Live Blog: Arkansas vs. McNeese
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark – The Arkansas Razorbacks are looking to keep their status as the nation's No. 2 team by way of dominant pitching heading into SEC play. McNeese State presents the final non-conference challenge for the Hogs.
Texas A&M outscored McNeese 31-1 in a three-game series to open the season. The Cowboys have won four straight following a series of close wins over Prairie View and Louisiana Christian.
Today's Weather
The rain that postponed yesterday's game brought a lot of cold air with it. It's sunny and around 50° today with winds blowing around 12 mph out of the north. This means there is a good chance we will see a few home runs today if players can muscle their way through the heavier air. As for fans, blankets are a necessity, especially in the shadows.
Catch up on recent storylines:
• Latest poll proves Arkansas most consistent program since 2017
• Pitcher's statistical oddity shows value to Hogs
• Razorbacks expecting return of key player against McNeese Saturday
Starting line-up:
Top 1st:
Hagan Smith struggled in the season opener in the cold weather and it seems to have him off here today. He has throw seven straight balls after starting the game with strikeout. He finally gets another strike to end the streak. Smith battles back to force the full count, but he's put a second runner on and the Hogs are in a little bit of trouble here in the first.
Grounder over to Sprague-Lott at third that should be a double play. The throw to second is good, but Souza's throw from second spikes into the ground well short of first base and the runner is safe. That puts runners at first and third with two outs.
Smith drops the slider on the outside corner and that will be the inning. A pair of strikeouts on 21 pitches.
Arkansas 0, McNeese 0
Bottom 1st:
Cameron LeJeune will pitch for the Cowboys today. In addition to sporting an illustrious set of long curly hair, he also brings a 0.63 ERA. He's only given up one run in 13 innings. Lovich watches four balls and he will head down to first. If these pitchers keep missing the plate like this, it's going to be a long day.
Aloy swings at the first pitch that's close and he hits into a double play. That brings up Diggs who had an 11-game hitting streak that went back to last season ended earlier this week against UCA. The wind is blowing out to right and LeJeune is throwing 93, so if Diggs can get a bat on the ball, he can get one out of here to get the scoring going. Instead, it will be a grounder deep to second base and that will end the inning.
Arkansas 0, McNeese 0
Top 2nd:
Duhon leads off and what an amazing handlebar mustache. So wide with long twists at the ends. Straight out of an old school vaudeville villain book. But not enough power in the 'stache to handle the slider from Smith as he goes down swinging and that wasn't even close.
With the game being moved to Saturday before the SEC opener against Mizzou, you have to wonder if Dave Van Horn will be looking to pull Smith earlier than normal. Smith comes back with a fastball high in the zone and inside. Mangrum watches it go by for another strikeout. That's four for Smith so far today.
Smith gets a strikeout with a slider on the outside corner. That's back-to-back innings with 21 pitches. No one has put a bat on the ball. The only time a McNeese bat has touched a ball is a single foul.
Arkansas 0, McNeese 0
Bottom 2nd:
McLaughlin pops one up into left and that ball must have been spiraling up in the wind. Three Cowboys took turns tracking that ball and a a gust at the end dropped it just past them in left field. Sprague-Lott then moves him over to second on a bunt and that will bring Peyton Stovall into the game for the first time this year.
What an ovation from the crowd as Razorbacks fans welcome him back from that broken foot. Stovall as the DH in the No. hole hits a high chopper that hits just inside the line by third and careens out into foul territory. He will have to work hard to beat this throw and Stovall tests his foot for a base hit.
Unfortunately for Arkansas, White hits into a double play to end the inning.
Arkansas 0, McNeese 0
Top 3rd:
Smith enters the third inning needing nine strikeouts to catch Blaine Knight for No. 5 all time as a Razorback. Make that eight. He gets Westenburg looking to start the inning.
Hext fouls one over to the end of the Arkansas dugout and for some reason the players are taking turns sniffing the ball and passing it to the next guy. Literally every player in the dugout took a second to get a big huff of that baseball. That was just weird. Anyway, Hext grounds out to third. McLaughlin got pulled off the bag and he made a great play to get the tag as Hext ran by.
Smith takes down Keeton on three straight strikes and the countdown to Top 5 status continues at a rapid pace.
Arkansas 0, McNeese 0
Bottom 3rd:
Souza shows patience at the plate and he will have a lead-off walk. Wilmsmeyer becomes the first Razorback to really put a large number of pitches on LeJeune. He strikes out, but fouled off a lot of pitches, stretching things to eight pitches before getting sat down. Souza was able to steal second on a close play following the strikeout.
Lovich then fights off an 0-2 pitch to first. He grounds out, but is able to get Wilmsmeyer to third. Aloy fights off an 0-2 pitch as well and that takes an odd hop down in the gap between short and third for a base hit. Wilmsmeyere will score as Aloy gets a weak single to put the Hogs on the board.
Now Diggs hits a rocket up the middle. That was going to be a base hit, but it hit LeJeune either on the shoulder or under his rib at 107 mph and it shoots into the air over to second base. Had that ball been a couple of inches higher and it might have killed LeJeune. Unfortunate for Diggs and the Hogs, but very fortunate for LeJeune.
Arkansas 1, McNeese 0
Top 4th:
Smith starts the inning with another strikeout, once again on three pitches. Got him looking. He then gives up a single to Larranaga to left field on the first pitch he sees.
Duhon then lays down a great sacrifice bunt. Sprague-Lott had to grab that on a dead sprint and throw across his body. Meanwhile, McLaughlin had to switch sides of the bag to make the catch. While doing so, he switched feet on the bag, got it down for the out and out of the way to avoid getting stepped on all in a split second. Great defensive play by both.
Smith then gets Dowell out swinging and that's nine Ks for Smith.
Arkansas 1, McNeese 0
Bottom 4th:
McLaughlin leads off with with his second double of the game. He swings late for the second at-bat in a row and the left fielder slid down as the ball got past him and McLaughlin is in at second with very little effort.
Sprague-Lott tries to bunt a couple of times. After getting two strikes he swings away and this one is popped into foul territory near the McNeese dugout. This one will get caught in the wind also and it will hit the ground after turning everyone around. Then Sprague-Lott grounds out to third and McLaughlin will have to stay at second base.
Stovall chops a slow grounder to second and he will get thrown out, but that ball got down there slowly enough to move McLaughlin over to third.
Hudson White swings at the first pitch he sees and he lifts a hard line drive to right-center that three-hop the fence and he will have an RBI double as McLaughlin scores.
Souza hits a grounder to short that barely skims under the feet of White and it appears he blocked the sight of the shortstop. It gets on top of Dowell quickly and it squirts just under his glove for an error.
Wilmsmeyer follows with a strikeout swinging and that will end the inning.
Arkansas 2, McNeese 0
Top 5th:
That will do it for Smith. Will McEntire will come on to try to eat up innings.
After going to a full count to Mangrum, he gets an easy fly ball to Diggs in right field. He then goes full count to Trahan and gets him with the check swing on a nasty pitch for his second consecutive strikeout.
Westenburg gets his arms extended on a fastball on the outer edge of the plate and he turns on it for a line drive into left field for the first hit of the inning. Now Hext shoots a ground single into right field and Westenburg advances to third.
McEntire gets Keeton to pop up a full count pitch to shallow center and that will end the threat.
Arkansas 2, McNeese 0
Bottom 5th:
Lovich leads off with a single to center and the Hogs are looking to finally get LeJeune out of this game. Aloy follows up by watching a breaking pitch on the inside corner of the plate for a strikeout.
Now Diggs strikes out swinging at a pitch in the dirt and LeJeune continues to perplex this Razorback line-up. Now McLaughlin grounds out to first and that will end the inning and LeJeune continues to cruise. The Hogs are fortunate to have scrapped together a pair of runs today.
Arkansas 2, McNeese 0
Top 6th:
Based on the painful wail I just heard from Arkansas fans, I can only assume the Razorbacks weren't able to hold on against Alabama. That's rough because last I looked they were up by 15 or so points.
LeJeune, the second baseman, not the pitcher, starts off with a single to right. He then moves over to second on a pitch that shoots off White's chest protector.
McEntire gets Larranga swinging and you have to wonder how boring it is out there as fielders with Arkansas pitchers striking out so many hitters this year. Must be hard to keep sharp focus.
Duhon hits a hard liner into right-center and that's going to bring home a run. However, Diggs comes up firing to his cut-off man and they throw Duhon out at second. The Hogs give up a run, but at least get the second out.
Now Dowell hits a ground single past Souza at second and that out at second is huge. This game would be tied without it. Arkansas is really pushing it. The attitude today feels like a mid-week approach instead of that focused Friday Game 1 mentality.
McEntire forces a grounder back to him for the out to end the threat and avoid losing the lead.
Arkansas 2, McNeese 1
Bottom 6th:
LeJeune is out again as the Cowboys are definitely playing to win today.
Sprague-Lott hits a ball toward the left side gap. It's a slow grounder, but it shoots off the shortstop's glove. They're gonna rule that a single. And that will do it for LeJeune after 90 pitches.
A little "Hey Jude" as we wait and Peyton Stovall will be the first Razorback he faces. So far Stovall has been chopping the ball down. He hits a pop-up to center just behind second base and that's trouble, but LeJeune makes the snag while falling backward.
White takes a ball to opposite field for a single that will put runners at the corners and here come he Razorbacks. Van Horn smells blood in the water. He's going to bring on Holt to pinch hit and it pays off. He goes inside out on a ball that he floats to it into a hole in shallow left-center and that will bring in a run. White goes to third and Holt drops in at second.
Now Hudson Polk will pinch hit. Van Horn really wants to pile up runs and get this one much more comfortable. Polk swings at multiple balls that weren't strikes and he will strike out for the second out of the inning.
Now Will Edmunson comes in for the third straight pinch hitter. Edmunson flies out to right and that will do it for the Hogs as he head into the seventh inning stretch. Definitely not the production Van Horn was hoping by going all in on those pinch hits.
Arkansas 3, McNeese 1
Top 7th:
Faherty comes in for McEntire. He has really struggled so far this season. Van Horn is really hoping he can turn things around before SEC play. And right off the bat he will give up a line single to center by Trahan.
He comes back and gets Westenburg out swinging for Faherty's first strikeout of the game. He goes 3-0 to Hext and throws a fastball really high up by the top of his shoulders and for some reason Hext swings to bail him out. He walks him on the next pitch though to put runners at first and second with the leading run at the plate.
On a random side note, after glancing at the box score, it looks like only two Cowboys have managed to not get a hit today. Faherty got behind early to Keeton, but he's battled back to a full count. Keeton fouls a couple off and finally draws the walk and that will do it for Faherty. He just hasn't been able to build any kind of rhythm this season.
Bases are loaded when Gabe Gaeckle takes the mound. He comes in and throws three staight fastballs to overpower LeJeune for a quick strikeout. Then he gets Plowman to ground to third. Gaeckle easily extinguishes the threat on four pitches.
Arkansas 3, McNeese 1
Bottom 7th:
Moeller comes on and strikes out Aloy and Diggs to start the inning. He's got a change-up that is giving hitters fits. He keeps the ball low, so it's going to be hard to get one out on him.
McLaughlin lifts a pop-up to center on a full count for an easy out and the Hogs are now eight outs away from putting this away with only a 2-run cushion.
Arkansas 3, McNeese 1
Top 8th:
Graeckle gets Duhon to ground out on the first pitch of the inning. Then Dowell grounds to Holt at second. Holt drops the ball while trying to throw it. He picks it up again and makes the throw to second and they call Dowell out. It didn't look like the throw got there on time. And McNeese challenges.
The call is overturned and Holt will be called for the error. That puts a lefty at the plate as the tying run with the wind blowing out to right field as Parker Stroh comes on to pinch hit.
Gaeckle rares back against Stroh and pumps one in at 96 that tailed away to strike out Stroh.
Trahan pops one up behind second drifting deeper into right field. Holt is drifting back. He makes the off-balance catch and Diggs catches him to keep him from planting on the back of his head.
Arkansas 3, McNeese 1
Bottom 8th:
Sprague-Lott strikes out looking and the domination of the Hogs' hitters continues. It has just been a frustrating day for Arkansas at the plate. He strikes out Stovall swinging on a change-up low and outside and that's four of the last five Hogs who have gone down in such fashion.
White lightly pops up the first pitch he sees to the infield and that will do it. Quite the easy inning for Moeller as the Razorbacks put up no fight at the plate.
Arkansas 3, McNeese 1
Top 9th:
Westenburg leads off with a single to center that almost knocked Gaeckle's head off. Hext hits a grounder to Holt at second. Holt had to go to his left and Westenburg had a good lead, so he will get the out at first instead.
Gaeckle gets Keeton swinging on the outside corner for the strikeout and McNeese is down to its final out. LeJeune lifts this once to center and Edmunson rushes in to make the catch and that will be it. Hogs win.
Arkansas 3, McNeese 1
