Wegner Overpowers Fierce Wind to Lift Hogs to 10th Straight Win
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – It wasn't pretty, especially as Zack Morris took the mound for the final three innings of what had been a fast moving game until then, but the Arkansas Razorbacks came away with their 10th win in a row , 5-2, to springboard them into SEC play this weekend.
Freshman right-hander Ben Bybee worked into the sixth, leaving the game after 63 pitches in a highly efficient outing.
Meanwhile, the Arkansas Mountain Monster, Jared Wegner, powered a home run into a wind that was dead set on not only keeping balls from leaving the yard, but forcing several balls long distances in the opposite direction.
It was a wind that definitely saved the Razorbacks from a Jared Sharp home run that would have changed the entire game.
Arkansas led 3-2 until Kendal Diggs was able to break it open late with a double down the line.
Here's how it unfolded and your chance to take in all the video highlights where they fell in real time.
Welcome to Day 2 of what is the first true mid-week series of the season for the Arkansas Razorbacks as they take on the UNLV Rebels on a windy day that could keep the bats cold while the Razorbacks sift through a list of pitchers who can keep Dave Van Horn from using up an arm for this weekend's SEC opener against Auburn.
CATCH UP ON WHAT YOU MISSED LAST NIGHT
STORY: Arkansas Comes from Behind to Hold Off UNLV on Cold Night
WATCH: What Dave Van Horn Had to Say Afterward
WATCH: What the Razorback Players Said Following Win
STARTING PITCHER
Ben Bybee, RHP, Freshman
6-6, 235
Overland Park, Kansas
Arkansas Starting Line-Up
UNLV Starting Line-Up
1st inning (Top)
Ben Bybee is officially on the mound. He has pitched 2 2/3 innings this season. Kendall Diggs will start in right. We begin the game at 60 degrees with a bit of a wind that might knock down a few balls hit deep to right.
Bybee takes the first hitter, Rylan Charles, to a full count and then gets him swinging for the first out of the game. Bybee is clocking in the low 90s on his fastball.
Santino Panaro comes up and rips a high fastball through the infield gap into left field and the first runner of the day is on board.
Bybee stays calm and gets Jacob Sharp to float an easy out to center, but Panaro moves to second.
Edarian Williams takes one opposite field that has a chance. Diggs watches it leave the park, but he is frantically trying to get the umpire's attention.
A second look shows this ball went foul by at most an inch, so Bybee escapes a 2-run home run by the slimmest of margins. The wind was just strong enough to push it to the side of the foul pole.
However, Williams isn't going to be denied. He crushes a hard single to left field and Panaro is in a third with ease.
That brings up Austin Kryszvzuk. He hits a 3-1 liner to left that Wegner squeezes for the out and Bybee gets out of the inning with no damage.
Mid-Inning break
1st inning (Bottom)
Josenberger swings at the first pitch he sees and deposits a hard liner into right field and the energy immediately picks up in Baum.
That will bring up Wegner who may be the most dangerous No. 2 hitter in all of baseball.
Jordan Hanson paints the outside corner on a 2-2 pitch and Wegner just misses for the first Razorback out of the game.
Brady Slavens is up and he lines a low slicer to opposite field that gets down. Kryszvzuk hustles over and keeps it from getting to the wall. The throw in to short is dropped, but Josenberger decides to hold at third which means runners will be at the corners with one out for the clean-up hitter Bohrofen.
Bohrofen checks his swing on a high full count pitch and the bases are officially drunk for the first time today as Diggs brings his six home runs in this early part of the season to the plate.
Diggs hits a grounder to second that looked like it may have gone off Diggs' foot. Despite stumbling, Diggs is able to get to first without a throw attempt for a double play.
The fielder's choice brings in Josenberger and Coll, who had a huge game yesterday, comes to the plate with two outs.
Hanson gets Coll to hit a hard liner to center for an easy out and one inning is officially in the books.
ARKANSAS 1, UNLV 0
2nd inning (Top)
Bybee back on the mound and he will face Braden Murphy. Bybee comes with a hard breaking curve ball on the outer portion of the plate and Murphy just barely breaks his wrist as he tries to check his swing and Bybee has another strikeout.
Alex Pimental and Chase Ditmar come to the plate swinging and Bybee gives them each something to hit. Both ground out to short stop, setting the Rebels down in order in a very quick at-bat.
Mid-Inning break
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2nd inning (Bottom)
Rowland starts the Razorbacks with a hard line drive to right field, but this heavy wind blowing in from that direction knocks it down and it's an easy out.
Jason Jones sends the first pitch he sees to short for an routine groundout and the Razorbacks have two outs before you can blink an eye.
Bolton comes up and gives a half-hearted swing at an 0-2 breaking ball and the Hogs go down in six pitches.
That entire second inning may have set a record for fastest complete inning.
ARKANSAS 1, UNLV 0
3rd inning (Top)
Ginanni Horvat hammers the first pitch he sees through the infield gap into left field and the Rebels are cooking to lead off the third.
However, on the next pitch it all comes crashing down. Charles hits a hard grounder to Jones at second who tags Horvat and flips to first to take down Charles for the double play.
Panaro dives out of the way of an inside pitch that didn't appear to hit him and the umpire never signaled that it hit him, but Penaro tossed his bat and trotted down to first base anyway.
He's so confident that everyone just goes with it and the Rebels put another runner on first.
Bybee locks in though and strikes out Sharp on three straight pitches to get the Hogs out of the inning.
Mid-Inning break
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3rd inning (Bottom)
Josenberger hits a ball to the gap in left-center that looks like it's going to drop, but Charles lays out perfectly flat and steals a hit on a stunning catch.
That brings up Wegner who walks on an intentional unintentional walk. That brings up Slavens who just misses on a pitch and lifts a lazy pop-up to center that will give Arkansas its second out of the inning.
Bohrofen hits a screaming grounder to second that normally would be a routine play, but the clock says it was moving at 109 miles per hour and Williams just misses with the glove on the dive as the ball burns its way into the outfield for a single. Wegner makes the turn at second and the Hogs have runners at the corners for Diggs.
Diggs gets a hold of one, but the wind knocks it down in right-center for an easy out and the Razorbacks are retired without putting up a run.
ARKANSAS 1, UNLV 0
4th inning (Top)
Bybee gets Williams to foul off four consecutive pitches, including another one that went just barely foul that would have been major trouble for the Razorbacks, before finally placing a lined single into right field to once again put another on for the Rebels.
Williams steals second a pitch before Bybee can get Kryszvzuk to ground out to second, avoiding the double play. Bybee then gets Murphy to ground out to Coll at third to keep Williams at second for a second consecutive play while getting the out at first.
Pimentel comes up and takes one off the head. That will put runners at first and second with two outs. It turns out the replay shows that pitch hit Pimentel where the top of the shoulder meets the neck instead of the helmet. That will bring the coaches to the mound despite the protest by Bybee.
That brings up a pinch hitter. Paul Myro, a transfer from Oregon State, will step into the batter's box. Myro hits a grounder to Slavens who flips a long underhanded throw to Bybee who is able to beat out Myro at first base to get Arkansas out of the inning unscathed.
Mid-Inning break
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4th inning (Bottom)
Coll hits a hard grounder deep to short and looked like he beat it out at first, but after some careful thought, the first base umpire calls him out.
Rowland watches four of five pitches go by to give Arkansas its first base runner of the inning.
The hope is short-lived though. Jones grounds to short for the double play and we continue flying through this one.
ARKANSAS 1, UNLV 0
5th inning (Top)
Bybee comes out for the fifth, which is way more than Dave Van Horn anticipated him going today, but he probably won't complain. Bybee gets Horvat to ground to third, Charles grounds out to first and Panaro pops the first pitch he sees to the edge of the grass at short and he is out of the inning on six pitches once again.
If Bybee comes out in the sixth, it will be having thrown only 59 pitches.
Mid-Inning break
5th inning (Bottom)
Bolton is able to take the freshman who also entered the inning having thrown only 60 pitches and drew seven pitches from him before getting a walk to lead off the inning.
Josenberger then gets under one that absolutely gets eaten up by the wind. It was affect so much that it almost blew back to the infield before Charles can track it down.
But that heavy wind is no match for the Mountain Monster Jared Wegner. Wegner lays into one and forces is through the wind over the 375 sign for a home run and the Razorbacks have a 3-0 lead.
Hanson responds well to the home run. He gets Slavens and Bohrofen to fly out to center and left respectively to get out of the inning.
ARKANSAS 3, UNLV 0
6th inning (Top)
So Bybee will take the mound to throw his 60th pitch of the game and try to keep the Razorbacks rolling.
However, Sharpe takes the second pitch he sees through the gap between short and third for a single and crushes a double to left on his first pitch and in the blink of an eye, UNLV has runners at second and third with the tying run at the plate.
That will be it for Bybee. Van Horn has signaled for Gage Wood to come in to take the mound for Arkansas.
Wood gets Kryszvzuk to pop up to short and then strikes out Murphy swinging on three pitches to take a little bit of the pressure off the Razorbacks.
One out ends it, but a mistake could mean at least two runs right now as Wood shakes off a 3-0 count to battle back to a full count to Pimentel. After an eight pitch fight, the bases are loaded as Pimentel watches a fast ball barely slide off the corner.
Wood throws a 1-2 pitch to Myro into the dirt and the Razorbacks are fortunate Rowland was able to knock it down.
Wood comes with a big breaking pitch and Myro goes down swinging. The freshman came in under intense pressure and delivered as UNLV goes down without a run once again despite loading the bases.
These Razorbacks are pumped about getting out of that jam.
Mid-Inning break
6th inning (Bottom)
Diggs sees one pitch and grounds out to first on an unassisted play. Coll then pops the second pitch he sees to center and once again we're moving along at a fast pace.
Rowland manages to last three pitches before flying out to right-center and it's another six-pitch inning. It's becoming quite the trend.
ARKANSAS 3, UNLV 0
7th inning (Top)
Apparently Wood showed Van Horn all he needed to see because Zach Morris comes out to pitch. Morris goes 3-0 to Horvat to start the inning, but is able to just barely scrape the paint on the outside to stay alive.
He Horvat to foul one off, but then misses badly for ball four and UNLV continues to spend quality time with Slavens over on first.
Charles tries to bunt a 1-1 pitch down the third base line, but the inconsistency of Morris pays off as the pitch was so out of the zone he fouled it off instead of getting it down.
The wild pitching of Morris pays off again. Charles tries to quickly duck out of the way of a pitch coming up near his face, but as he dove, the umpire ruled his bat went across the plate, meaning an unconventional strikeout for Morris.
Morris gets a pair of strikes on Panaro to start the at-bat, but the inconsistency has made this a full count. Morris comes hard over the middle that catches Panaro so off guard that he drops to a knee while swinging.
The result is a grounder up the middle that ends up just out of the reach of a diving Jones at second and the Rebels bring the tying run to the plate again with runners at first and second.
Sharp really lays into a fastball out over the plate and there may not be enough wind to keep this one in the park. Wegner is back to the fence. He bends his knees as he readies to make a jump at this skyscraper of a ball. Wegner goes to jump, but the wind delivers it right to him with no need to jump.
Williams hits a hard liner to right field that gets Diggs moving at full speed. He gets there, but it hits off the heel of his glove and shoots out. Horvat scores. Panaro scores. It's now a 3-2 game and the momentum has definitely shifted her in Baum-Walker.
Kryszvzuk hits a difficult shot to third, but Coll gathers it and makes a great throw to first to get Arkansas out of the inning while clinging to the lead.
Mid-Inning break
7th inning (Bottom)
Jones with a laser shot to the gap in left-center that skips when it finally touches the ground and gets to fence in a hurry. Jones hustles into second base with a double and the radar says that one was moving at 113 miles per hour as it cleared the infield.
Bolton comes up and hits a soft tapper back to the pitcher that is just slow enough that Jones is able to advance to third. It was basically an over-enthusiastic sacrifice bunt.
So one away with an insurance run standing on third with Josenberger at the plate.
Josenberger powers one right back up the middle and Noah Carbajal, who has come in for Hanson, gets it to first quickly, leaving Jones stuck at third.
Wegner with a little softer swing that pops the ball up high to shallow center and Charles catches it to ensure this will be a close one over the final two innings.
ARKANSAS 3, UNLV 2
8th inning (Top)
Morris returns to the mound with a lot of pressure on him to be more consistent than he was last inning.
Morris gets Murphy to pop up for what looks like it will be an easy out, but the wind starts carrying it. Bolton gets on his horse and he is haulling as the wind from right keeps pushing it away from him.
Now Wegner is tracking it at full speed also. Wegner has a chance to catch it, but he and Bolton see each other at the last second and slide into one another. Bolton hit his chin on Wegner's shoulder before they ended up positioned in an embrace that looked like it was right off the cover of a romance novel.
Bolton takes a minute to shake off the collision and Morris rewards them by striking Murphy out looking.
Panaro lifts the first pitch he sees out to Wegner in left and there are two away. However, it wouldn't be a UNLV at-bat without a runner reaching.
Myro grounds to Bolton, but, perhaps still shaken by the collision with Wegner, he throws it high to first after catching it near the grass. It's technically ruled an error, but it didn't look like the throw would have been on time no matter where it was.
Horvat hits a lazy ball to right and the Hogs will make it to the ninth with at least a one-run lead.
Mid-Inning break
8th inning (Bottom)
Slavens turns the second pitch he sees into a lazy fly ball to left. That will bring up Bohrofen with one out.
Bohrofen hits a hard grounder to deep short. The throw is wide and Bohrofen barely avoids being tagged out for turning the wrong direction after he crossed the bag. Fortunately for the Hogs he will be safe at first with one out.
That brings Diggs to the plate. Diggs takes a late swing at the first pitch and it's on a rope down the left field line. It will just barely stay fair and kick into the wall in foul territory.
Bohrofen turns around third and he's headed for the plate. Here comes the throw. It's cut off and the Razorbacks extend their lead to 4-2. Diggs is in at second with a double.
Neville comes in as a pinch runner and Coll drills a line drive right at Neville's face. He avoids getting hit as the ball carries to center.
Neville beats the throw to home to make it 5-2 while Coll extends the single by trotting over to second during the throw.
Rowland watches a 2-2 curveball that was close, but he has to be swinging in that case, so Carbajal draws a second out on the pitch.
Jones comes up and takes a hard shot off the neck and lower helmet that knocks the helmet from his head. He looks like he's going to be OK, but that has to hurt.
That puts runners on first and second for Bolton. He hits into a fielder's choice at second and the inning is over. However, the Hogs get a pair of runs and will head to the the final inning to try to get Bybee the win.
ARKANSAS 5, UNLV 2
9th inning (Top)
Morris comes out for another one and he is again all over the place. Charles works him to a full count before hitting a tough grounder to Slavens at first. Slavens more or less barehands it and springs for first. A diving Charles is called out, but the replay shows that Slavens beat him by a baby's hair. If that had gone the other way and been challenged, it might not have been overturned.
Either way, the Hogs are two outs away from a win.
Morris throws a 2-2 pitch just over the top of Panaro's head. However, he comes back and gets Panaro to lift a long fly ball to left that Wegner comes down with and there are now two gone in the ninth.
That brings up Sharp who was a half mile an hour of wind from leaving the hard last inning.
Morris goes 0-2 on Sharp and gets him to check his swing. It doesn't get any closer to a swing than that, but the umpire says it's a ball and the game moves on.
Almost immediately, Morris loses control again, throwing three balls that weren't close.
Sharp pounds a full count pitch down the line to Coll at third. He gathers himself for the throw to first and this one is over. The Razorbacks hold on to get their 10th straight win heading into SEC play this weekend.
Mid-Inning break
9th inning (Bottom)
Not needed.
FINAL SCORE: ARKANSAS 5, UNLV 2
BOX SCORE
