In the two weeks since Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said he needed more innings from his starting pitching, the Razorbacks have delivered.
Arkansas’ three starters — Patrick Wicklander, Peyton Pallette and Lael Lockhart — combined to record 31 of 81 outs during the Razorbacks’ series win at Ole Miss. The trio combined for 41 of 84 outs last week against Texas A&M, and Wicklander, Pallette and Caleb Bolden combined for 47 of 81 outs during this week’s series victory at South Carolina.
Bolden pitched Thursday because his arm was freshest for a short turnaround from a series that ended four days earlier. It’s unclear whether Bolden, Lockhart or someone else man Arkansas’ third starting spot when the Razorbacks travel to LSU next week.
Wicklander and Pallette have separated themselves as Arkansas’ top two starters. Both pitched Friday on a day less rest than usual, and both delivered strong performances.
Wicklander allowed 1 run on 2 hits and did not walk a batter in a career-long 7 innings Friday night as the Razorbacks defeated the Gamecocks 5-1 to take the series.
Pallette pitched 5 1/3 innings in the first game of the day, but was pulled after he allowed two base runners in the sixth inning of a 2-0 game. South Carolina scored four runs against Pallette and relievers Caden Monke and Zebulon Vermillion in the inning, and went on to win 6-2.
"I feel a lot better about it,” Van Horn said Friday of his starting pitching. “I know our whole team feels good about it. I commented to our pitching staff right after the game that we won two out of three because they gave us the opportunity to do that. They came here with a little bit of an edge, and they did a nice job.”
The 37 combined outs for Wicklander and Pallette were the most for Arkansas over consecutive weekend games since Vermillion and Lockhart combined for 38 outs over the final two games of the Alabama series on March 20-21. Vermillion pitched eight innings in the first of those games.
Van Horn said Wicklander gave the Razorbacks a longer outing than he was expecting Friday night, which allowed Arkansas to go to Kevin Kopps without the need for a set-up man. Kopps struck out all six batters he faced.
Arkansas only threw eight pitchers during the three-game series, including Kopps and Monke in multiple games, offsetting a concern the Razorbacks’ pitching staff might be stretched too thin due to the combination of the short week and a doubleheader.
Arkansas also played a doubleheader last week against Texas A&M and played six SEC games in seven days.
“The pitchers, I think they felt like they had something to prove because they haven’t … maybe they don’t feel like they’re getting the respect they’ve earned so far this year,” Van Horn said. “They came down here and they pitched really well.”
South Carolina coach Mark Kingston credited the Razorbacks’ pitchers with holding his lineup in check. The Gamecocks scored one run on two hits in both of their losses to Arkansas.
“You’ve got to understand this game is all about pitching and when you have elite guys on the mound, sometimes they impose their will on you,” Kingston said.