Murphy’s thoughts on spring game, how quarterbacks looking
Democrat-Gazette writer Tom Murphy thought the Hogs’ quarterbacks did okay as a “confidence-building deal” for a lot of people.
Bud Light Seltzer Morning Rush Podcast: Spring game thoughts
Tye & Tommy on the Red/White Game, A&M series, pedicures, plus Tom Murphy!
Hogs have to reach into bullpen too early again, falling to Aggies
If Arkansas doesn’t get some starting pitchers to go deeper into games, Dave Van Horn probably knows he may have a problem they can’t out-hit in May.
Sunday, with a chance to sweep an SEC series over the Texas Aggies, Lael Lockhart gave up five hits and three runs in lasting just three innings and the Razorbacks had a problem.
“The game got away really early from us,” Van Horn said later.
They came up just short in an 11-10 loss. For a team that has made coming from behind way too routine, they couldn’t get the bat on the ball in the ninth inning.
“Just a tough loss because of the way it finished,” Van Horn said.
The nagging problem that keeps popping up too much is the failure of too many starters to get very deep into games. Kevin Kopps can’t save the day in the fourth inning every game.
“We had to go to the bullpen again way too early,” Van Horn said. “We didn’t play good defense and pitched behind in the count all day long. We walked them six times and hit them twice and it seemed like more. They were just ahead in the count 2-0 and 3-1 a lot and took some really good swings and we didn’t play good.”
The Hogs are still 11-4 in the league despite having to make some gigantic comebacks and win some wild games like holding off Ole Miss last week.
“With who we’ve played and where we’ve played that’s a good record,” Van Horn said. “Pretty much every coach in the league would be happy with 11-4, but it’s why we say when you can get a win, get a win because you never know.”
Hitting early has been a problem at times this year. It’s forced the Hogs to make some of these comebacks with big swings.
“We’ve shown the power,” Van Horn said. “As far as spreading it out, that’s what we thought we’d do. When the season ends we project we’re going to have several guys up and down the lineup with 10, 12, 15.”
For the most part, though, the Hogs will be okay and the guess is they’ll figure out the pitching issues over the next few weeks.
But Van Horn is probably hoping failing to close out the sweep against A&M doesn’t come back to be too costly.
“It wasn’t a good day for us,” Van Horn said.
He wasn’t talking about one specific area, either. There was enough blame to go around.
Hogs battle back, but can’t complete Aggies’ sweep
Arkansas could not complete a series sweep of Texas A&M, coming up short in the final game of the weekend, 11-10, Sunday afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium.
The Razorbacks battled back from a six-run deficit to come within one run of tying the Aggies, but the Hogs never made it all the way and left the bases loaded in the ninth to end the game.
It was a slugfest in the finale as both teams got on the scoreboard early and often.
Cayden Wallace ignited the Arkansas offense with a two-out, two-RBI double in the second inning, and the Hogs held a 3-1 lead after the opening two frames.
Texas A&M answered the call by scoring in each of the next four innings, opening a six-run, 10-4 lead by the middle of the sixth.
Aggie first baseman Will Frizzell did much of the heavy lifting for the visiting squad, racking up three hits on the day, including a home run, and three RBI.
The Hogs, however, did not go down quietly. Matt Goodheart launched a three-run shot, his fifth home run in four games this week, in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Texas A&M tacked on a run in the top of the seventh, but the Hogs went back to work in the bottom half of the inning. Zack Gregory lined a three-run home run into the right field corner to draw the Razorbacks to within one.
Razorback reliever Jaxon Wiggins gave the Hogs some valuable innings down the stretch Sunday, tossing two scoreless frames in the eighth and ninth to keep Arkansas in the game.
Down by one in the bottom of the ninth, Arkansas drew three walks (one intentional) to load the bases with one out.
Texas A&M pitcher Chandler Jozwiak entered the ballgame in relief and struck out Goodheart and Wallace to suppress the rally and seal the win for the Aggies.
Lael Lockhart was the starting man for the Razorbacks on Sunday, and he worked three innings while giving up three runs (two earned) and striking out four Aggies.
Gregory and Goodheart led the offensive charge for the Hogs with their three-run shots, each collecting three RBI on the day.
Goodheart has now hit a home run in four consecutive games on two occasions this season.
The Razorback slugger, who leads the team in dingers with 11, also accomplished the feat against Memphis and in all three games at Mississippi State (March 24-28).
Arkansas will be back in action Tuesday, April 20, to take on Grambling State in a non-conference contest at Baum-Walker Stadium.
First pitch in the six-game homestand’s finale is set for 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network+.
Van Horn recapping Hogs’ 11-10 loss keeping them from sweep
Hogs coach Dave Van Horn didn’t think they played well against a good Aggies’ pitcher, but still came close to pulling out win late.
Hogs sweep doubleheader to clinch series over A&M
It only took the Hogs one day to clinch yet another SEC series win.
No. 1 Arkansas won both games of Saturday’s doubleheader against Texas A&M, demolishing the Aggies, 13-0, in game one before a thrilling 2-1 extra-inning, walk-off win in the nightcap at Baum-Walker Stadium.
The Razorbacks improve to 30-5 overall on the year with today’s two victories, including an 11-3 mark in conference play. Arkansas widened its lead in the SEC West with the wins, opening a 1.5-game edge over second-place Ole Miss and Mississippi State.
The Hogs now eye a series sweep in tomorrow’s finale, which gets underway at 2 p.m. on SEC Network+.
Game One
Arkansas scored early and often in the day’s opener, jumping all over Texas A&M from the get-go en route to a 13-0 shutout win.
Brady Slavens drove home two in the bottom of the first on a double to the gap in right center, giving the Hogs an early 2-0 cushion. Matt Goodheart’s solo shot in the bottom of the second was followed by Slavens’ two-run blast, which put the Razorbacks ahead by five after two innings of play.
The Hogs never looked back, holding onto their five-run lead and tacking on more in the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth. Robert Moore’s two-run homer in the seventh, which put Arkansas up by 12, was the cherry on top of the game-long offensive onslaught.
13 runs were more than enough for Razorback pitchers Patrick Wicklander, Caden Monke and Heston Tole. The trio combined to strike out 14, shutting out the Aggies while allowing only three hits and three walks.
It was the first Arkansas’ first shutout against an SEC program since a 2-0 win against Missouri on March 15, 2019, at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Game Two
Arkansas proved it can win without double-digit runs in Saturday’s nightcap, riding strong pitching to a 2-1 extra-inning, walk-off victory.
Starter Peyton Pallette was brilliant, striking out seven in six innings of work. The righty allowed only three hits and did not walk a batter in the longest start of his collegiate career.
Goodheart provided Pallette with early run support, launching a homer over the wall in right center in the bottom of the first. His fourth home run in three games put Arkansas ahead, 1-0.
The one-run lead would hold up until the top of the seventh. Kevin Kopps, who entered in relief of Pallette to start the inning, allowed a leadoff home run, which knotted the ballgame at one.
From there, the reliever was nearly unhittable. Kopps closed out the remainder of the game, striking out five while allowing only more hit in his four innings of work to pick up his sixth win of the season.
His dominance out of the bullpen set the stage for Cayden Wallace, who stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the 10th with runners on first and second. The freshman did exactly what was needed.
Wallace put the ball in play, reaching on a fielder’s choice as Texas A&M second baseman Ty Coleman’s errant throw to first base allowed Moore to score the game-winning run from second.
Questions may abound in spring, but not at wide receiver
While the White team’s 30-20 win in the scrimmage with concessions Saturday didn’t provide a lot of answers, there are no questions about the wide receivers.
Treylon Burks and Mike Woods have the potential to be the best 1-2 combination in the SEC and Trey Knox may actually be back to what he showed as a freshman in 2019.
Each of them caught just two passes and scored a touchdown.
“Probably not as many as they wanted,” Sam Pittman said later. “We’ve seen them for 14 practices. We didn’t need any more than what they got.”
And Knox had a pair of catches on both of the plays he was targeted and made leaping catches on both, similar to what got fans excited about his potential in 2019. He just simply caught passes literally on top of poor Hudson Clark on those two plays.
Then there was John David White, the walk-on that looks too small in stature with this group of receivers, but is making plays that Pittman is noticing.
“I love him,” he said. “He can separate in his routes. He catches, he blocks, he’s tough. There’ll certainly be a place for him because he’s earned that.”
In other words, he’s exactly what the Razorbacks need around all these prototype big, tall receivers that have gotten all the headlines.
White had five catches (on six targets) for 87 yards and a touchdown.
They will be catching passes from KJ Jefferson as long as they can keep him on the field because Pittman has said all spring they want to have the quarterback also be able to run on purpose instead of desperation.
After the scrimmage, Pittman almost sounded like he was trying to convince himself Jefferson and Malik Hornsby are the answers at quarterback (and he admitted they will have to have two quarterbacks this season).
“I’d have to go look back at every throw that he made, but I can tell you this, when I was standing out on the field, I was going, ‘It’d be hard not to like this kid at quarterback,’” he said. “He’s big, he’s strong, he’s commanding and he was on point. As a head coach, I was sitting back there going, ‘I’m damn glad he’s our quarterback.’”
And he’s also high on Hornsby who is fast and a better runner right now than a passer, although he settled down as the scrimmage continued Saturday.
“He was way more accurate that what he had been in the past,” Pittman said. “He had great command of the offense out there. He’ll be a better player when we’re allowed to use the quarterback as a runner a little bit more.”
Jefferson knows the players has catching his passes and the guess here is that gives him confidence. He was Burks’ roommate as a freshman and offensive coordinator Kendal Briles has pushed all spring teaching quarterbacks to let them do what they can do.
“Coach Briles is a huge believer in giving guys a chance on the outside and going up and making plays,” Jefferson said. “We’ve got playmakers, so why not give them a chance? I put my trust in those guys. They trust me to put the ball in good spots and they are going to make plays.”
Pittman is obviously putting his trust in Jefferson and Hornsby.
And everybody is trusting a talented group of receivers to make it work.
Van Horn on Pallette’s ‘efficient’ start in second game win
Dave Van Horn said after Peyton Pallette started and went six innings throwing just 73 pitches in a 10-inning 2-1 win after taking first game.
Hog Reaction Postgame Show | Recapping the Razorbacks’ Red/White Game
Ruscin and Tye recap the Razorbacks’ Red/White game, live from Sassy’s in Fayetteville!
Pittman pleased with spring, not a single bad practice, he says
The White downed the Red, 30-20, in the spring game Saturday and Sam Pittman talked about the 15 practices overall.
