FAYETTEVILLE -- It's a great day for baseball in the state of Arkansas.
After a decades-long ban on playing in-state programs, the University of Arkansas baseball team will host the University of Arkansas at Little Rock tonight at 6:30 at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Up next
No. 9 ARKANSAS vs. UALR
WHEN 6:30 p.m.
WHERE Baum-Walker Stadium, Fayetteville
RECORDS UALR 10-18; Arkansas 22-6
STARTING PITCHERS UALR RHP McKinley Moore (0-2, 9.00 ERA); Arkansas LHP Patrick Wicklander (2-1, 5.11)
SERIES First meeting.
COACHES Chris Curry (101-141 in 5th year at UALR); Dave Van Horn (665-370 in 17th year at Arkansas)
TV None
RADIO Razorback Sports Network
INTERNET SEC Network-Plus
SHORT HOPS
Arkansas fell one spot to No. 9 in Monday’s USA Today Coaches Top 25. … The Razorbacks led UALR 11-2 after nine innings and 16-3 after 14 innings of a fall exhibition game at UALR’s Gary Hogan Field. … The Trojans are No. 167 in the NCAA in batting average (.267), No. 217 in pitching (5.78 ERA), No. 262 in fielding (.954) and No. 142 in scoring (5.9). … Arkansas is No. 43 in batting average (.290), No. 23 in pitching (3.18), No. 67 in fielding (.974) and No. 36 in scoring (7.2). … Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said Zack Plunkett (.240, 1 HR, 4 RBI) would likely make the start at catcher to give Casey Opitz (.200, 12 RBI) some rest.
THE WEEK AHEAD
TODAY UALR, 6:30 p.m.
WEDNESDAY Off
THURSDAY at Auburn, 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
FRIDAY at Auburn 6 p.m.
SATURDAY at Auburn, 2 p.m.
SUNDAY Off
MONDAY Off
The first meeting between the programs officially will open the second half of the season for the No. 9 Razorbacks (22-6) and the Trojans (10-18). The seminal game will pit veteran Arkansas skipper Dave Van Horn against one of his proteges, UALR Coach Chris Curry.
"I think it's great that on a Tuesday night you've got two Arkansas schools playing each other and there should be a little more interest," said Van Horn, who played a leading role in scheduling the Trojans and the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff (April 16).
"It's special. It's a historic day," said Curry, who handled catchers on Van Horn's staff for the 2009-10 seasons that included a trip to the College World Series in 2009. "There's a little bit of an extra buzz to it. A lot of family and friends have reached out. There's high interest. The media is doing a great job covering it. I'm excited for the players."
The teams met in the fall in Little Rock for a scrimmage, but this one counts in the standings.
"I think it's a new era for baseball in the state," Curry said. "It's what coach [Van Horn] and I talked about before it happened in private conversations."
Van Horn probably had more influence than anyone in breaking the longstanding in-state scheduling restriction, which is likely to expand to basketball and possibly football games in the future.
"I think a lot of people appreciate it. People have commented that they're glad to see us play a couple of in-state schools," Van Horn said. "I just think it's good for the state, and I think it's good for baseball in the state of Arkansas.
"I can tell you this: The state has gotten a lot better the last few years in the talent that's coming out."
The Trojans will send 6-6 right-hander McKinley Moore (0-2, 9.00 ERA) to the mound, while Arkansas will counter with 6-1 left-hander Patrick Wicklander (2-1, 5.11 ERA).
"He's a hard-throwing, low- to mid-90s guy," Curry said of Moore. "He's got a good breaking ball. He's getting a lot of pro attention.
"He's a guy that if we could get him going it would be really big for us on the conference weekends. As big as this game is and important to the state ... it's also a chance for us to get some guys going on the mound that can help us on the weekends."
Curry said he ideally would use several pitchers tonight.
Wicklander's splits as a starter and reliever are staggering. In six games as a reliever, Wicklander is 0-1 with a 12.71 ERA, with 8 runs allowed on 9 walks and 6 hits to go along with 9 strikeouts in 5⅔ innings. In his five starts, Wicklander is 2-0 with a 2.84 ERA, with 6 runs allowed on 6 walks and 10 hits to go along with 28 strikeouts in 19 innings.
"I just feel like the kid needs to pitch," Van Horn said. "You know he gives us a couple of innings here and there and we keep pulling him out, saving him for the weekends, and we don't use him a whole lot on the weekend. If he's throwing good, maybe we can just let him go."
Van Horn's pitching staff will be down a man because right-hander Jacob Kostyshock's sore elbow is expected to sideline him for a week or two.
"He's got some inflammation around the nerve in his elbow," Van Horn told the Swatter's Club on Monday at the Hilton Garden Inn. "He'll definitely miss this weekend's games. I don't know if we'll have him back for the next [weekend] series."
Both teams have critical weekend series looming, with the Trojans at Sun Belt leader Texas-Arlington starting Friday and the Razorbacks at No. 15 Auburn starting Thursday. Arkansas swapped places with Auburn in this week's RPI rankings, with the Hogs slipping two spots to No. 6 and Auburn moving up to No. 4.
UALR, which has a team batting average of .275, is led by Ryan Benavidez (.330, 5 HR, 17 RBI), Riley Pittman (.304, 4, 19) and James Gain (.298, 7, 20).
The Razorbacks are led by Matt Goodheart (.349, 12 RBI), Dominic Fletcher (.324, 4, 22), Heston Kjerstad (.313, 5, 17), Jacob Nesbit (.309, 1, 20) and Jack Kenley (.304, 5, 21). Freshman Christian Franklin (.294) has four home runs and the team RBI lead with 26, while sophomore Casey Martin (.267) tops the club with six home runs.
Van Horn also said he's likely to tinker with the batting order tonight, specifically mentioning first baseman Trevor Ezell (.286, 3, 15) as likely to be somewhere other than the three hole he has occupied all season.
Sports on 04/02/2019