Last Tuesday, two Arkansas baseball players and one signee squared off against each other in a summer league game.
Sophomore James Teague started the game for the Lakeshore Chinooks and faced sophomore Clark Eagan and junior college signee Cullen Gassaway for the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters.
The right-hander turned in his most dominant performance of the summer, striking out 12 batters and allowing only one hit and one walk in six innings pitched.
Eagan and Gassaway went a combined 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. The only ball put in play was a groundout to second by Eagan. Coming into the week, Eagan was hitting .373.
In his last three starts, Teague has given up only two earned runs, eight hits and four walks in 18 1/3 innings, for an ERA of 0.98 and WHIP of 0.655.
Those are significant improvements from his first three starts this summer, in which he allowed five earned runs, eight hits and three walks in 13 innings pitched, for an ERA of 3.46 and WHIP of 0.846.
His strikeout rate has also increased. In the first half of his starts, he struck out only 17.3 percent of the batters he faced. That percentage has risen to 38.8 percent in his last three starts.
Despite the Chinooks not collecting a hit, they beat the Rapids Rafters 2-0 and Teague picked up the win.
Other Razorbacks in Summer Ball
Zach Barr – Wisconsin Woodchucks (Northwoods League)
Barr appeared in one game out of the bullpen last week, allowing no runs on one hit in one inning pitched. He also struck out a batter. The performance lowers his ERA to 3.81 this summer.
Clark Eagan – Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (Northwoods League)
As mentioned above, Eagan entered the week with a .373 batting average, but a 4-for-19 performance at the plate lowered it to .343. However, it wasn’t a completely unproductive week, as three of his four hits were doubles, he scored four runs, had two RBI and reached base three times via a walk and twice via a hit-by-pitch.
Alex Gosser – Texas Marshals (Texas League)
Continuing his struggles at the plate, Gosser went 3-for-18 for the Marshals last week, lowering his summer batting average to .204. He also had two RBI and three walks.
Zach Jackson – Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (Northwoods League)
Despite two solid starts last week, Jackson came away with a pair of no decisions. In his two outings combined, he gave up five runs, only two of which were earned, on six hits in 11 innings of work, lowering his summer ERA to 3.33. The right-hander struck out 16 batters, he struggled with his command, walking six batters, hitting one with a pitch and tossing three wild pitches.
Alex Phillips – Wisconsin Woodchucks (Northwoods League)
Phillips won his only start last week, allowing one earned run on four hits and two walks in five innings pitched. He also struck out three batters and lowed his summer ERA to 3.91.
Lance Phillips – Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks (Alaska League)
The older Phillips brother made his only appearance of the week out of the bullpen, picking up his second save of the season and first in conference play. He gave up one hit, but retired the other three batters he faced, including one by strikeout.
Carson Shaddy – Texas Marshals (Texas League)
Shaddy entered the week with a .330 batting average, but a 1-for-9 performance in three games dropped his average to .311. He also had one RBI, one walk and two runs scored.
Landon Simpson – Waterloo Bucks (Northwoods League)
Simpson turned in a solid performance in his only outing of the week, picking up the win by allowing no runs on six hits in seven innings of work. He also struck out four batters and walked just one. The right-hander now owns a 2.51 ERA this summer.
Dominic Taccolini – San Luis Obispo Blues (California Collegiate League)
After losing his previous three starts, Taccolini broke through with a win last week. In seven innings pitched, he allowed one earned run on seven hits and one walk while striking out nine batters. He has a 3.26 ERA this summer.
Lawson Vassar – Brazos Valley Bombers (Texas League)
In one appearance out of the bullpen last week, Vassar gave up an earned run on three hits and one walk in 1 2/3 innings pitched. He also struck out two batters. Despite the earned run, Vassar’s ERA still sits at 2.03 this summer.
Arkansas Signees in Summer Ball
Cannon Chadwick – Brazos Valley Bombers (Texas League)
Chadwick did not allow a run in two relief appearances last week and picked up his fifth save of the summer. He gave up one hit and struck out three batters in two innings of work, lowering his ERA to 5.28 in 15 appearances. The high ERA is somewhat deceiving, though, as if you remove two outings (in which he allowed seven earned runs in four innings), he would have an ERA of 1.59.
Cullen Gassaway – Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (Northwoods League)
Unlike his teammate, Eagan, Gassaway has struggled at the plate all season. In six games last week, he went 2-for-20 with one RBI and three walks. His batting average now sits at .194 this summer.
Rick Nomura – Conejo Oaks (California Collegiate League)
Nomura bounced back from a subpar week by his standards (.292), going 11-for-26 (.423) in seven games last week. He also had a double, triple, home run, four RBI and four runs scored. The home run was his first of the season. Nomura’s batting average is .329.
Tucker Pennell – Brazos Valley Bombers (Texas League)
In two games with the Bombers last week, Pennell went 2-for-7 with one walk. He is now batting .244 this summer.