Arkansas junior outfielder Heston Kjerstad and sophomore pitcher Connor Noland opened the 2020 season in style against Eastern Illinois, and the duo was recognized by the SEC on Monday.
Kjerstad earned conference co-player of the week honors, sharing the award with Ole Miss' Cael Baker, and Noland picked up his first pitcher of the week honor. It is the first time in program history that Arkansas players have won the awards in the same week.
Baker, who went 4-for-4 with a pair of home runs on Saturday in an 8-6 win over No. 1 Louisville, batted .417, recorded five hits and five RBI on opening weekend. He struck out five times.
Noland, the Razorbacks’ Friday starter, earned a win on Opening Day after allowing one run on two hits over 6 2/3 innings. He struck out a career-high 11 batters and issued one walk in the 5-1 win.
Eastern Illinois batted .095 against Noland, who threw 56 of 86 pitches for strikes and did not give up an extra-base hit.
"His stuff was really good," Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. "He started off that first inning or so and he was wild up. He usually doesn't miss up too much, and then he really got it going. His off-speed pitch was incredible today."
Kjerstad proved to be the toughest out in the Arkansas lineup over the weekend, finishing with a .583 average, league-high four home runs and 10 RBI. He hit a pair of home runs in Game 1 and two more on Sunday in the Razorbacks' 12-3 win.
The junior was also named Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week on Monday.
"He's pretty good, and he's locked in early," Eastern Illinois coach Jason Anderson said of Kjerstad. "The pitching he sees on a consistent basis (in the SEC) sets him up pretty well for a weekend against us.
“He reminds me of Paul DeJong of the (St. Louis) Cardinals when he was in college at Illinois State."
Arkansas returns to Baum-Walker Stadium for a four-game series against Gonzaga beginning on Thursday. First pitch for Game 1 is set for 3 p.m.