All Hogs

Dietz Dominates Again as Razorbacks Roll to Fifth Straight Win

Hot-hitting Hogs play again Sunday, Monday in final preparation for SEC Opener at Baum-Walker
Bob Stephens|
Arkansas Razorbacks' starting pitcher Hunter Dietz struck out 12 and walked none in a second straight impressive outing Saturday at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Arkansas Razorbacks' starting pitcher Hunter Dietz struck out 12 and walked none in a second straight impressive outing Saturday at Baum-Walker Stadium. | Arkansas Communications

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Arkansas Razorbacks

Pencil in hard-throwing left-hander Hunter Dietz as Arkansas' Saturday starter in SEC games this season. He's earned that spot with his last two impressive performances.

Dietz was overpowering while mixing four pitches in the Razorbacks' 13-1 rout of the Stetson Hatters at Baum-Walker Stadium on Saturday before 9,747 fans.

The 6-foot-6, 235-pound fireballer threw six innings of the game shortened to seven frames by the mercy rule. He didn't walk a batter, struck out 12, and recorded 66 strikes among his 91 pitches against the hapless Hatters. Stetson managed four hits and a Hogs error allowed one visitor to cross the plate.

Meanwhile, Hogs hitters were feasting. They used three hits and four walks to score five runs by the second inning and chase Stetson starter (1-2).

Razorback rooters saw the home team score in five of six innings. The lead was 7-0 after three, 10-0 after four.

Hog hitters collected 13 hits and worked the count for nine walks while the Hatters were limited by Dietz and Cooper Dossett, who threw the final frame, to zero walks and four hits.

Arkansas center fielder Maika Niu led the attack by going 3-for-3 with a double, three RBIs and three runs. Second sacker Camden Kozeal was 3-for-4 with a two-bagger and two ribbies.

Third baseman Nolan Souza had two hits and three RBIs. Right fielder Kuhio Aloy chipped in with two RBIs.

Hogs are suddenly smoking, won last five by 50-5 margin

Arkansas outscored Stetson 20-1 in the first two games of the four-game series. Sunday's contest is scheduled at Baum-Walker for 1 p.m. with Monday's finale set for noon.

The Hogs (12-3) have won five straight by a margin of 50-5. Determined and rejuvenated following two losses in three games to Arkansas State and UT Arlington, Arkansas suddenly looks deserving of its No. 6 national ranking.

That turnaround has happened just in time as SEC action begins Friday at Baum-Walker with No. 4-ranked Mississippi State coming to town.

The Bulldogs were 14-2, 12-0 at home, and had a Saturday night game pending against Tulane.

Five of the top seven ranked teams are from the SEC, and 11 of 22. Like always, navigating the gauntlet that is SEC baseball will be a challenge for the best of teams.

Dietz untested against elite teams but has talent

Dietz has been the Hogs' starting pitcher on all four Saturdays this year after suffering through two seasons that were lost to injury. He threw only two-thirds of an inning in 2024 and again in 2025, suffering season-ending injuries in both years.

But Hogs coach Dave Van Horn and pitching coach Matt Hobbs knew they had a prized arm with Dietz and limited his innings in his first two starts while prepping him to be a mainstay in the SEC rotations.

Dietz threw only two innings against TCU in the Hogs' second game of the season and four in his second start against Xavier, neither of which was overly impressive.

He was particularly ineffective in his first start, giving up three hits, three walks and four earned runs against TCU. He was more comfortable the next outing while walking just one and whiffing nine but allowed five hits in four frames and two earned runs.

Against UT Arlington and Stetson, he worked 13 confident innings while allowing just six hits, no earned runs and one walk while fanning 20.

Dietz, a high school star in Trinity, Fla., was ranked by Prep Baseball Report as the nation's No. 20 overall prospect and the No. 4 left-handed pitcher in the class of 2023. Among all recruits that year in Florida, they rated him as the No. 5 overall prospect and the No. 2 left-handed pitcher.

Now Van Horn and Hobbs hope their top prospect blossoms into a winning pitcher against SEC competition. They'll find out for the first time next Saturday.

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Bob Stephens
BOB STEPHENS

Bob Stephens won more than a dozen awards as a sportswriter and columnist in Northwest Arkansas from 1980 to 2003. He started as a senior for the 1975 Fayetteville Bulldogs’ state championship basketball team, and was drafted that summer in the 19th round by the St. Louis Cardinals but signed instead with Norm DeBriyn's Razorbacks, playing shortstop and third base. Bob has written for the Washington Post, Chicago Sun-Times, San Diego Union-Tribune, New Jersey Star-Ledger, and many more. He covered the Razorbacks in three Final Fours, three College World Series, six New Year’s Day bowl games, and witnessed many track national championships. He lives in Colorado Springs with his wife, Pati. Follow on X: @BobHogs56

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