Bombs Away In First Official Razorback Scrimmage of 2024
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Perfection. Arkansas right fielder Kendall Diggs smacked homers in both at-bats in a five-inning Razorback first intrasquad scrimmage of 2024.
Diggs' 359-foot homer was the only blemish on an otherwise dominant opening inning from ace Hagen Smith who threw 14 pitches and struck out three. Smith's fastball was routinely sitting in the high 90s and complemented it with a polished slider.
One homer was not enough for Diggs, as in his next at-bat he outdid himself with his second homer of the day to right field, this time leaving the bat at 104 miles per hour and traveling 368 feet off righty Gage Wood.
Originally from Olathe, Kansas, Diggs enters his third year on the hill. This will be the first year he has a position in the field locked up for opening day. He started primarily as a DH last season and was only inserted into right field due to injuries.
Diggs is now ready to make the jump from fourth outfielder to one of the key cogs in the Razorbacks' offense. With the Hogs losing seven of their nine starters in the field last year and high roster turnover, a breakout season from Diggs would go a long way in replacing 63 of the team's 92 homers hit by players no longer on the team. He was able to tick a first off the list with one of his homers today.
"They're always cool," Diggs said. "Never [homered off of Smith]. Now once. That was pretty cool. Definitely the best pitcher I've ever seen and faced."
It wasn't just Diggs who got in on the homer action. Highly touted freshman Ryder Helfrick hit an opposite-field homer to right in the fourth inning. Helfrick has routinely drawn comparisons to a former Razorback catcher and MLB All-Star.
"Freshman Ryder Helfrick is as talented a freshman catcher as I’ve ever had and I had James McCann in here who was pretty darn good," Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said.
Helfrick also carries incredible confidence as a freshman and has quickly vaulted himself into the conversation to start behind the plate.
"Coming in I was just going to do what I could do and just play the way I can play," Helfrick said in the fall. "Really working on the catching side and the hitting will just take care of itself."
Perhaps the position to see the biggest jump in offensive production is shortstop. Sacramento State transfer Wehiva Aloy smoked a ball 369 feet to left that came off the bat at 109 miles an hour for the fourth homer of the day. Aloy comes off a season in which he hit .346 with 14 homers and 46 runs batted in. He also finished second on the team with five homers throughout fall scrimmages according to unofficial stats kept by media members.
For those keeping score at home, the scrimmage ended in a 3-3 tie between the Cardinal and White teams thanks to some late-inning magic from Ty Waid and Will Edmunson with RBI singles to erase a 3-1 lead.
The Razorbacks will open the season Friday, Feb. 16 at 3 p.m. against James Madison at Baum-Walker Stadium.
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