Arkansas vs Mississippi State

Arkansas’ pitching carries team

                  The Razorbacks hit the road again in conference play to take on No 16 ranked Mississippi State (18-9, 4-2) in a three game series at the notoriously rowdy Dudy Noble Field.  Arkansas (16-8, 3-3) has won 8 out of their last 10 games including 5 in a row.  Their pitching has made up for the lack of hitting, throwing 3 shutouts in the last 5 games and 4 in the last 7.  While the Hogs have struggled to drive in runs hitting .265, they have been doing enough offensively to win in support of a pitching staff that boasts a 2.10 ERA. 

                  The Razorbacks have had some guys step up lately after an injury to Bret McAfee cause two bench players to see significantly more playing time.  Michael Bernal has moved over to shortstop to replace McAfee with his superior glove and Bobby Wernes has only come in to hit .313 while “filling in” at third.  These guys both have great defensive capabilities and are contributing offensively as well.  Bernal leads the SEC with 10 HBP to support his .397 on base percentage and he is 4^th on the team in runs scored (13) in only 53 at bats.  Coach Dave Van Horn has always been a good evaluator of junior college talent and he may have his best offensive transferring class this season with these two and Krisjon Wilkerson.

                 

                     The pitching rotation should look the same with the possibility that Trey Killian moves to Friday night to match up with the other teams’ best starters going forward.  Jalen Beeks struggled last week in a rain shortened outing and Killian is getting it done, throwing 2 straight complete games of 1 run ball.  Chris Oliver nailed down his weekend position with a solid outing Sunday to prove he belongs in a starting role.  Van Horn has not used Colin Poche on the weekend for two straight weeks and quite frankly hasn’t had to with the number of innings starters are pitching and the effectiveness of relievers Michael Gunn, Zach Jackson and Jacob Stone.

                  After two weeks of conference play it is a good sign that the ERA is still so low.  The offense still has some work to do in order to prove this team is a contender, however they are outscoring opponents 129 to 63.  You could say that is due mostly to the opponents only hitting .198 against the Hogs, but it takes scoring runs to win as well and they are finding ways to get on base.  The Razorback batters have been hit 50 times now this season after being hit only 36 times all last season.  They have drawn 92 walks as well to keep their on base percentage up at .375 which I believe is making a great increase in the offensive production.

                  Arkansas faces another great challenge this week.  Though Mississippi State has taken some losses to some not so stellar teams this season, they won a double header at Georgia to take the series and beat No 7 Vanderbilt 2/3 at home in the last two weekends.  The Hogs will be battling against more than just a talented team though as Dudy Noble can role in upwards of around 13,000 people any given night.  It will be fun to see how the weekend plays out and which stars will rise to the occasion for the Razorbacks.

     

Weekend Schedule

Friday, Mar 28  6:30 pm  Hi 70/Lo 57  few showers, 50% chance of rain

Saturday, Mar 29  2:00 pm  Hi 62/Lo 40  mostly sunny, 20% chance of rain

Sunday, Mar 30 1:30 pm  Hi 64/Lo 42 sunny 

  Weekend Probables

Arkansas                                                                      

Jr. LHP Jalen Beeks (3-2, 1.56)

So. RHP Trey Killian (1-3, 2.36)

Jr. RHP Chris Oliver (2-2, 1.74)

C    Sr. Jake Wise (.143, 1, 5)                                                         

1B  RJr. Eric Fisher (.250, 2, 13)                                                     

2B  Jr. Brian Anderson (.330, 2, 20)                                                

3B  So. Bobby Wernes (.313, 0,6)                                               

SS  So. Michael Bernal (.226, 0, 5)

LF  Jr. Joe Serrano (.288, 0, 15)                                                      

CF  RSo. Tyler Spoon (.289, 2, 20)                                               

RF  Fr. Andrew Benintendi (.260, 1, 13)

DH Jr. Krisjon Wilkerson (.295, 1, 7)

Mississippi State

So. RHP Preston Brown (3-0, 1.12)

Jr. LHP Ross Mitchell (4-1, 1.66)

Jr. RHP Trevor Fitts (2-1, 3.13

C    Zack Randolph (.250, 0, 7)

1B  Wes Rea (.277, 3, 23)

2B  Brett Pirtle (.311, 0, 13)

3B  Matthew Britton (.179, 0, 6)

SS  Seth Hicks (.279, 0, 12)

LF  Jake Vickerson (.258, 0, 10)

CF  Derrick Armstrong (.260, 0, 8)

RF  Demarcus Henderson (.352, 0, 5)

DH  Alex Detz (.230, 1, 15)

        Prediction

            The Bulldogs play well at home to a large, rowdy crowd.  It is what they are known for, being obnoxious.  Therefore, keeping this young Razorbacks team focused over 27 innings will be a tall order for Dave Van Horn and company.  If Arkansas can score 3 runs per game then I think they will win the series.  But that may require 10 hits per game.  I predict the pitching holds up and the bullpen again gets a breather but State will be bringing it from the mound as well and Arkansas has not proven it can hit good pitching yet.  This should be an exciting, low scoring, pitching dominant affair.  I believe the Bulldogs pull off 2/3 over the Hogs.