Arkansas pitching staff to face toughest test yet down final stretch of SEC play

Razorbacks will have to keep pace with best offenses, top pitching staffs

Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn looks on from the dugout during Saturday's doubleheader sweep against Missouri. The Hogs won all three games in the series and outscored the Tigers 51-9. | Nilsen Roman-Hogs on SI Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas' chances of winning some sort of SEC regular season title (division or overall) for the fourth time in five years are now on life support.

The Razorbacks remain four games behind No. 1 Texas with just 10 to play. The Hogs must win the series finale against Florida, its easiest game remaining in the conference schedule.

The biggest challenge for Arkansas is not only that the remaining three teams on its schedule have a combined SEC record of 44-16 and are the three best teams in the conferece outside of Arkansas.

TEAM DUB 🐗 pic.twitter.com/fukMYqbxxR

— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) April 26, 2025

The pitching staff for the other three teams looks to be rounding into form just as Arkansas' hits a speed bump.

All six pitchers that Arkansas will face on Friday and Saturday for the rest of the season, assuming that the teams keep the weekend rotation the same, allowed two runs or fewer in their respective starts this weekend.

All also went at least five innings. The charge was led by top college pitching prospect Liam Doyle, who took a no-hitter into the sixth inning in 6 2/3 scoreless frames.

For a good portion of the season, Doyle was challenging former Razorback Hagen Smith's NCAA record of 17.25 K/9 that Smith set last season, although has tailed off slightly in recent weeks.

The Tigers and Volunteers also be the best offenses that Arkansas has gone up against all season.

LSU and Tennessee are No. 2 and No. 3 behind Arkansas in batting average coming into the weekend among SEC teams. Tennessee is also top of the charts in slugging percentage.

"What we’re trying to do is get everybody healthy," Van Horn said on April 23. "I told them, ‘Yeah, you’ve got to embrace it.’ When the computer spit out the schedule and that’s who we get to play the last six series, we were going. ‘Whoa baby, that’s a pretty good run there.’"

The injuries are slowly but surely starting to mount up for Arkansas, who are now without two of their starting nine on offense and still missing a top arm out of its bullpen.

Injury Updates:

• Nolan Souza: Shoulder (out for the season)
• Parker Coil: Back (has not appeared in a game since March 23)
• Logan Maxwell: Hamstring (will miss at least the final game of the Florida series)
• Gage Wood: shoulder inflammation (still on a pitch count working his way back)
• Hunter Dietz: bone-related damage to the elbow/face (available and on 30-man roster, has not appeared in a game since April 9, 2024)

Dietz was slated to make a return in the midweek but suffered an injury while warming up Wednesday, forcing him to get 10 stiches, although he is available this weekend in Gainesville.

Hunter was up for his season debut after 1 yr building back from injury. During warm up, band mount came off wall, flew back striking above his eyebrow.10 stitches. Grateful didn't hit his eye. Whenever he finally gets his chance I know he will do great. He has worked so hard. pic.twitter.com/XoNhXOWWQW

— Michael Dietz (@dietzmtg) April 24, 2025

"Just lucky he didn't get hurt worse," Van Horn said. It's [a] fluke accident. We were bringing him in in the third inning on Wednesday. And then we called down there and then that's when they told us what just happened. Which, shocking."

Arkansas concludes its series on the road against Florida 12 p.m. Sunday, looking for its first series win in Gainesville since 2012. The game will be streamed on SEC+.