Razorbacks sweep in-state foe Red Wolves in midweek series

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — For the second straight game, Arkansas had no trouble with the Arkansas State Red Wolves, hanging double-digit runs on their in-state rival for a 10-3 victory Wednesday afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium.

Sophomore right-handed pitcher Will McEntire built on his start against Arkansas-Pine Bluff last week, making it into and nearly out of the fifth inning. A two-out RBI single ended his outing after 4 2/3 frames, in which he allowed three hits, walked four batters and struck out five.

McEntire had plenty of run support following three-spots in the second and third innings. Freshman first baseman Kendall Diggs got the party started in the second with a sacrifice fly to left field, and sophomore catcher Dylan Leach belted a two-run homer to make it 3-0.

Arkansas began another hit parade in the third, beginning with senior shortstop Jalen Battles’ second double of the game. He and junior second baseman Robert Moore scored on another two-bagger, the first of two by sophomore left fielder Jace Bohrofen. He came around on a single by Diggs to make it 6-0.

After a scoreless fourth inning and an Arkansas State run in the top of the fifth, the Razorbacks put up another crooked number in the home half. Bohrofen led off with a double, and the next three hitters — senior center fielder Braydon Webb, Diggs and Leach — all singled and scored, making it 10-1.

The Hogs hit a rough patch in the seventh following four outs from sophomore right-hander Heston Tole, as sophomore righty Gabriel Starks loaded the bases with one out. He and senior right-hander Issac Bracken each walked a batter after that to let the Red Wolves back within seven runs. Bracken struck the next two hitters out to prevent further damage.

Freshman righty Austin Ledbetter faced the minimum in the eighth, and junior right-hander Miller Pleimann did the same in the ninth to finish the Red Wolves off.

The Razorbacks will return to action at 7:30 p.m. Friday, when they take on the Texas A&M Aggies in College Station. The projected starting pitchers are senior right-hander Connor Noland for Arkansas and righty Nathan Dettmer, and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

Halftime Pod Presented by Eastside Liquor: King

Hogs Beat Red Wolves…but a tight game for a while; Hogs get 11th 2023 commit; Faster Baseball Games
 
Guest- Bill King

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Brett Goode on The Morning Rush with what he saw at Hogs’ practice Saturday

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Hogs Beat Red Wolves…but a tight game for a while; Hogs get 11th 2023 commit; Faster Baseball Games Call or text, 877-377-6963

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Diamond Hogs defeat Arkansas State in midweek tilt

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas senior right fielder Brady Slavens did it all Tuesday night at Baum-Walker Stadium, spraying hits to all fields, stealing his first base of the year, flashing leather in a rare appearance in the field and putting an exclamation mark on it all with a two-out, opposite-field grand slam in the seventh inning.

His eighth home run of the season stretched the Razorbacks’ lead over Arkansas State to 10-1, which became the final score.

Junior second baseman Robert Moore opened the scoring in the bottom of the first with a two-out, two-run laser beam of a home run, which left the bat at 101 miles per hour with a launch angle of 23 degrees, barely clearing the right field fence.

Graduate catcher Michael Turner, who slotted in at designated hitter Tuesday night, scored on Moore’s fourth four-bagger of the year.

The Red Wolves cut the lead in half in the second, making senior shortstop Jalen Battles pay for a fielding error with two outs. Kole Ramage threw a wild pitch and allowed an RBI single, but that was all Arkansas State could muster in three innings against the senior righty.

The Hogs reestablished their two-run lead in the third, which began with the first of three singles by Slavens.

He advanced to third following a walk and an infield single, and he darted home on a sacrifice fly by sophomore left fielder Jace Bohrofen.

Three consecutive two-out walks turned into two more Arkansas runs in the fifth inning.

With runners on first and second, senior shortstop Jalen Battles drew the first free pass to load the bases, and junior center fielder Zack Gregory and freshman first baseman Peyton Stovall each collected an RBI after watching ball four.

Bohrofen took the seventh free base of the game to lead off the seventh inning, and he scored from first on a perfectly executed hit-and-run with Battles at the bat.

The Red Wolves changed pitchers following Gregory’s third walk of the evening, but right-hander Treshon Paschal did not have the solution to the red-hot Slavens.

With the bases loaded and two outs, he launched a 2-2 pitch 362 feet the other way for a grand slam, his fourth hit and third run of the game.

Senior right-handed pitchers Elijah Trest, sophomore righty Mark Adamiak and freshman lefty Nick Griffin took care of the final six frames without allowing a run.

All three issued multiple walks and flirted with danger, but the Red Wolves stranded all 11 runners who reached against them.

Arkansas and Arkansas State are scheduled to square off again at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

The contest will stream live on the SEC Network+.

Hogs land commitment from four-star offensive lineman

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas landed another big offensive lineman Tuesday.

Four-star Luke Brown from Paris, Tennessee, Henry County announced his decision on social media.

Brown had offers from 27 other schools. He is the 11th commitment for Arkansas and the second offensive lineman joining Bentonville’s Joey Su’a.

His commitment pushed the Hogs’ to the No. 2 spot in the 247Sports composite rankings.

Brown attended Arkansas’ scrimmage on Saturday. He also attended a Prospect Day at Arkansas on March 5 and left impressed.

“The visit was good,” Brown told Otis Kirk at Hogville on NWAHomePage.com. “I spent a lot of time with Coach (Sam) Pittman, Coach (Cody) Kennedy and Coach (Ryan) Yurachek, and they took me through everything, offered me a scholarship and really opened my eyes about the opportunities at that university.”

Brown’s offer list also included Vanderbilt, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Virginia Tech among others.

 

Kennedy lands new deal; Pittman keeping staff intact

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — As usual, you can tell who’s important in college athletics by following the money.

While Arkansas coach Sam Pittman’s new deal is getting a lot of buzz it’s not nearly as important as some of the moves for assistants.

Don’t worry about Pittman’s deal. It’s sounding more and more like a retirement package as much as a salary and how good it actually is will be determined by wins and losses.

The key is paying assistant coaches, who actually do most of the recruiting and actual coaching. Pittman is a CEO-type coach. He coaches the assistant coaches more than any particular players.

Pittman talked Saturday about how they are using keeping the staff pretty much intact for three years now and how that plays a direct role in their increased success getting the attention of big-name recruits.

All of that is why the reports of offensive line coach Sonny Kennedy’s new deal Tuesday was rather interesting.

It sets a record for the Razorbacks for someone who is not a coordinator.

Kennedy’s annual compensation has jumped from $400,000 a year to $700,000 annually. That includes $200,000 a year for “other” compensation and your guess is as good as mine on that.

Just a year ago, he was promoted from tight ends coach to the offensive line position group. Now he’s nearly doubled his pay, which is not a negative in any way.

With Pittman spending most of his decades coaching that position group before getting his first head coaching position, it’s not surprising he places a high value on that.

This is an indicator the pool of money for assistants has jumped up rather dramatically in the arms race that college football has become, especially in the SEC West.

Kennedy is obviously someone they don’t want to lose and don’t think for a second his ability to land recruits is not a big part of that.

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Razorbacks vs. the State; Knox and KJ Sound; Is 2022 Arkansas baseball better than 2021? Bubba the Field Builder
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