As TJ Pompey Goes, Apparently So Will Razorbacks on Field This Season

One unique indicator that Arkansas hadn't exactly had its ideal season coming into this past weekend's series with then No. 8 Alabama was an almost complete lack of SEC Player of the Week recognition.

Other than Collin Fisher, who pitched his way to the SEC Pitcher of the Week award back in late February with an 11 strikeout, eight inning shutout of Xavier, no other Hog had put together a big performance.

Then, third baseman TJ Pompey became viewed as the catalyst behind a desperately needed sweep of Alabama on the road, abruptly ending the Tide's much talked about 18-game winning streak in Tuscaloosa.

Pompey scored a team-high four runs to go with six RBIs while hitting 6-of-12, including a two-run shot deep into the night over the monstrous scoreboard in the series opener followed by a three-run blast the next day that had zero doubt.

POMPEY POMPEII DON'T MATTER GO HOGS pic.twitter.com/6cauMRncgY
— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) April 11, 2026

Sweet Home TJ Pompey pic.twitter.com/6e5EcIyVWm
— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) April 11, 2026

"I think in his at-bat earlier, he smoked one foul down the line on a breaking ball, and, you know, just pulled a little bit," Van Horn said in regard to Friday night's home run. "But his at-bats have been better. I think he's swinging the bat pretty good right now — batting practice, pregame stuff. I mean, he's hitting the ball really hard. So, you know, I'm just kind of got him down there, second lead-off man, kind of hiding a little bit."

It's the type of play Van Horn thought he would see on a consistent basis when he brought him over from Texas Tech. As a sophomore, Pompey started 18 games, hitting .348 with five home runs and 15 RBIs before a knee injury benched him for the season.

Still, there had been indicators he had to materials inside to develop into an elite level player his junior season, the year most baseball players tend to fully mature in college baseball as their body and mind fully form on the diamond.

He hit a home run in each game of a Valentine's Day doubleheader at No. 6 North Carolina to open the Red Raider's season. From there he was off to the races as a hitting machine who also possessed an array of tools in the field, all proof that his designation as a Freshman All-American after logging 55 games the previous season was no fluke.

Beyond the Alabama game, he has had his moments. He hit a pair of home runs while driving in five runs in a mid-week win over Central Arkansas at Baum-Walker to shake off an early mini-slump.

"Probably a little more patient at the plate," Van Horn said of Pompey's main adjustment. "And I think when he would get a pitch, it seemed like two weeks ago back, he would foul it off, and now he doesn't miss it as much, and that's what you got to do. Man, if they make a mistake or they leave something in the middle of the plate, you're lucky to get one of them. And he's been, he's been squaring it up.

"I mean, that last ball he hit was that was really hit hard, and I'd say that's probably the main thing. But he's, he's done a good job of slowly coming out of that early season slump a little bit, and has really helped us."

However, as a clear indicator as to how much his performances drive the team, two of the more demoralizing moments of the season align exactly with several games in a row where Pompey went downright frigid at the plate. He went hitless the final three games of a four-game series against Stetson.

The Hogs dropped the final two to the Hats, a team that has won seven games since and has not beaten another team twice in a series since that first weekend in March at Baum-Walker.

The other time the wheels fell off began with Florida on March 27 and continued through Missouri State and Auburn before finally ending with a 1-for-4 performance in a 7-0 win over Little Rock on April 7. During Pompey's hitless stretch, the Razorbacks went 1-7.

Thus, it's no coincidence that Pompey appears to be back on his feet playing his best stretch of baseball this season just as Arkansas has bounced back and is suddenly doing the same. If the Hogs take care of business tonight, they will have won 6-of-7 heading into a dangerous home stretch that starts Thursday with No. 5 Georgia and continues Tuesday against a Missouri State team that took down the Hogs in a wild one, 15-14, in extra innings a couple of weeks ago.

But first, the Razorbacks remain on the road, traveling to Little Rock on a day's rest, where they will face a tougher than expected Arkansas-Pine Bluff team at Dickey Stephens Park at 6 p.m. The televised broadcast is only available on streaming.

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