SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Some of Arkansas’ toughest games of the 2023 baseball season have come in the midweek.
That continued Tuesday when the Razorbacks lost 8-4 at Missouri State. The loss dropped Arkansas’ record to 10-2 in non-conference games played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
“They are challenging, but you need to play them because we’ve got to develop some guys,” said Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn, who added, “We may lose tonight, but it may help us win on Saturday or hopefully in the tournament and down the road. We’ve got to get these guys ready.”
The Razorbacks weren’t alone in their Tuesday struggles. Several SEC teams lost to competition from mid-major and low-major conferences, including top-ranked LSU in a 6-5 home loss to Nicholls. It was the Tigers’ second consecutive loss in the midweek, following an 8-5 loss to Louisiana-Lafayette.
Other outcomes Tuesday included Georgia State’s 9-7 victory at Georgia, Sam Houston State’s 9-2 victory at Texas A&M, and Troy’s 8-7 victory at Auburn.
“At this point in the year, I would think virtually everybody in the country is more focused on the weekend than the midweek,” Missouri State coach Keith Guttin said. “In Arkansas’ case, I’m sure they want to host [a regional] and they’re in that mix, and winning on the weekend and placing high in that league is going to help those things. For us at this juncture we’re still trying to win a regular-season championship [in the Missouri Valley Conference].
“It doesn’t mean you don’t come out here and want to win, but it just seems like the weekends are very important once you start conference.”
Three ranked SEC teams — LSU, Vanderbilt and Tennessee — lost to unranked teams last Tuesday. Alabama also lost at Alabama-Birmingham two weeks after the Blazers defeated Auburn on a Tuesday.
No. 11 Kentucky lost 7-0 to 19th-ranked Louisville on Tuesday, which left Missouri as the SEC’s only team without a loss in the midweek. Mizzou nearly lost to Missouri State last week, but won when former Arkansas catcher Dylan Leach had the game-winning RBI in the bottom of the ninth.
The Razorbacks scored three runs in the seventh inning last week to avoid an upset loss and defeated Central Arkansas 6-3 at Baum-Walker Stadium.
It was Arkansas’ fourth victory in the midweek that included the go-ahead run in the seventh inning or later. The Razorbacks also took late leads in victories over Grambling State on Feb. 21, Illinois State on March 1 and Army on March 7.
“You never know what you’re going to get on a Tuesday night, especially [against] a team that’s in your region,” Van Horn said. “There’s a lot of good teams in the country.”
Prior to Tuesday, Arkansas’ only loss in the midweek came by an 11-4 score against Arkansas-Little Rock on April 12. The outcome followed a 21-5 victory by the Razorbacks in seven innings the day before.
“I think that really kind of showed us if we're not locked in if we don't play with an edge, we can get beat by anybody,” Arkansas first baseman Brady Slavens said later that week.
The Razorbacks have one game remaining in the midweek — next Tuesday against Lipscomb at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock.
Bybee impresses
A positive for the Razorbacks was the performance of right-hander Ben Bybee three days after he gave up back-to-back home runs in the ninth inning of a 9-8 loss at Georgia.
Bybee pitched two scoreless innings and did not allow a hit against the Bears. The only base runner against him came by way of a ninth-inning walk.
“We wanted to get him on the mound,” Van Horn said. “Whenever something like that happens, we need to get him through that and over it and moving onto the future. I think he did a good job tonight.”
Bybee’s performance caught the eye of Guttin, who was unaware he was the losing pitcher at Georgia.
“I don’t know what Bybee has been doing, but he was very, very impressive,” Guttin said.
Thompson returns
Arkansas hitting coach and recruiting coordinator Nate Thompson held the same title at Missouri State from 2015-17. He was hired by the Razorbacks 11 days after the Bears eliminated Arkansas at the 2017 NCAA Fayetteville Regional.
Tuesday marked Thompson’s second trip back to Hammons Field as a member of the Razorbacks’ coaching staff.
“He gave us three great years,” Guttin said of a stretch when the Bears played twice in super regionals. “He was a big part of those three teams and I’m happy for him that he's doing well. He's very, very good at what he does.”
CORRECTION: Dylan Leach's game-winning hit vs. Missouri State was inaccurately described in an earlier version and has been corrected.