FAYETTEVILLE — What was billed as a potential pitchers' duel turned into a one-sided game Friday at Baum Stadium.
Bucknell senior right-hander Connor Van Hoose, the preseason pitcher of the year in the Patriot League, lasted only 1 1/3 innings in Arkansas' 14-2 win over the Bison.
Van Hoose allowed 7 runs on 6 hits and 4 walks, numbers atypical from his junior season in which he had a 2.28 ERA and issued 19 walks in 83 innings.
"I think Connor just got out of sync there for a little bit," said Scott Heather, Bucknell's sixth-year coach. "He's a strike thrower usually."
It appeared Van Hoose might match Arkansas starter Blaine Knight's scoreless first inning after cleanup hitter Luke Bonfield struck out for the Razorbacks' second out of the first. But freshman Heston Kjerstad followed with an RBI single into right field, giving Arkansas its first run of the season and opening the floodgates.
Van Hoose walked the next four batters, including Jared Gates and Carson Shaddy with the bases loaded. He also was called for a bases-loaded balk, which allowed another run.
When it was over, Van Hoose had throw 46 pitches in the inning.
"I think the balk got to him a little bit and he really lost his strike zone for a little bit," Heather said. "They've got a good lineup top to bottom and you can't lose your focus or they're going to put up runs."
The balk was Van Hoose's first in 117 2/3 college innings.
"He was in his windup and he tried to step off after he started it," Heather said. "It just was a lack of focus type thing. He probably should have been in the windup anyway in that situation."
Arkansas batted around in the first inning. Jax Biggers led off with a bunt single down the third base line and ended the inning with a flyout to right field.
It was the second consecutive year Arkansas batted around in the first inning of its season opener. The Razorbacks scored six runs in the first inning of a win over Miami (Ohio) in the first game of 2017.
"I thought we did a great job of laying off a lot of marginal pitches early in the count," said Dave Van Horn, Arkansas' head coach who improved to 16-0 in season and home openers. "We got his pitch count up, fouled off a lot of pitches. "We just didn't chase a lot of pitches. Very unusual for him to walk people. If you look at his numbers from last year, he didn't walk very many. Tonight he did. Obviously when you throw 40 pitches in one inning you're not going to be around long."
Arkansas continued to tee off on Van Hoose in the second inning when Dominic Fletcher and Kjerstad doubled, and Bonfield singled in the first four at-bats.
Kjerstad, who finished 3-for-4 with three runs scored in his college debut, said Arkansas' pitching staff prepared the hitters for Van Hoose during off-season scrimmages.
"Facing the pitchers we faced all fall, all the guys we faced were just as good as him," Kjerstad said.