Every Pitcher on Razorback Staff's Best Moments So Far
From Hagen Smith to Tate McGuire, the entire historic pitching staff's time capsule
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. β Twenty-six of the 27 players on the roster made an appearance in Arkansas' series win on the road including 20 in the doubleheader on Saturday against South Carolina. In the spirit of showcasing the Razorbacks' depth, here's the biggest moment from each of the 17 different pitchers to appear in at least one Hogs game this year.
The New Kids: - Freshmen to keep an eye on down the road
Tate McGuire
You know the pitching staff is deep when a freshman comes on in the opening weekend, strikes out the first batter he faces, and hasn't pitched in two months. Remember the name though, he was the No.1 right-handed pitcher in the state of Missouri according to Prep Baseball Report for the class of 2023.
Hunter Dietz:
What a vote of confidence for your manager to have you make your first appearence in a two-run game against Top 10 LSU. His season has been derailed with injury, he was widely considered the most talented of the freshmen arms.
The Flamethrowers: Radar guns beware:
Jake Faherty:
One of the more underappreciated moments of the season, with the tying-run on third and just one out in a one-run game against Top 10 Oregon State, Faherty struck out back-to-back hitters to ensure that the Hagen Smith 17-strikeout performance didn't have a sour footnote of a loss.
Christian Foutch:
First off, Foutch needs his flowers for being the only pitcher on staff to actually cross the century mark on the gun with a 100.7 mph fastball against Alabama, but his two innings of scoreless relief against LSU March 29 including coming in with the bases loaded and no outs in a 3-2 game and only allowing one of the inherited runners to score is exactly why middle relivers are so important.
Gabe Gaeckle:
Whatever expectations Van Horn had for Gaeckle, he's blown them out of the water. Recency bias aside his eight-up, eight-down performance in a one-run game against South Carolina Friday may just be his best performance yet. Yes, he did allow a two-out double in the ninth, but without him backing up Hagen Smith, the Hogs would be staring down the barrel of at least a few more defeats.
The Rubber Arms: Getting the ball every day, and twice on Sundays
Koty Frank:
Another underappreciated middle relief guys. He's third on the team in appearences behind Stone Hewlett and Will McEntire. After missing almost the entire season last year, his three innings stabilizing the pitching staff after Brady Tygart only went four innings against LSU is the epitome of his role.
Stone Hewlett:
Lefty specialists have been dampened in the MLB in the last few years with the implementation of a three-batter minimum. Until that rule trickles down to college, the legend of Stone Hewlett lives. A four-strikeout inning against Central Arkansas is just too rare to pass up.
The Homegrown Stars: Arkansas kids carving a niche
Dylan Carter:
Let's not forget, he's not supposed to be on this list at all. The fact that he's made two appearances less than a full calendar year after tearing his UCL is a testament to his commitment to rehab. His season debut on March 10 is one of the most heartwarming moments of the year.
Cooper Dossett:
Van Horn has been open that Dossett perhaps deserved more innings over the past two seasons and largely has taken advantage of whatever innings he's gotten. Dossett's 2 2/3 of scoreless relief in game two against Texas Tech to ensure a mid-week sweep April 17 to bounce back from a two straight losses against Alabama was key to regaining momentum for the season.
Gage Wood:
After his breakout freshman campaign, Wood has had an up and down second season but has rounded into form lately, with a two inning five strikeout performance against Ole Miss to clinch the series April 6.
The RPI Darlings: Making sure the Razorbacks stay undefeated in mid-week games
Two sides to every coin, in order to hold Arkansas high in the RPI rankings, no bad mid-week losses have gone a long way to keep Arkansas in the top 3 of the RPI
Ben Bybee:
After battling mono to start the season, Bybee came out all guns blazing with an ERA under 1.00 through his first two appearances including a five-inning start against San Jose State on just 55(!!) pitches.
Colin Fisher:
Perhaps the most unexpected arm this year to contribute, Fisher announced himself to the Hog faithful opening weekend with five shutout innings, outdueling all three weekend starters.
Parker Coil:
Coil struggled to start the year but has a found a nice run of form lately. If nothing else, he proves that pitchers are indeed athletes with this sick play.
The Main Event: Dave Van Horn's most trusted arms
Will McEntire:
McEntire deserves to be down here with the starters because he's been that good. For all the jams that McEntire has gotten the team out of in SEC play, his most impressive feat just might be going 5 2/3 innings in relief of Smith on opening day in hellish weather.
Brady Tygart:
It's hard to follow a program record 17 strikeouts, but Tygart sure gave his best shot and did a really good job against an Oklahoma State team that is now ranked in the Top 15, going six shutout innings
Mason Molina:
Molina has been as good as advertised out of the transfer portal, his 10 strikeout game against Murray State March 3 capped off a weekend series in which all three starters had at least double-digit strikeouts.
The Alpha: In a league of his own
Hagen Smith:
This performance will be told to children and grandchildren for years to come. 17 strikeouts against the No. 3 team in the country on just 78 pitches? Sheesh.
The pitching staff and the rest of the team will make its excursion down to Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock to take on Arkansas-Pine Bluff Tuesday 6 p.m. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+.
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