Four-Way Catching Battle Heats Up for Razorbacks
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Although Arkansas won the SEC regular season, their season ended in disappointment in the 2022 NCAA Regionals at the hands of the TCU Horned Frogs. One of the' major weaknesses was the catching position. A lack of depth at the position forced coach Dave Van Horn to hide the catcher in the eight spot in the order. Seniors Parker Rowland and Hudson Polk combined to hit .184 in 201 at-bats last year. Rowland started all but three conference games.
All of a sudden the catching room is four people deep and has the potential to be one of the Hogs' biggest strengths. The Hogs have two new catchers on the roster. Freshman standout Ryder Helfrick has impressed and forced his name into the starting job conversation. The Discovery Bay Ca. native comes to Fayetteville as the third-best catching prospect in the class of 2023 according to Perfect Game.
Helfrick is hitting 6-for-23 and his 17 total bases are tied for fourth most on the team throughout fall ball according to unofficial stats kept by media members.
"It's been good," Helfrick said. Coming in, I was just going to play the way I can play. Just really working on the catching side, the hitting side will take care of itself."
Van Horn went into the transfer portal to shore up his catching, getting junior Hudson White from Texas Tech. White slashed .296/.397/.550 in 49 games last year with the Red Raiders (39 at catcher). Like Helfrick, White has 17 total bases in fall ball. He also gained valuable experience in the Cape Cod League this summer with the Chatham Anglers.
"(We) have the best catching room in the country," White said. "It's been fun competing against them."
If Helfrick and White thought the battle was strictly between themselves, they'd be sorely mistaken. Polk and Rowland are both back and determined to fight for playing time with a strong showing in fall scrimmages. Rowland leads all players with five homers and Polk's .750 slugging percentage ranks third, behind only Rowland and transfer shortstop Wehiva Aloy.
"I haven't had four catchers in a long time," Van Horn said after a scrimmage last month. "Usually, we're begging to have two and we have a freshman that can flat-out catch and maybe we got five because (freshman Ty) Waid can catch as well. It's a lot easier for me to write up a lineup for a scrimmage game in the fall and maybe it's going to be more difficult for me to write a lineup to start a real game in the spring. If that's the case, that's a good problem.
No matter who the starter is for the Razorbacks in 2024, they're ready for Baum to bring it after getting a taste of it during the annual Fall Classic where 3000+ fans showed up to Baum-Walker.
"It was unreal," Helfrick said. "In the first inning, just looking up and seeing how many people are there. It was kinda crazy and everyone is just like 'This is normal.' It was unbelievable to see that just to experience that for the first time.”
The Hogs will continue to scrimmage and prepare for the Fall World Series later this month. No dates have been announced. The Razorbacks begin their season on Feb. 16 against James Madison at Baum-Walker.
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