Hogs Full of Stars, Role Players Poised for Deep Postseason Run
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — To keep the major three sports seasons at Arkansas from being a wash, it’s baseball time in Fayetteville. Like the basketball team, Dave Van Horn’s Razorback team is considered a national title contender once again.
Returning to the Razorbacks are a pair of stars in Peyton Holt and Peyton Stovall. The pair split time at second base last season when Arkansas was decimated with injuries. Stovall’s batting average dipped, but he still muscled five home runs and tied his RBI mark as a freshman at 31 despite missing 23 games.
"Just having Stovall back, man, he's been amazing," Van Horn said. "Fielding, the accuracy of his arm has been great."
When it comes to the line-up, Arkansas had Kendall Diggs leading of the majority of last season. With his return, he may move down a few spots, leaving Stovall to face the potential pressure of getting games off to a positive start.
"You know, if we started tomorrow, Stovall is who I would have lead off," Van Horn said. "He swings the bat well and has a good eye and is stronger than he was last year at this time. We've really seen him improve in driving the ball the opposite way."
In relief, Holt was a JUCO phenom at second base. The Greenwood native spent two seasons at Crowder College before signing with his home state program for the 2023 season. He appeared in 31 games while leading the Hogs with a .392 batting average. The rising senior also found himself on base nearly 50% of the time, more than any other Razorback.
"Holt could bat lead-off," Van Horn said. "He brings a lot of energy to the top [of the order]. We've got a lot of guys who are middle of the order hitters."
When it comes to a position, it sounds like Holt will remain in the infield.
"Holt, he's a sparkplug, gamer," Van Horn said. "A good player who had a good fall."
It’ll be hard to keep both players out of the line-up following last season's performances. They provide experience and potential stability needed to help bring along the No. 1 freshmen recruiting class in the country, per D1 Baseball.
The Hogs also return a core group of role players from last season who helped the Razorbacks win 20 conference games for the third time in four seasons. There’s plenty of reason to believe the buy-in between the coaches and staff will equal a potential run to the College World Series.
HOG FEED:
TRACING DAVE VAN HORN'S ROOTS BACK TO TEXAS JUNIO COLLEGE THAT DEVELOPED STUDIOUS APPROACH
WHAT DO NUMBERS SAY ABOUT THIS TALENT ON THIS HOGS' TEAM, HOW IT COMPARES TO OTHER MUSSELMAN SEASONS
RAZORBACKS GET PUNCHED, NO STOMACH FOR PUNCHING BACK
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