The Arkansas Razorbacks came out swinging last weekend against the Appalachian State Mountaineers and managed to put up some pretty impressive offensive numbers over the course of the three game series. They seemed to find new and creative ways to reach base each inning and scored runs in bunches at times. One big question still remains about this team, however. How long can they maintain this type of production at the plate? Here are some good, great, and not so great observations of Arkansas’ offensive output during the series.
The Good
· The Razorbacks pounded out 27 hits over the weekend which translated to a .297 team average. This is a huge step up from the .260 they hit as a team last year. Yes, it is just the first series of the year and fans can’t get too excited about these numbers. But this is still something to be greatly encouraged by; especially when you consider the 1, 8, and 9 hitters did not record a hit in any of the three games.
· The Hogs also found ways to reach base without the benefit of a hit, collecting 16 walks and having 12 batters hit by pitch. Their new approach at the plate was evident early on as batters crowded the plate and made pitchers work to find the strike zone. Freshman Andrew Benintendi led the way in both departments, walking 4 times and being hit by pitch 3 times.
· Stealing bases could be a very important aspect of the Hogs offensive production this year. They had a great start to the season by stealing 3 bases in as many attempts. Brian Anderson’s delayed steal in the second game was a thing of beauty. This team is not loaded with tons of speed but it is evident they will find ways to take bases when necessary.
The Great
· Because of their young, somewhat inexperienced pitching staff the Arkansas offense will be relied upon to put up a lot of runs this season. They got a great start against Appalachian State by averaging 9 runs per game and not scoring less than 7 runs in any game. Again, there is still a long way to go, but anything close to these numbers would make for a very successful year.
· Arkansas had 9 extra-base hits over the weekend, including 3 homeruns and 6 doubles. This means that 33% of the Hogs hits this weekend resulted in extra bases. Considering last year’s team only hit 27 homeruns for the year this is a great start as far as power numbers go.
· Teams can’t score runs without getting on base and the Razorbacks proved this weekend they definitely know how to reach base safely. They had an astounding .455 on-base percentage, meaning Arkansas hitters reached base nearly half of the time they went to bat. If they can manage to stay close to that percentage it will mean plenty of runs this season.
The Not so Great
· Hogs hitters tallied just 3 hits in game three of the series against a Mountaineers staff that obviously did not have its best stuff. Even though they did still manage to score 8 runs in the game it is a little bit disheartening to see a 3 in the hits column, regardless of the game’s outcome. It is not likely Arkansas will win another game in that fashion with as few hits as they had Sunday.
· The 8 and 9 hole hitters offered very little in the production department over the weekend. There was not a starter in either of those two line-up spots who recorded a hit all series long. For the remaining games Arkansas is going to need greater effort out of the bottom of its order than they got against Appalachian State.
· Leaving runners on base is no way to score runs and the Razorbacks can certainly attest to leaving too many on during their opening series. As a team Arkansas left 26 runners on base, which means they left nearly 9 runs on the field per game. They are going to have to find ways to push more of those runs across throughout the year in order to win ball games.
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