cooper Dossett, who relived McEntire in the bottom of the second, hurt his throwing arm after issuing a two-out walk to Hayden Schott on four pitches. He was taken out of the game and Ben Bybee took over on the bump.
Texas A&M put the game away in the bottom of the sixth with a six-run rally. Sorrell led off the inning with a single and Travis Chestnut doubled to left field to place runners in scoring position. After Sorrell scored on a wild pitch, the Aggies loaded up the bases on back-to-back walks. Chestnut scored on a wild pitch with one out while Grahovac moved to third and LaViolette advanced to second. Jackson Appel drew a walk to load the bases again and Ted Burton cleared the bases with a three-run double to right center and later scored on an RBI single by Schott to give Texas A&M a commanding 11-4 lead.
At that point, coming back was pretty much gone and Van Horn was looking down the road. His first opponent in the tournament will be determined after all the games have been played tonight.
Wood’s first SEC start lands Hogs another SEC West title
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Another year, another SEC West title for Arkansas. For Razorbacks coach Dave Van Horn there’s no reason to be celebrating much of anything because he has bigger goals for this team that don’t end in Texas.
The Hogs captured the division championship in a comeback win over the No. 5 Texas A&M Aggies, 6-3, on Friday night in Blue Bell Park. It’s the ninth SEC West title in program history and their fifth in the last six full seasons. Here lately, it’s starting to be a regular thing.
Gage Wood threw his longest outing in his second career start on the mound for the Hogs. He pitched five innings in his 20th appearance of the year while allowing three runs (two earned) and seven hits with five strikeouts on a career-high 86 pitches (58 strikes).
Texas A&M got on the board early with one out in the bottom of the first inning after Jace LaViolette reached on a throwing error at second base. Braden Montgomery followed up with a two-run home run to left field to hand the Aggies a 2-0 lead.
Arkansas answered back in the top of the second when Hudson White and Ryder Helfrick reached on singles with one out. Peyton Holt plated White with a single through the left side, while Helfirck advanced to second to cut the lead to one. Jayson Jones and Kendall Diggs both struck out swinging to prevent any further damage. Wehiwa Aloy tied the game in the top of the third with a two-out solo shot to left center for his team-leading 12th home run of the season.
Texas A&M came right back in the bottom of the third with nobody out on an RBI single by LaViolette that drove in Gavin Grahovac to give the Aggies the lead back, 3-2. Ben McLaughlin tied the game back up for the Razorbacks in the top of the sixth with a one-out RBI single to left center to score White from second base, while Peyton Stovall advanced from first to third.
Mason Molina made an appearance out of the bullpen in the bottom of the seventh in relief of Parker Coil, with a runner on first and nobody out. He struck out Grahovac swinging, made LaViolette pop out to second and forced Montgomery to ground out to short.
Arkansas began the top half eighth with a leadoff single by Stovall and a double by Aloy to put runners in scoring position. White left the yard with a three-run home run to left field to give the Hogs their first lead of the night, 6-3.
Ruscin & Zach say Arkansas is still very good in Friday’s podcast
We discuss Arkansas’ painful loss in College Station and catch up with our former intern and KU intramural legend Phog.
Gimme The Hawgs Chuck Podcast: Hagen Smith now strikeout king
Presented by: Weichert Realtors The Griffin Company
Former Hogs’ pitcher Scott Tabor on why Hagen Smith so good
Breaking down Hogs’ new strikeout king after putting up 14 shutting out one of best hitting teams in SEC.
Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: 5-17-24
Hagen Smith breaks strikeout record, Scheffler arrested, Pittman sound
Scott Tabor joins!
Smith sets new Hogs’ record, but 1-0 loss puts damper on celebration
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Arkansas Razorbacks pitcher Hagen Smith had nothing to do with a 1-0 loss to the Texas A&M Aggies in the first game of the last series of the regular season Thursday night. At least that’s when it started.
At least when they got around to playing a game that took 11 innings to finish. The start was delayed an hour and a half due to stormy weather and the A&M grounds crew getting the field clear because there was basically a temporary pond in center as they were getting ready to finally start things. Smith was long gone by the end when the usually reliable walked the winning run across the plate in the 11th inning that ended things that threatened to cross over into the early hours Friday.
The Hogs couldn’t push a run across the plate, despite out-hitting A&M 9-5 throughout the game. None of them came when they got runners on base and Arkansas left 10 runners on base, including Jared Sprague-Lott, who nearly had half of that total (stranded four times).
“We walked them in,” Van Horn said. “So it was disappointing. But really proud of the way the guys fought and really proud of the way we pitched.”
Smith threw six innings. Van Horn knows there will be postseason games to play, no matter how the SEC West and tournament next week in Hoover, Ala., plays out. It was his 11th quality start of the year. He allowed just two hits while striking out 14 batters on 98 pitches (63 strikes) for his 11th double-digit strikeout performance of the season.
Aggies starter Ryan Prager was nearly just as good. He lasted seven scoreless innings, giving up five scattered hits and a walk while striking out nine on 101 pitches (72 strikes). A&M wanted to win the series, which is the only way they can win the West regular-season title.
Until the 11th inning, the Hogs hadn’t walked a single batter. Jake Faherty, Parker Coil and McEntire gave up walks in that final inning, which had been a problem a few times coming down the stretch, but hadn’t shown up Friday night until that final inning.
The Razorbacks will now put Gage Wood on the mound Friday in the second game of the series. The Hogs only need one win to take the West regular-season title and get a bye in the SEC Tournament next week. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. if the continuing bad weather conditions hold off. The game will be televised on the SEC Network. You can hear the game on HitThatLine and on the radio at ESPN Arkansas 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home.
Pregame with Phil Elson and Bubba Carpenter starts at 6:30 p.m.
