Razorbacks' command pleasing so far

Arkansas pitcher Mark Adamiak throws during a scrimmage Sunday, Jan. 30, 2022, in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE — Walks have been at a minimum for Arkansas pitchers through the first two preseason baseball scrimmages, relative to what is common this time of year. 

The Razorbacks issued 16 walks combined through 24 innings of work Saturday and Sunday. Of 15 pitchers who threw, seven did not walk a batter. Four pitchers — Connor Noland, Gabe Starks, Kole Ramage and Zack Morris — threw two innings without a walk. 

The lack of free passes at this time of the preseason was a stat not lost on Arkansas pitching coach Matt Hobbs following Sunday’s 5 1/2-inning scrimmage at Baum-Walker Stadium. 

“Last year I remember watching our team scrimmage and thinking, ‘We’re walking a lot of guys right now,’” Hobbs said. “We’re tracking (strike) zone percentages for our guys all year and they have been really high. You have a guy that has a rough outing here and there, but you don’t have a walk-fest in scrimmages right now. It was that way in the fall, too. 

“Usually you do see more walks this time of the year, whether it’s because a guy is not built up yet or the temperatures. Obviously the temperature today (high 50s) was really good, and yesterday was good, too. It has been impressive the first couple of days in terms of controlling the zone.” 

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Hobbs said too many walks in the preseason can weed out the pitchers who aren’t ready to contribute early in the season. 

“When walks are low like this, you just have more options,” Hobbs said. “I feel like we’ve got more options of guys that can pitch this year at this time than we had last year.” 

Five of the seven walks issued Sunday came from scrimmage starters Mark Adamiak and Jaxon Wiggins. 

Adamiak walked Zack Gregory in four pitches to lead off the scrimmage and also walked Drake Varnado in the second. Wiggins walked Cayden Wallace in the first and walked Brady Slavens and Braydon Webb in consecutive at-bats in the second. 

Adamiak worked around base runners both innings without allowing a run. Gregory was caught stealing by Michael Turner, and Adamiak stranded two in the second when Jude Putz struck out looking at an inside fastball. 

Wiggins was not as fortunate. He hit Robert Moore with a pitch to lead off the second inning. Per scrimmage rules, Moore remained in the box while a pinch runner went to first base. Moore smashed the next pitch from Wiggins for a double to right field. 

Jalen Battles hit an RBI single past third base to score the pinch runner and Moore scored on a wild pitch. Wiggins did not record an out in the second, and the inning was called due to pitch count after the back-to-back walks to Slavens and Webb. 

“It’s hard to get too up or down with the pitching right now,” Hobbs said. “I like that we’re controlling the zone. I’d like to see guys pitch better. 

“I thought Mark Adamiak threw the ball really good today, but he had two really deep counts he didn’t need to have. Any time you have something you look at as an exciting part of it, you’re always going to nitpick a little bit this time of year. Overall, I’m pretty pleased.”

The relief pitchers were fairly solid. Jake Faherty worked around a hit batter and single during a scoreless third; Morris retired six of seven batters he faced; and Matthew Magre retired three straight in the final inning. 

Hobbs said Morris is being evaluated in multiple roles, including as a starter. The third-year left hander from Cabot has shortened his stride, which Hobbs said has given him more movement on his pitches, including a curveball that appears to have a lot of vertical break.

“The stride was out of control and it was leading to a lot of issues controlling the ball,” Hobbs said. “He could throw pretty hard, but in terms of controlling the zone he just wasn’t able to complete enough quality strikes on top of each other. He couldn’t stack strikes on top of strikes. 

“By shortening up his stride, it shortened up his arm action and gave him a chance to repeat better pitches.” 

Pitching against a lineup consisting predominantly of projected backups, Morris struck out two in his two innings. He also allowed a double to Putz down the third-base line. 

Freshman right hander Nick Moten allowed four consecutive base runners with one out during the third inning. Wallace hit a stand-up double, Jace Bohrofen was hit by a pitch to draw a pinch runner, Bohrofen singled to score Wallace, Turner reached base when the outfielders lost a fly ball in the sun. 

Hobbs said Moten is building back his strength after an illness sidelined him in December. Moten, who is being evaluated as a closer, is about 10 days behind other pitchers in their buildup right now, Hobbs said. 

Another closer candidate is Starks, who retired all six batters he faced to end Saturday's scrimmage. 

“I think that is a position in college baseball that always evolves,” Hobbs said. 

Hobbs said the six starters for the first three scrimmages — Noland, Adamiak, Wiggins, Heston Tole, Hagen Smith and Austin Ledbetter — are the most likely starters once the season begins, along with Morris. 

As much as starting pitching, Hobbs said it is important for the Razorbacks to identify the pitchers who can perform well in the middle innings. 

“As anyone who watches college baseball knows, those are a lot of the key innings, the fourth through the eighth,” Hobbs said. “You need an army of those guys who can do it.” 

Hobbs indicated Morris is one of the top candidates to pitch in that role.

“Zack is a guy we have a lot of confidence in, especially with the way he has been throwing the ball the last five, six months,” Hobbs said.

The Razorbacks are scheduled to scrimmage again Monday at a time yet to be announced. Smith and Ledbetter, both freshmen, will start on the mound.

Other notes from Sunday: 

• Wallace was 2 for 2 and walked after missing Saturday’s scrimmage due to a funeral. Wallace batted in the two hole for a lineup of projected starters, after lead-off hitter Peyton Stovall and before Bohrofen in the three hole.

• Evan Gray threw a strong bottom of the fourth inning when he struck out Slavens and Webb, but he gave up hard-hit singles to Wallace and Bohrofen to lead off the fifth, and also walked Moore in the inning. 

• Putz and Varnado teamed to turn a double play off the bat of Bohrofen in the first inning. 

• Kendall Diggs had one of the day’s hardest hits, a single pulled to right field against Faherty in the third inning. 

• Three batters were hit by a pitch. 

• Magre struck out Varnado and Gabe D’Arcy for the final two outs of the scrimmage.