Real quick… these Thursday start series really jam me up.
I hate it that I can’t make it out to Fayetteville this weekend. I really enjoy that trip and love the atmosphere out there.
This really may be our toughest test remaining. I know that we have Florida and Vanderbilt left, that Mississippi State is surprisingly tied for the SEC lead at the moment, and that we have to go to Kentucky and South Carolina. But for where this one falls, it may be the most difficult spot for us.
Arkansas finished last in SEC in 2016 and had a very rare sub .500 year overall. Like Mississippi State the year before, programs like that can always be counted on the bounce back hard after a bad season. Arkansas currently sits at 26-8 and 8-4 in the SEC. Their series sweep of Miss State in the league opener didn’t surprise me a lot. I figured that Miss State would take a big step back with the number of players they lost and the late coaching change. That sweep by Arkansas is looking a lot better now that Mississippi State has gone 8-1 in league play since then.
Arkansas followed that up by taking two of three from Missouri on the road, then taking two of three at Alabama.
Last weekend, Arkansas beat LSU in the opener and held an 8-2 lead going into 8th inning on Saturday before LSU stormed all the way back to win 10-8. LSU won the rubber game 2-0.
Arkansas is off of a big midweek win at a good Missouri State team.
Tonight, we are going to see Blaine Knight, a skinny 6’3 sophomore righty from Bryant Arkansas. This guy has been really good on the year… He’s 5-1 in 8 appearances, all starts, and sports a 1.94 ERA. His 46 1/3 innings lead their staff and he has a robust 54/5 K/BB. Opponents are only hitting .192 against him. Stricklin this morning said that he can throw a fastball, curveball, change up, and slider for a strike. He’s arguably been better in league play as he is 4-0 in 4 starts with a 1.33 ERA and .151 average against. He’s thrown 27 innings in league play and has 31 strike outs and 4 walks. Arkansas usually has a stud on Friday night and this dude is no exception.
On Friday, we’ll see Trevor Stephan, a big junior righty from Magnolia Texas. This guy was an 18th round draft pick a year ago out of junior college. He’s 4-2 on the year in 8 appearances, all starts, and has a 2.86 ERA. He’s thrown 44 innings and has a 57/10 K/BB. Opponents are hitting all of .195 against him. But unlike Knight, his numbers have dropped off a bit in league play where he is 1-2 in 4 starts with a 5.40 ERA and .272 average against. He’s thrown 20 innings in conference and has a 25/3 K/BB.
Arkansas has left things TBD for Saturday.
As a staff, Arkansas sports a strong 3.40 ERA and .230 average against.
Offensively, Arkansas is paced by junior corner OF Luke Bonfield, who hails from Skillman NJ by way of that great creation that is the IMG Academy. Bonfield is hitting .326/.399/.500 with 5 HRs and 27 RBI.
Grant Koch (I wonder if he’s related to the Koch Brothers) appears to be their best power hitter. Koch is hitting .317/.427/.627 and is their team leader in HRs with 9 and doubles with 10. Koch is a sophomore catcher from Fayetteville.
Carson Shaddy is another guy to watch. He leads their team in RBIs with 31 and is hitting .307/.417/.561 and has 7 HRs. Shaddy is also from Fayetteville and I imagine we’ll see him at 2B tonight.
Good news is that Arkansas doesn’t run a whole lot. I guess when you hit for power like they do (.461 team slugging percentage) you don’t feel the need to risk it. Arkansas is only 16/27 in stolen bases this year, which is the same number they’ve allowed, coincidently enough.
Arkansas is fielding a very good .978. They’re usually a good defensive team under Van Horn.
Arkansas is in the top 4 in the SEC in batting average, slugging percentage, on base percentage, runs scored, hits, RBIs, and total bases. They lead the SEC with 45 team HRs. Miss State is 2nd with 37.
I really respect what these guys are as a program. I think that Dave Van Horn does a tremendous job out there… Last year was so unusual, but they were a young team overall and I understand some of their older guys didn’t have the seasons they were projected to have. That happens…. But again, programs like that don’t let it happen two years in a row. Arkansas won’t beat themselves over the course of the weekend. I’ve seen them twice in Fayetteville and five times in Athens… that’s been true every time. They aren’t invincible, but they’ll make you earn it. We beat them pretty badly in the series opener in Athens in 2015 and I remember some people laughing at me a little bit when I said that Arkansas would be really difficult to beat again. They’ve got that mentality in their program, it seems, and that’s an awfully hard thing to overcome if you’re an opponent.
Hopefully the Thursday night start will hold down their crowd a little bit… Any more, and in the absence of any kind of data, I tend to think that Thursday night favors the road team for that reason. I sure do wish I could be out there…. I’d be heading to the ballpark right about now…. Weekends like this are why I love the SEC much. You want major college baseball and front line competition? You got it this weekend.
I hate it that I can’t make it out to Fayetteville this weekend. I really enjoy that trip and love the atmosphere out there.
This really may be our toughest test remaining. I know that we have Florida and Vanderbilt left, that Mississippi State is surprisingly tied for the SEC lead at the moment, and that we have to go to Kentucky and South Carolina. But for where this one falls, it may be the most difficult spot for us.
Arkansas finished last in SEC in 2016 and had a very rare sub .500 year overall. Like Mississippi State the year before, programs like that can always be counted on the bounce back hard after a bad season. Arkansas currently sits at 26-8 and 8-4 in the SEC. Their series sweep of Miss State in the league opener didn’t surprise me a lot. I figured that Miss State would take a big step back with the number of players they lost and the late coaching change. That sweep by Arkansas is looking a lot better now that Mississippi State has gone 8-1 in league play since then.
Arkansas followed that up by taking two of three from Missouri on the road, then taking two of three at Alabama.
Last weekend, Arkansas beat LSU in the opener and held an 8-2 lead going into 8th inning on Saturday before LSU stormed all the way back to win 10-8. LSU won the rubber game 2-0.
Arkansas is off of a big midweek win at a good Missouri State team.
Tonight, we are going to see Blaine Knight, a skinny 6’3 sophomore righty from Bryant Arkansas. This guy has been really good on the year… He’s 5-1 in 8 appearances, all starts, and sports a 1.94 ERA. His 46 1/3 innings lead their staff and he has a robust 54/5 K/BB. Opponents are only hitting .192 against him. Stricklin this morning said that he can throw a fastball, curveball, change up, and slider for a strike. He’s arguably been better in league play as he is 4-0 in 4 starts with a 1.33 ERA and .151 average against. He’s thrown 27 innings in league play and has 31 strike outs and 4 walks. Arkansas usually has a stud on Friday night and this dude is no exception.
On Friday, we’ll see Trevor Stephan, a big junior righty from Magnolia Texas. This guy was an 18th round draft pick a year ago out of junior college. He’s 4-2 on the year in 8 appearances, all starts, and has a 2.86 ERA. He’s thrown 44 innings and has a 57/10 K/BB. Opponents are hitting all of .195 against him. But unlike Knight, his numbers have dropped off a bit in league play where he is 1-2 in 4 starts with a 5.40 ERA and .272 average against. He’s thrown 20 innings in conference and has a 25/3 K/BB.
Arkansas has left things TBD for Saturday.
As a staff, Arkansas sports a strong 3.40 ERA and .230 average against.
Offensively, Arkansas is paced by junior corner OF Luke Bonfield, who hails from Skillman NJ by way of that great creation that is the IMG Academy. Bonfield is hitting .326/.399/.500 with 5 HRs and 27 RBI.
Grant Koch (I wonder if he’s related to the Koch Brothers) appears to be their best power hitter. Koch is hitting .317/.427/.627 and is their team leader in HRs with 9 and doubles with 10. Koch is a sophomore catcher from Fayetteville.
Carson Shaddy is another guy to watch. He leads their team in RBIs with 31 and is hitting .307/.417/.561 and has 7 HRs. Shaddy is also from Fayetteville and I imagine we’ll see him at 2B tonight.
Good news is that Arkansas doesn’t run a whole lot. I guess when you hit for power like they do (.461 team slugging percentage) you don’t feel the need to risk it. Arkansas is only 16/27 in stolen bases this year, which is the same number they’ve allowed, coincidently enough.
Arkansas is fielding a very good .978. They’re usually a good defensive team under Van Horn.
Arkansas is in the top 4 in the SEC in batting average, slugging percentage, on base percentage, runs scored, hits, RBIs, and total bases. They lead the SEC with 45 team HRs. Miss State is 2nd with 37.
I really respect what these guys are as a program. I think that Dave Van Horn does a tremendous job out there… Last year was so unusual, but they were a young team overall and I understand some of their older guys didn’t have the seasons they were projected to have. That happens…. But again, programs like that don’t let it happen two years in a row. Arkansas won’t beat themselves over the course of the weekend. I’ve seen them twice in Fayetteville and five times in Athens… that’s been true every time. They aren’t invincible, but they’ll make you earn it. We beat them pretty badly in the series opener in Athens in 2015 and I remember some people laughing at me a little bit when I said that Arkansas would be really difficult to beat again. They’ve got that mentality in their program, it seems, and that’s an awfully hard thing to overcome if you’re an opponent.
Hopefully the Thursday night start will hold down their crowd a little bit… Any more, and in the absence of any kind of data, I tend to think that Thursday night favors the road team for that reason. I sure do wish I could be out there…. I’d be heading to the ballpark right about now…. Weekends like this are why I love the SEC much. You want major college baseball and front line competition? You got it this weekend.
