FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas baseball Coach Dave Van Horn will keep a close eye on his bullpen this weekend against Western Illinois after Gonzaga tore through a series of relievers in its 15-10 victory at Baum Stadium on Wednesday.
The Bulldogs went for 13 runs and 16 hits in 71/3 innings against 11 relievers from an Arkansas bullpen that had pitched well most of the early season. Only Barrett Loseke, who allowed one hit in three innings, and the trio of Doug Willey, Isaiah Campbell and Ty Harris, who recorded one out apiece, did not allow a run in the meltdown.
At a glance
ARKANSAS vs. W. ILLINOIS
WHEN 3:05 p.m.
WHERE Baum Stadium, Fayetteville
RECORDS Western Illinois 2-8; Arkansas 10-3
SERIES Arkansas leads 6-1.
RADIO Razorback Sports Network. Not all games will be carried by affiliates. Check local listings.
PITCHING MATCHUP Western Illinois LHP Preston Church (0-1, 6.06 ERA); Arkansas RHP Dominic Taccolini (3-0, 2.50)
SHORT HOPS Western Illinois’ only victory over the Hogs came in their last meeting, a 7-5 decision on Feb. 17, 2013 at Baum Stadium. … Arkansas right-hander Keaton McKinney (0-0, 6.17 ERA) is scheduled to face WIU right-hander Joe Mortillaro (0-2, 8.22) in Saturday’s 2:05 p.m. game. … The Razorbacks have not named a starter for Sunday’s 1:05 p.m. finale, while the Leathernecks have announced right-hander Ian Koch (0-1, 3.52) for that game. … WIU is No. 5 in the six-team Summit League with a .235 batting average, No. 5 with a 6.59 team ERA, and No. 5 with a .961 fielding percentage. … Arkansas is No. 8 in the SEC in hitting (.305), No. 13 in pitching (3.78) and No. 7 in fielding (.978). … Arkansas has agreed to play in the Frisco College Baseball Classic next March along with Arizona, Nebraska and Oklahoma State at Dr Pepper Ballpark, home of the Texas Rangers’ Class AA affiliate Frisco RoughRiders.
THE WEEK AHEAD
TODAY Western Illinois, 3:05 p.m.
SATURDAY Western Illinois, 2:05 p.m.
SUNDAY Western Illinois, 1:05 p.m.
MONDAY Off
TUESDAY Grambling State, 6:35 p.m.
WEDNESDAY Grambling State, 3:05 p.m.
THURSDAY Off
"Really nice to see that Barrett Loseke came out and threw the ball really well for us," Van Horn said. "It would have been nice to send him back out, but we didn't know the other guys were going to spit the bit like they did."
The No. 14 Razorbacks (10-3) look to steady the ship starting with today's 3:05 p.m. game at Baum Stadium with ace Dominic Taccolini (3-0, 2.50 ERA) on the mound. The junior right-hander will face junior lefty Preston Church (0-1, 6.06).
Arkansas is 2-3 after its 8-0 start, which was capped by a three-game sweep in Houston against Rice, Houston and Texas Tech, all ranked teams.
The Leathernecks (2-8) of the Summit League were 0-6 before splitting a four-game series with Northern Kentucky last weekend.
Arkansas had taken a 10-6 lead on Rick Nomura's grand slam in the sixth inning Wednesday, but relievers Hunter Hart, Anthony Dahl and Jordan Rodriguez combined to give up five runs on three hits in the top of the seventh. The inning included an error, 2 walks, 3 wild pitches and 2 hit batsmen.
"Keep grinding and the sun will rise tomorrow," said Nomura on what the Hogs could learn. "That game is in the past and we have to keep moving forward. Last year we had our ups and downs in the beginning of the season. ... We have a great squad this year and it's not done yet. It's still early."
However, the time for auditions in Arkansas bullpen to make the 27-man SEC travel roster are running low.
"They will just slowly separate themselves as far as who gets to travel," Van Horn said. "Then it even whittles down a little more on who can you put in the game? Who can you trust? You throw a guy out there with a seven-run lead and it's no big deal. Who can pitch with a two-run lead or down two runs?"
Arkansas will take a .305 team batting average into the weekend after going 10 for 35 (.286) against Gonzaga. The Hogs, who struggled with runners in scoring position while going 2-2 last week, improved with a 3-of-8 (.375) performance against the Bulldogs.
Among the Arkansas regulars, Jake Arledge (.452), Carson Shaddy (.382), Clark Eagan (.365) and Cullen Gassaway (.333) lead the offense. Eagan leads with 17 RBI, while middle infielders Nomura and Michael Bernal are next with 14.
Connor Currier leads Western Illinois with a .409 batting average, followed by Colton Poquie (.351) and Chris Tschida (.349), the only other players with batting averages better than .286.
Sports on 03/11/2016