Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn on defensive errors, Bulldogs’ relievers shutting down the Hogs in loss that sets up Sunday matchup for series.
Hogs looking to clinch series with Georgia tonight behind Pallette
After averaging nearly 10 runs a game in last weekend’s series, Arkansas’ narrow 3-0 pitcher’s duel win Friday night over Georgia was a little different.
“We just kept striking each other out,” Dave Van Horn said later about Patrick Wicklander and the Bulldogs’ Liam Sullivan over the first six innings. “Just a tough night to hit.”
The Razorbacks had just three hits off Sullivan, but back-to-back doubles by Robert Moore and Casey Opitz pushed across a run in the second inning. It looked like it was going to have to be enough for awhile.
“It was just good enough,” Van Horn said. “A good rally there in the eighth after a little bit of attrition. We were real fortunate that we won the ballgame honestly. Sullivan pitched an outstanding game for them.”
Now he just needs that kind of start from right-hander Peyton Pallette in today’s game that will probably start on time at 6 p.m. The rain that delayed Friday’s game nearly an hour and a half has cleared out.
You can hear the game online HERE or on ESPN Arkansas at 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.
The pregame show online and the radio with Phil Elson and Bubba Carpenter will start at 5:30 this afternoon.
Van Horn will be looking for a long outing from Pallette. After the closer, Kevin Kopps, came in for Caden Monke (who got one big out in the sixth), he did his usual thing Friday night and shut the Bulldogs down the rest of the night.
With an announced crowd of 6,745 and covid restrictions being relaxed, the Hogs coaches weren’t wearing masks and most fans didn’t bother with any mask theater, either.
And Moore had another big-time hit, delivering a two-out blooper in the eighth inning that sort of landed in really short center by accident, bringing in two runs for the final margin.
“I didn’t hit it hard,” Moore said later. “But I was able to stay through one and stay up the middle with a breaking ball and good things happened.”
Plus that pitching coming through again.
Van Horn said Kopps will be available again after throwing 54 pitches Friday night over three innings.
“Oh yeah, he’ll be available,” he said about maybe the best reliever in college baseball this year.
Now he just needs a strong outing from Pallette to lock down a series win tonight.
He’ll worry about Sunday’s pitching rotation later.
With a one-game lead over Mississippi State in the SEC West, Van Horn is taking it one game at a time right now. The Bulldogs beat South Carolina on Friday night, 9-0, so there won’t be much breathing room heading down the stretch.
Which is going to set up an interesting couple of weeks.
Van Horn on ‘super job by our pitching staff’ in 3-0 win
The Hogs got strong pitching from Patrick Wicklander, Caden Monke and Kevin Kopps (13 strikeouts, 1 walk) to shut out Bulldogs.
Moore on big hit late, giving some cushion for Hogs’ win
Arkansas second baseman Robert Moore (2-for-3, 2 RBI, 2 walks) got a two-run hit in the eighth and scored early run against Georgia on Friday night.
Kelley in position for success in Pioneer League at Presbyterian
Nate Olson wasn’t surprised Kevin Kelley has moved on from Pulaski Academy to college level and thinks it’s a good spot in Pioneer League.
Bulldogs know they face tall mountain with weekend series
Georgia radio announcer Jeff Dantzler previews the matchup with the Razorbacks this weekend with the Halftime crew on ESPN Arkansas.
Torres on Musselman blending high school talent with portal
Fox Sports Radio’s Aaron Torres thinks Eric Musselman, new assistant Gus Argenal, will do solid job of blending local talent with quality transfers.
Deifel on how Hogs deal with long break headed into postseason
Hogs coach Courtney Deifel didn’t plan on a week off before the SEC Tournament, but she said Friday it comes at a good time.
McEwen on virtual reality helping Hogs to title; downtime
Arkansas outfielder Hannah McEwen talked Friday afternoon about the new virtual reality way of practicing and how big winning title is for program.
Yurachek should move Bud Walton improvements to front
Hunter Yurachek said Thursday at the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce that improvements to Bud Walton Arena were not going to happen immediately.
It probably should, though, because basketball is a sport Arkansas could be competing regularly for SEC and national championships along with baseball and some other spring sports.
Football is probably going to be stuck around 6-7 wins a year on a consistent basis, which is what the Razorbacks are. Sorry, fans, but you are what your record says you are.
The Hogs have won a national championship in men’s basketball. They’ve never won a football title. Don’t throw 1964 out there because that’s something that was a five-man committee of football writers the morning after officials didn’t think Joe Namath was in the end zone in the Orange Bowl against Texas.
Even that little committee was not unanimous choosing the Hogs.
The official ones were handed out before the bowl games were even played. Whether it is right or wrong doesn’t matter because it didn’t happen that way. Central Florida claims the 2017 title using an argument about as flimsy. Claiming a football title for the Hogs in 1964 is creating a myth to what was a mythical official championship.
But Arkansas won the 1994 national title in basketball with no disputes.
That also was the first year of operation for Bud Walton Arena and it has become seriously out-dated. The contrast is not as stark as when they moved out of Barnhill Arena, but there are fan-based things they are seriously behind a lot of other schools with for a home arena.
Yurachek said Thursday it may be three to five years before anything happens at Bud Walton. That’s probably accurate.
Most of it will be politics and that involves forming committees and paying for intensive studies to find out what is pretty obvious if you’ve been to some other arenas built in the last few years.
In basketball this past season, the Hogs finished the year going deeper into the NCAA Tournament than any other SEC team, playing in the Elite Eight.
Football’s best season in the last 40-plus years was a fifth-place national finish after the 2011 season … which was third among SEC West teams behind Alabama and LSU.
That’s probably not going to change.
Basketball has made giant leaps in both men’s and women’s areas and the total number of fans in attendance for the season is going to be higher than a football season.
Playing for championships should get a home fit for champions.
