Plenty of arms on display in Razorbacks’ victory

BY BRANDON MARCELLO Northwest Arkansas Times

Posted on Thursday, May 1, 2008

URL: http://www.wholehogsports.com/nwat/64720/

Have an arm and some college eligibility remaining ? You should have jumped into the bullpen at Baum Stadium Tuesday night.

Chances were, you may have been plucked out by pitching coach Dave Jorn and placed in the infield.

Arkansas and Missouri State’s bullpens were heavy with action, and 12 pitchers got some work in the 14-6 Razorbacks win.

Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn let it be known that starter Sam Murphy wouldn’t throw many pitches before the midweek game. The same approach was used by Bears head coach Keith Guttin with starter Aaron Meade.

Neither lasted past the third inning.

The pitching marathon was endless. There were lefties and righties, and the same amount of hit batsmen and walks handed out as strikeouts (14 ).

Most of the struggles came from the Missouri State bullpen, which gave up 11 runs. Kyle Dyer lasted the longest for the Bears with 1 2 / 3 innings pitched with 1 hit and 2 strikeouts.

As for Arkansas (27-18 ), the pen did its job as the last three pitchers allowed no runs. That was the plan, Van Horn said, as Arkansas prepares to enter a pivotal SEC series with Alabama Friday.

“ Whenever you’re running pitchers in and out of there, it’s really uncomfortable if the guy you’re taking out or replacing is doing well, ” Van Horn said. “ Most cases, the guys did a good job. ”

Arkansas pitcher Travis Hill entered in the top of the seventh frame and pitched the most in relief for the Hogs. His jersey number (No. 10 ) was appropriate as he took the mound as the game’s 10 th pitcher.

The Hogs scored their first three runs off no hits thanks to three hit batsmen and a walk by Meade. The Bears were also on the receiving end of lackluster pitching in the top half of the frame with four runs on four hits, including a 3-run home run by Josh Mazzola.

Arkansas bounced back with a homer of its own from the bat of Casey Coon, who knocked one over left-center field off Missouri State’s third pitcher of the night, Brant Combs.

It was the seventh home run given up by Combs in 15 2 / 3 innings.

The pitching, obviously by the numbers, wasn’t a strong suit for either team, especially early on, in the midweek contest.

“ But we got some work tonight, ” said Arkansas catcher Ryan Cisterna, who saw six different faces on the mound. “ We’re getting ready for Alabama. The pitchers needed to locate their pitches and get ready. That’s the plan for every hitter and they did a good job tonight. ”

The middle innings were dangerous for the Bears ’ pen. Four Missouri State pitchers faced 31 batters in four consecutive innings, and in that stretch from the third through sixth, Arkansas went to bat eight times in three frames.

Then the Bears’ sixth and final pitching change happened. By the second batter, J. C. Casey provided Cisterna the perfect pitch to nail a home run and extend the Hogs’ lead to 14-6 in the eighth.

From there, Brett Eibner moved from center field and took over for Arkansas on the mound to close the game out.

He looked in control, but allowed two hits before he managed to end the 211-minute slugfest with a strikeout.

During the struggles, a peek into the Razorbacks ’ bullpen in the ninth frame revealed a seventh pitcher warming up for the Hogs — Mike Bolsinger.

“ Yeah, just in case, ” Van Horn said. “ That’s for sure. ”