NFL
By: Randall Slifer
Arkansas Baseball pulled out a huge series win against 3rd ranked Mississippi State last weekend. College Baseball is all about building a foundation, and, most importantly, congealing it all together and getting hot at the end of the season. Early series do not tell the future, but they can certainly be a building block that proves impactful later in the year.
Mississippi State traveled to Arkansas in the 1st SEC series of the season, and it did not disappoint. TJ Pompey came off the bench in the first game to pinch-hit in the 9th. He managed to walk it off with his first at bat to take game 1.
Mississippi State handled Arkansas in game 2, only allowing 2 runs and barely allowing a player on base in the first 5 innings. They needed to play a doubleheader on Saturday because of the weather, and Arkansas somehow pulled through in game 3 to win an important early series.
Why the hesitant tone?
Arkansas Baseball deserves that series win, and it is a big one to take home with them. Did Arkansas play sound and foundationally strong baseball over the weekend? They did when it mattered the most, game one.
In Game One, Arkansas Baseball allowed only 2 runs in the first 8 innings with solid pitching from Gaeckle and Gibler. Most of the team batted over .300, and 10 strikeouts were the least of the weekend. They were up 4-2 entering the 9th inning until Woodson homered on Gibler to tie the game 4-4. That led to Pompey walking it off and taking the most important game.
Game Two looked the worst, unable to score a single run until the 8th inning, while Mississippi State had already put up 7. The name of the game was ground balls and high fly outs near the warning track, while the balls were flying out of the park for Mississippi State. Game two made game three look impossible.
Game Three was when strategy went out the window, and a win was a win at that point. Arkansas was down 3-0 early, then scored two runs on wild pitches to keep it close, setting the stage for the final innings. Match that inning with scoring 4 runs on only 2 hits in the 8th. 6 runs on 4 hits and 2 errors by Mississippi State is not sound baseball, but the series win goes to Arkansas, which is a monumental early SEC series win.
Can Arkansas put it all together?
There is plenty of time to put all the important facets together to make it to the College World Series. This series win is early, but very important. For starters, Arkansas is notorious for being the team that gives up the monumental error to lose series like this. Mississippi State was the team that crumbled late in the series, and Arkansas was the one who took advantage of it.
This gives Arkansas Baseball valuable situational experience and the confidence to address its deficiencies midseason. Arkansas Baseball’s strongest point is its pitching. I believe their pitching is the deepest it has been in 5 years, matched with 3 strong starters.
Gaeckle, Fisher, and Dietz are College World Series-quality starters, and Cole Gibler may be the best reliever in the country. Gibler has made 5 appearances with a 1.53 ERA. Pitching a little over 17 total innings, he has only allowed 3 earned runs while striking out 18 batters. He allows only a .143 batting average to his hitters and only walks 5 batters. Follow that up with relievers like McGuire and Coil, only to have a dynamite closer in Ethan McElvain. McElvain has 5 appearances with a 0.00 ERA. In 9 innings, he has struck out 15 batters, and their batting average has been a measly .094. If the batting can match the pitching, Arkansas Baseball is looking at another College World Series run.
Can the bats get going?
The bats are not awful, but scoring 6 runs on 4 hits will not happen often. Helfrick and Kozeal bats were red hot early, but have cooled down a little bit as the season has gone on. Dave Van Horn puts a good amount of eggs in the transfer portal to reclaim the talent lost from the MLB draft, and they need to show more when the 2nd half of the season arrives.
TJ Pompey has been in and out of the lineup, and Maika Niu has been streaky in games. Pompey may have walked off game 1 of the series last weekend, but he is batting .228 with a team-leading 30 strikeouts. Maika Niu has hit a little better with a .308 batting average, but is also 2nd on the team with 22 strikeouts.
The whole Arkansas Baseball team is chasing pitches everywhere and striking out too often. Arkansas is averaging 9 strikeouts (181 total this season) per game, but Mississippi State’s fewest strikeouts was 10 in one game. The high fastball is a nemesis to Arkansas, and they need to stop chasing it. Once they get bought into the high fastball, pitchers can send the low curveball to catch them swinging as well. This has been an issue in previous years, and they need to fix it quickly before it becomes a full-season issue.
Homeruns have not left the park that often, either. Arkansas Baseball has hit only 24 home runs in its first 20 games, on pace to be less than 80 for the season. They would be on pace for a decade low in a stadium that is favorable for home runs. They are making contact with the ball, but there have been a lot of warning track flyouts that they need to get over the wall. Arkansas Baseball’s hitting coach, Nate Thompson, needs to lock in to help his players get the ball over the wall and bring these transfers’ batting averages closer to .300.
Arkansas Baseball has a matchup against South Carolina before their next big matchup against Florida at the end of the month. Arkansas has an opportunity to build on its huge series wins against Mississippi State and South Carolina, as well as against the other opponents, to prepare for Florida. What will I be looking for? Better infield defensive play and scoring runs when batters are in scoring position. I may have talked about home runs being important, but consistent, foundational baseball is what I started with today. As always, Go Razorbacks.
