Live Blog: Arkansas vs. Grambling
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark – Good afternoon and welcome to sunny Baum-Walker Stadium. Well, at least it is for now. We expect high winds to bring in a lot of clouds sometime around the third inning, eventually giving way to rain, but any precipitation should hold off until well after the game.
Today the Arkansas Razorbacks look to get their bats swinging well again against the Tigers of Grambling. A year ago, the Hogs barely escaped with a 9-7 comeback win, so don't underestimate what can happen here today.
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Take time to look through our in-depth coverage of everything fans could ever want to know about this year's Razorbacks. You will not only catch up on the latest developments, but will have tons of opportunities to get to know a lot of the new players fans will see today.
Read Key Stories
POINT: HOGS HAVE HITTING PROBLEM NOT EVEN ELITE PITCHING CAN OVERCOME
COUNTERPOINT: SAMPLE SIZE TOO SMALL TO BELIEVE WHAT'S GOING ON WITH PITCHING OR HITTING
Starting line-up:
Top 1st:
Fisher is going to start for the Razorbacks today, but since he had to go so long in Arlington last weekend, don't expect him to be around long. We should get to see some pitchers we haven't seen much today.
And the lead-off hitter pops one up and there is evidence right away that the wind is going to make things adventurous. Holt got twisted around multiple times as he back-peddled to get that first out. Same with Jones on a deep by ball from Tiger Borum to left field, but it's two quick outs despite the wind.
Cameron Bufford comes to the plate and he is a home run away from setting Grambling's school record. This is a good day to do it with the wind what it is, but it won't happen this time. He draws the walk.
After throwing three straight balls to Bufford, Fisher comes back with three straight strikes to Smiley to get his first strikeout of the game.
Arkansas 0, Grambling 0
Bottom 1st:
Last season Grambling took note of how aggressive Arkansas is at the plate and intentionally threw incredibly slow, which threw the Razorbacks off. It will be interesting to see if there is a similar approach today.
Peguero misses at the top of the zone on a few pitches to Edmunson and he will give up the walk. That upper area has been called a strike all year, but it's not going to be a strike today.
And Peguero has the ball get stuck in his hand and it's in the dirt well in front of the plate and skips away for a wild pitch to Diggs. That will move Edmunson to second.
Edmunson is going to score from second as Diggs just took a ball opposite field to the left field line that two-hops the fence for a double. That's eight consecutive games with a hit for Diggs.
McLaughlin shows much more patience at the plate than we saw in Arlington. He works a full count and walks on a pitch high and outside to put runners at first and second. Sprague-Lott comes up and immediately squares around to bunt. Looks like Van Horn wants to work on patience and a little small ball today, which is something this team needs in its arsenal. Unfortunately for the Hogs, it goes foul.
Sprague-Lott also works a full count before walking and the bases are loaded as the beer hats come out. There are also beer headbands out today.
That gives White an opportunity to drive in a run if he can make contact. What looked like an easy single up the middle gets swallowed up by a great diving play by the shortstop and the pitch to the shortstop drops to the ground for an error. Everyone is safe on a possible double-play ball.
Here's Hudson Polk for his first at-bat of the season. And there's a drive. Deep to center. It's a grand slam if it goes. Thats off the batter's eye just to the left of the 400-foot marker. First swing of the year for Polk and he's got four RBI. Based on how he reacted when he swing, he knew immediately. That error turned out to be huge.
Aloy comes up looking to get back on track after an 0-13 weekend, but it's not going to happen. He flies out to right. Jayson Jones follows with a similar result to the same area of the field as he hits one that would have hit off the wall if not caught.
Holt with a clean grounder up the middle for a single. Edmunson then lives a shot deep to left. It's got a chance to go. It's off the top of the wall. Holt is rounding third. Here's the throw to the plate, and he's safe. It's now 7-0 Hogs as Arkansas works its way through the line-up a second time.
Diggs grounds out to second and that will end a productive inning for the Hogs.
Arkansas 7, Grambling 0
Top 2nd:
Fisher's day is done. That brings on Parker Coil and he gets Holt to ground to second to start things off. Inman really extends the bat and pokes one through the middle for the Tigers' first hit of the game. Holt was playing way over toward first at second base, which made that hit possible.
Grounder down to Sprague-Lott. He whips to Holt at second who then makes the throw to first for the double play and that's the inning. That's got to be a relief for Sprague-Lott after a tough time on the corner this weekend. That will do him a lot of good mentally.
Arkansas 7, Grambling 0
Bottom 2nd:
Here come the slow balls. Brett Washington comes out throwing a 59 mph curve ball to start to McLaughlin. He follows it with a 72 mph fastball and this looks familiar. The timing is way off. The starter was tossing 90 last inning. It works on McLaughlin as he pops up a weak one to shallow left.
Sprague-Lott shows patience, walking on five pitches. White follows with a pop-up to shallow center and the Razorbacks have two outs. Now, a wild pitch moves Sprague-Lott to second as Polk comes to the plate swinging for his second home run of the day. He hits it off his feet.
Polk flies out and the change in speed has worked.
Arkansas 7, Grambling 0
Top 3rd:
Coil comes back out for the third and he gets the lead-off on a slow grounder up the middle. That brings up Martavius Thomas who played his high school ball at Camden Fairview. Coil strikes him out and follows up by getting Walker to foul out to McLaughlin at first. The wind made that difficult, but he was able to backhand the ball at the last second.
Arkansas 7, Grambling 0
Bottom 3rd:
The slow pitching isn't a problem for the Razorbacks anymore. Aloy breaks his slump with a hard hit double down the left field line on the first pitch he sees. What a weight lifted off his shoulders.
Jayson Jones then turns on a 3-1 pitch and that's a shot. There's no doubt. This one is headed for the Hog Pen. That's a 2-run home run and Arkansas is positioning itself to end this game early today.
Holt singles a full count pitch to left and that will do it for Washington. Baez will come into to pitch for Grambling now. He throws a hard, straight fastball in the mid-80s, which is very similar to basic batting practice.
Batting practice it is. Edmunson lines a hit just over the shortstop's head into left field and the first four Razorbacks have reached base. Diggs makes it five in a row. He hits a slow roller off the end of the bat that drifts through where the shortstop should have been. However, he was standing on second base for some reason. That will drive in Holt to stretch the lead to double digits.
McLaughlin grounds into a double play, but that will bring Edmunson to extend the lead to 11. Now Sprague-Lott with a hard line drive just over the top of the shortstop's glove the rolls all the way to the wall and he will be in with a double.
White continues the Razorbacks' torture of the shortstop Vargas. He rips a hard grounder that barely misses the tip of a diving Vargas' glove. Sprague-Lott scores in the single and the Hogs are up a dozen.
Polk strikes out swinging and that will do it. Arkansas puts up five in the inning.
Arkansas 12, Grambling 0
Top 4th:
Cooper Dossett of Springdale will now make his season debut for the Hogs on the mound. He throws a nasty breaking ball that comes inside to strike out Borom swinging for his first K of the year.
He follows up by fanning the dangerous Bufford on a 95 mph fast ball. He's really mixing it up. And Dossett strikes out the side. He threw four different pitches to Smiley in that last at-bat and they all looked highly effective.
Arkansas 12, Grambling 0
Bottom 4th:
Grambling now goes with its fourth pitcher of the game. Capistran will take the mound to start the inning against Aloy. The first pitch is an 86 mph fastball that Aloy will pop up behind second base for the first out.
Jones grounds to third and that's two outs. Holt was down 0-2 and got plunked in the back left shoulder blade for the first run of inning. Edmunson walks on four straight pitches and Arkansas may squeeze out a run in this inning after all.
Lovich hits a hard liner up the middle to center field to drive in Holt. That's another ball that Vargas missed by less than an inch. There won't be any dramatics here today.
Wagner comes in to pinch hit for McLaughlin. There's a wild pitch and Edmunson scores from third to make it 14-0 now. Wagner walks on five pitches and the Hogs have runners at first and second.
Sprague-Lott flies out to second and that will do it in the fourth.
Arkansas 14, Grambling 0
Top 5th:
Foutch comes on to pitch for Dossett. He opens with four straight strikes to get the lead-off. His fastball is running around 96 mph.
Foutch walks Inman to give the Tigers a runner. Sprague-Lott starts his second double play of the game and the Hogs are moving to the bottom of the fifth with a chance to push 20 runs.
Arkansas 14, Grambling 0
Bottom 5th:
Helfrick comes in to pinch hit for White and he almost gets decapitated on a 3-1 hit. It was so close it took a minute to decided if the walk was because of balls or because he got hit. He then goes down to second on a wild pitch.
Polk starts out 0-2 and then watches four straight balls. No Nolan Souza will pinch hit for Aloy. Another wild pitch will move runners over. The Hogs now have runners on second and third. Souza lays off a 3-2 pitch that was just barely high and Arkansas now has the bases loaded for Jones.
Jones started showing a lot of power in Arlington and has already hit a home run to left earlier today. And he snaps around on this one and he takes a second to admire his work. That ball lands in the same area of the Hog Pen in left that it did on his last one and that's the second grand slam of the day for Arkansas.
Peyton Holt hits a screamer back up the middle that barely missed the head of a ducking Jackson on the mound as it zipped by at 105 mph for a single.
Edmunson will face yet another pitcher in Posey and he hits into a double play.
Lovich lines a ball to the gap in right-center. The right fielder dove for it, but just couldn't quite get his glove under the ball in time. That one was really close, which has been the story of the day.
Wagner drops one just inside the line in right and that will score Lovich from first to make it 19-0. Sprague-Lott slaps a grounder up the middle for a hit to drive in Wagner and the Hogs have reached the aforementioned 20-run mark.
Helfrich deposits a liner into left field and batting practice continues in what is becoming a long fifth inning. Polk flies out to right for the final out, but not before the Razorbacks put more points on the board than the football team did in four of its games last season.
Arkansas 20, Grambling 0
Top 6th:
Gage Wood now comes on to pitch. He strikes out Vargas to start the inning on a 94 mph fastball. Thomas follows with a strikeout too on a half swing and Wood has a chance to strike out the side. Grounder to first, Wood beats the runner to the bag to make the catch and it's a perfect sixth inning.
Arkansas 20, Grambling 0
Bottom 6th:
The production has come in odd innings. The Hogs have 17 hits and 18 runs. The even innings have been rather quiet.
Souza hits a hard ball that richochets off second base and it goes shooting into the air into left-center. He uses the redirection to get into second with a double.
That brings up Jones who lays into this one. He may have a third home run, this time to right. It's caught at the wall, so that will just be a very long out. Holt follows by walking on four straight pitches. That makes the force out possible when Edmunson hits a hard grounder down the line to third for the second out of the inning.
Lovich is now 3-for-3 after a line drive to left. That scores Holt for the fourth time today and the Hogs are up by three touchdowns at Baum-Walker today. They have now matched single-game production of five Razorbacks football games.
Wagner smokes a grounder to second base, but its scooped up for the unassisted out and Grambling will now come in looking to score 11 runs to prevent this one from ending.
Arkansas 21, Grambling 0
Top 7th:
A dozen Razorbacks will finish the game with a hit. That sets the table for freshman Tate McGuire to take the mound to close this out. He starts out with a strikeout, the ninth for an Arkansas pitcher today. That was a quality breaking pitch he threw.
Garner slices a liner opposite field down past third into the left field corner. He will stop off at second with a double. McGuire then strikes out Woody swinging, and the Hogs have at least 10 strikeouts once again.
Grambling got down to its final strike and Jones turns on it for a double to left. The throw is coming to the plate and it's wide. Arkansas had a chance to get the out at home, but couldn't do it. Now Inman gets a hit and the Tigers look like a different team this inning. Grambling now has runners at first and second.
McGuire finally ends the game with another strikeout and mercifully, this one is over.
Arkansas 21, Grambling 1 [FINAL]