Arkansas, Oklahoma State Bullpens Taxed for Regional Finale
STILLWATER, Okla. — The Stillwater Regional has been anything but predictable, and Monday night’s matchup between Oklahoma State and Arkansas falls into that boat as well.
The Hogs and Cowboys have scored a combined 56 runs in their past two games. The squads have thrown 19 pitchers, who have given up 58 hits across that span.
Monday night’s win-or-go-home match-up sets up an interesting narrative on the mound for two depleted bullpens.
There are few arms that are out of the question to start for Arkansas, beginning with ace Connor Noland. Razorbacks coach Dave Van Horn shared his thoughts on the starting pitching situation.
Arkansas pitcher Connor Noland in the Razorbacks' 7-1 win over Grand Canyon in the first game of the NCAA Regional in Stillwater, Okla. (Walt Beazley / Arkansas Communications)
“We have an idea but we don’t want to talk about it right now,” Van Horn said after Sunday’s 14-10 loss to Oklahoma State. “We’re going to sleep on it.”
Oklahoma State skipper Josh Holliday provided a similar answer about his starting pitching after the Cowboys played 10 hours worth of baseballl Sunday.
“I’d like to go home and have dinner and figure that out, okay?,” Holliday said.
For Arkansas, the answer seems simple: right-hander Kole Ramage. He started a pair of midweek games earlier in the year and has only thrown 48 pitches this weekend.
The choice to not throw Ramage in Sunday’s game hints that he was kept in reserve in case things broke the way they did for the Hogs.
Arkansas Communications
Lefty Zack Morris provides another potential option for the Hogs on the bump. He threw 49 pitches across three innings against Oklahoma State in his only outing so far this weekend. Morris gave up two runs on four hits and struck out three in Saturday’s 20-12 win over the Cowboys.
Other options include normal weekend starters Jaxon Wiggins and Hagen Smith, neither of whom tossed more than 50 pitches in their starts this weekend. The downside is, Wiggins and Smith gave up five earned runs and six walks in 2 ⅔ combined innings against the Cowboys on Saturday and Sunday.
The only other realistic option for the Hogs is veteran righty Zebulon Vermillion, who has starting experience, but has only been trusted for a few outs per appearance this season.
Oklahoma State benefitted from six-plus innings performances turned in by Trevor Martin and Mitchell Stone in Sunday’s double-header against Missouri State and the Hogs. Those two outings salvaged valuable innings for other bullpen arms.
Left-hander and former Kentucky Wildcat, Dillon Marsh, looks to be a solid option for the Cowboys. The Hogs tend to struggle against lefties and Marsh has thrown just 13 pitches this weekend. He was tagged for three runs on three hits against Missouri State on Sunday.
Marsh has four starts under his belt this season, the most of any bullpen arm outside of Martin and Stone. He has a 4.62 ERA in 25 ⅓ innings pitched.
Righty Roman Phansalkar has been the Cowboys’ most consistent bullpen arm all season, but the Hogs have scored six runs on him in the past two meetings. Kale Davis, who has thrown only 49 pitches in the regionals, is another right-hand option with starting experience
Marsh and Davis have yet to face Arkansas, making each more likely candidates.
The Stillwater Regional has seen 138 runs scored in six games. Arkansas is averaging just over 12 runs per game and Oklahoma State has not scored less than 10 runs on the weekend. The fireworks will likely be out for the finale as well.
The Hogs and Cowboys will square off at 6 p.m. in O’Brate Stadium and the game will be televised on ESPN2 and Fubo.tv. The winner will advance to face the winner of the Chapel Hill Regional in the Super Regional round.
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