FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas didn’t waste any time in building excitement for the 2012 season.
The Razorbacks jumped out to a six-run lead in the first inning Friday afternoon and went on to defeat Villanova 11-5 before an opening-day crowd of 6,317 fans at Baum Stadium.
Staff ace and preseason All-American DJ Baxendale pitched five scoreless innings for the victory, and Jacob Morris had a home run and a two-run triple to lead Arkansas, which begins the season ranked No. 4 nationally by Baseball America.
Attendance was down from last season’s opening-day crowd of 7,526, but plenty of fans still showed up in support on a gloomy, overcast afternoon, and the Razorbacks didn’t let them down as Arkansas built 9-0 lead through four innings.
“I was impressed by how many people were here,” Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. “I looked up in the second inning and left field was just packed. It was great to see. I think there was a lot of anticipation about this year, then you’ve got fans wanting to see these players.
“I pretty much gave them a chance to see everybody we had for the most part.”
Arkansas got to Villanova starter Kyle Helisek early as the left-hander allowed nine runs in just 3 1/3 innings. The Razorbacks sent 11 batters to the plate in the first inning and scored six runs with the help of five hits and two errors by the Wildcats.
Baxendale, a junior right-hander, retired seven consecutive batters before running into some trouble in the third and fourth innings. Baxendale appeared to lose his rhythm after a fielding error by second baseman Bo Bigham with one out in the third. Marlon Calbi then reached on an infield single and Steve Schrenk drew a walk before Morris made a running catch in center field to end the inning.
The Razorbacks turned in another fine defensive play in the fourth inning when third baseman Matt Reynolds made a diving stop to keep the Wildcats scoreless against Baxendale. Villanova put runners in scoring position with one out when Connor Jones hit a single and Kevin Wager followed with a double. Baxendale retired Paul Rambaud on a popup, but Adam Nelson drove a pitch that appeared headed to left field.
That’s when Reynolds made a diving stop, scrambled to his feet and threw out Nelson to end the threat.
“There was great defense throughout the entire game,” Baxendale said. “You look at Matt’s diving play to end an inning. Jacob ran down five or six fly balls, it seemed like.
“It’s nice to have enough confidence in your defense just to be able to pound the strike zone, pitch to contact, and let your defense play behind you.”
Bigham got the first inning started with a leadoff double and moved to third base on a single by Reynolds, who went 3 for 3. Dominic Ficociello struck out before Sam Bates lined a two-run double to give Arkansas the lead.
Derrick Bleeker reached on an error and Jake Wise walked before Morris delivered a tworun triple. Bleeker scored an a wild pitch before Tim Carver drove home Morris with a single to put the Razorbacks ahead 6-0.
Arkansas increased its lead to 9-0 with three runs in the fourth inning.
“He’s going to play because he’s an outstanding defender and has got a great arm,” Van Horn said of Morris, who batted .194 in 23 games last season. “Obviously, I don’t expect him to hit like that all the time, but he has power, and can really run with that triple.
“It will be nice if he hits. That would be a big plus for us.”
Villanova scored its first run in the sixth inning when the Razorbacks began removing their starters and brought in freshman Mark Reyes to replace Baxendale. Matt Fleishman had a grand slam in the seventh inning for Villanova, which collected eight hits against four Arkansas pitchers.
Arkansas added two more runs in the sixth inning before Villanova scored five against Reyes and Colby Suggs. The Razorbacks outhit Villanova 13-8, and the Wildcats made two of the three errors in the game.
Sports, Pages 23 on 02/18/2012