Root's gem sets Razorbacks up for rest of series against Longhorns

Arkansas ace grants Van Horn's wish after string of poor starts and Texas had no answer

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Dave Van Horn talking with pitching coach Matt Hobbs in the dugout in a game against the Texas Longhorns at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. | Nilsen Roman-HogsSI Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn was honest about where his team was after a third straight series loss to Florida.

The entire team wasn't playing well, but particularly the starting rotation wasn't getting deep into games and asked for more length from his starters.

Ask and you shall receive.

The Razorback starters only recorded 31 outs across three games in Gainesville, partially due to the pitch count of Gage Wood, but Root and Landon Beidelschies combined to go just 6 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs.

"It's been a lot of short starts all season long it seems like," Van Horn said after the Sunday loss at Florida. "We had a couple of good ones there in the middle, but if we could put together back-to-back good starts, like six, seven innings that would be awesome. We haven't done it in a while."

While it is unlikely that Wood is ready to give the Razorbacks six innings Saturday, still working his way back on a pitch count, Will McEntire's 21 pitches in the ninth should allow for extra flexibility that Arkansas hasn't had in recent weeks.

Root took advice from pitching coach Matt Hobbs and delivered in front of the fourth largest Baum-Walker crowd of the season (10,855).

His eight innings were the most by a Razorback starter this season, and he set a career-high in strikeouts with 11.

"Hobbs came up to me yesterday and said fans don't buy tickets to come watch me go four innings," Root said. "Took that to heart and went out there and doubled that."

The lefty's start got plenty of praise from the opposing dugout, blunting a Texas team that hadn't tasted defeat in over three weeks.

"Arkansas got rained out Tuesday night," Texas coach Jim Schlossnagle said. "That's probably a blessing to have a chance to rest, reset their team get focused on the next game.

"Coach Van Horn’s staff did an awesome job and, I feel like our team was ready to play. Zach Root just wasn't going to allow us to be in the game."

With already a win in the bank, Arkansas still has its top arms fresh for the rest of the weekend. Aiden Jimenez and Dylan Carter were both unused Thursday. Carter leads the team with 19 appearances.

Root's day off for the bullpen combined with the midweek game against Missouri State being cancelled is much needed break for a unit that is slowly wearing thin and losing depth.

Parker Coil is still working his way back from a back injury and is out for at least the remainder of the Texas series. Carson Wiggins is still getting testing done on his elbow after leaving Sunday's game.

After Carter and Jimenez, the next arm amongst Van Horn's leverage arms with the best ERA is Ben Bybee at 3.58.

Van Horn can go to any of those three for any number of outs for the rest of the series, a luxury he didn't have during the team's 2-6 stretch in SEC play.

Game two of the series is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday with Arkansas trying to clinch its first series since sweepin Missouri on April 6 and will be broadcast in a national TV slot on SEC Network.