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Arkansas opened the 2020 season with a sweep of Eastern Illinois over the weekend.
If you missed any of the action, check out our Game 1, Game 2 and Game 3 recaps. Before we turn the page to the second week of the season - which features a four-game series against Gonzaga - we’re going to take a final look back at opening weekend.
This is the first edition of our “3 Up, 3 Down” series for HawgBeat subscribers. Each Monday, we’ll focus on three players - or areas - that are trending up and three that are trending down.
Three Up
Heston Kjerstad
In his postgame press conference following Friday’s win, Dave Van Horn told reporters that nothing surprised him when Kjerstad steps into the box. Even the veteran coach had to be impressed with what his slugger did to open the 2020 season, though.
After hitting two home runs in the opener, Kjerstad hit another two in the series finale and added a two-run double off the base of the wall in dead center. He finished the weekend 7 for 12 with 10 RBIs and had a .583/.643/1.667 slash line.
Kjerstad’s four home runs are tied for third nationally, while his 1.667 slugging percentage is ranked sixth. He also moved into a tie with Greg D’Alexander and Rodney Nye for seventh on Arkansas’ all-time home runs list.
Those numbers helped him earn National and SEC Player of the Week accolades. He shared the conference award with Ole Miss’ Cael Baker, who hit .417/.462/1.000 and helped the Rebels knock off No. 1 Louisville.
