Razorback report: Webb breaks out of slump

Arkansas outfielder Braydon Webb runs toward first base during a game against Grambling State on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas baseball team is hopeful Braydon Webb’s eighth-inning grand slam during Tuesday’s 14-1 victory over Grambling State was the spark the center fielder needed to get going at the plate. 

Webb’s home run snapped a 0-for-23 start to the season. He followed with two hits and drove in a run during a 13-3 victory over the Tigers on Wednesday. 

“I’ve been searching for that one for a while now,” Webb said Wednesday. “I was just trying to stay the course. Baseball, it’s a humbling game and the moment you think you have it figured out, it’ll teach you real quick.

“I tried to stay positive. I knew it was coming; it was just a matter of time.” 

Webb was able to draw from a similar experience last season when he was hitless in 22 consecutive at-bats from a period that began with the second game of the season on Feb. 21 and ended during the Razorbacks’ second SEC game on March 20. 

Webb finished last season with a .174 batting average, but an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of .785.

“I think little periods like that, you kind of figure out some stuff that you wouldn’t if you were just succeeding all the time,” Webb said. “I think you can use it to your advantage if you let it.” 

Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn has spoken multiple times in the past couple of weeks about the need to get Webb going offensively. Van Horn refers to Webb as the team’s best center fielder and he seems likely to start the Razorbacks’ SEC opener against Kentucky on Friday at Baum-Walker Stadium. 

More from WholeHogSports: How to watch, listen to Arkansas-Kentucky

“He just needed to get a hit to take that pressure off himself and relax a little bit,” Van Horn said. “Obviously he’s a good defender and we need his bat, too. He’s got power….I think he’s coming on a little bit.” 

Despite being without a hit, Webb provided some value to the Razorbacks’ lineup prior to the midweek series against Grambling. He has reached base 10 times (9 walks, 1 hit by pitch) without a hit this season and has an on-base percentage of .342 entering the Kentucky series. 

He led off the seventh inning with a walk during last Sunday’s game against Illinois-Chicago, which led to a run that helped key a comeback victory. 

Webb starred at the plate for the Razorbacks during the fall and in the preseason. He led all Arkansas players with seven home runs during the fall, and was a tough out again in January and early February. 

Van Horn said earlier this season that Webb had re-aggravated a quadriceps injury. Webb said Wednesday he was “on the back end” of the injury. 

“I tweaked it and have kind of just been rehabbing it,” Webb said. “It’s pretty much good to go.” 

Weekend rotation 

A pair of junior right handers will start Friday night’s SEC opener. 

Arkansas will throw Connor Noland (2-1, 3.52 ERA) against Kentucky’s Cole Stupp (2-0, 7.71). Stupp was the Wildcats’ No. 1 starter a year ago, while Noland will be making his first career start in an SEC series opener. Noland was the Razorbacks’ No. 3 starter during SEC play as a freshman in 2019.

Noland is coming off a 6 2/3-inning outing against UIC when he allowed 3 runs and tied a career high with 11 strikeouts. He enters the series with 31 strikeouts and 6 walks, and a .250 batting average against in 23 innings against Illinois State, Indiana, Southeastern Louisiana and UIC. 

Stupp’s six-inning start against High Point last week was his second quality start this year. He struggled in starts against TCU (3 runs in 1 1/3 innings) and Jacksonville State (6 runs in 4 innings). Stupp has 25 strikeouts and 6 walks, and opposing hitters have a .378 average against him in 16 1/3 innings. 

PODCASTPreviewing SEC opener with Kentucky radio voice Darren Headrick

Van Horn said he will keep the rotation the same this week as the first four weeks of the season. Left hander Hagen Smith (3-1, 2.66) will start for Arkansas on Saturday against left hander Magdiel Cotto (1-0, 7.24), a transfer from South Carolina. 

The Razorbacks will throw right hander Jaxon Wiggins (2-0, 4.35) and the Wildcats have not announced a starter for Sunday. 

Tyler Bosma was held out of last week’s series against High Point. Bosma, a left hander, started and pitched five innings on the first three weekends this season, and was the No. 1 starter last season at Miami (Ohio).

Wallace delivers

Arkansas third baseman Cayden Wallace has come to the plate with the bases loaded four times in four games. He has driven home at least one run each time. 

Wallace hit grand slams in consecutive games against UIC last weekend, and had a pair of bases-loaded sacrifice flies against Grambling State. Those four plate appearances have accounted for 10 of his 20 RBI, which are tied with Michael Turner for the team lead. 

In 6 games since moving to the leadoff position, Wallace is 7 for 22 with 6 walks, 11 runs scored, 3 stolen bases and 15 RBI. Three of his hits in the leadoff position have been home runs. 

He earned a conference player of the week award from the SEC office and a national player of the week award from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper on Monday. 

Lanzilli takes lead

Chris Lanzilli’s 3-for-6 performance during the Wednesday game against Grambling State gave him the team lead with a .375 batting average. He also leads the Razorbacks with a .485 on-base percentage. 

Lanzilli enters the Kentucky series with a 10-game hit streak. During that time he has multiple hits in 6 games, including 4 of the last 5. 

Michael Turner is second on the team with a .364 batting average. Freshman Peyton Stovall has a 9-game hit streak and is batting .339 after an early-season slump, and Wallace is batting .333. 

Wallace, Stovall, Turner and Lanzilli manned the top four positions in Arkansas’ batting order during the midweek series. 

The Razorbacks have raised their team batting average by 69 points to .282 during the month of March. The team slugging percentage has increased by 106 points to .466 and the on-base percentage has increased by 69 points to .395 this month. 

Series streak

Arkansas has won five consecutive series against Kentucky dating to 2013. The Razorbacks won two of three over the Wildcats in their most recent series in 2019. 

Kentucky’s last series win over Arkansas came in 2012 when the Wildcats won both games of a doubleheader following the Razorbacks’ series-opening win in Fayetteville. 

Arkansas has won 10 of 13 series against Kentucky under Van Horn, including 5 of 6 at Baum-Walker Stadium. The Razorbacks swept the then-No. 4 Wildcats by a combined score of 39-15 and hit 13 home runs during Kentucky’s last trip to Fayetteville in 2018.

Estep hot

Kentucky third baseman Chase Estep ranks second in the SEC and 12th nationally with a .471 batting average. 

Estep earned national player of the week awards Monday from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and Perfect Game/Rawlings after a 10-for-19 performance during games against Murray State, Ohio and High Point. Estep homered during three consecutive games against Ohio and High Point, and finished the week with 7 RBI. 

Estep went 2 for 5 at Indiana earlier this week. He has a hit in 16 consecutive games. 

Trest video

Arkansas pitcher Elijah Trest was featured on the popular Twitter account @pitchingninja this week.

The account showed an overlay of Trest’s 95 mph fastball and a 77 mph breaking ball, which illustrated how well the pitches tunnel before they break about halfway between the mound and home plate. 

The video was taken from Trest’s outing Tuesday against Grambling State, when he struck out two and did not allow a base runner during a 10-pitch inning.

Injury report

Arkansas outfielder Jace Bohrofen and relief pitcher Issac Bracken are not expected to be available for the Kentucky series. 

Van Horn indicated Bohrofen (shoulder) is expected back for the Razorbacks’ series at Missouri next week. An MRI showed no tears in his shoulder, which he injured when he ran into the outfield wall while tracking a fly ball prior to a March 10 game against UIC. 

Bracken (groin) will need at least another week to rehab, Van Horn said. Bracken has not pitched since a March 4 game against Southeastern Louisiana. 

Short hops

• Indiana defeated Kentucky 20-7 on Tuesday in Bloomington, Ind. The Hoosiers, who lost 6-2 to Arkansas in Round Rock, Texas, on Feb. 25, recorded 23 hits against the Wildcats, including 6 home runs. 

• Arkansas has won 17 consecutive regular-season weekend series at home. 

• The Razorbacks are ranked fourth and the Wildcats are third among unranked teams receiving votes in this week’s USA Today Baseball Coaches Poll. 

• Arkansas has won eight consecutive games — all at home. The Kentucky series will mark the end of the Razorbacks’ 13-game homestand.