Arkansas falls to TCU, 18-6
ARLINGTON, Texas — The No. 8 Arkansas Razorbacks (1-1) looked shell-shocked in a 18-6 loss to the No. 15 TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday evening in the College Baseball Showdown at Globe Life Field.
When starting pitcher Will McEntire didn't have his stuff in the first inning, which featured a trio of runs scored by TCU, it was only the start of rough game for the Arkansas pitching staff.
With McEntire giving up four earned runs on four hits in 1 1/3 innings pitched, head coach Dave Van Horn had to visit the mound seven times and he saw nine of his pitchers throw in the contest. Left-hander Zack Morris lasted the longest, throwing 3 1/3 innings.
The Razorbacks saw a few bright spots at the plate, most notably Jared Wegner. The Creighton transfer came just a triple shy of the cycle, as he added a single, double and a three-run homer. Oklahoma transfer catcher Hudson Polk and sophomore designated hitter Jayson Jones both added solo shots to round out the scoring for the Hogs.
While TCU has started the season hot — scoring 11 runs Friday against Vanderbilt and 18 against the Hogs — the new-look Razorbacks are still trying to develop roles. Arkansas were out-hit 19-8 in the contest, and it scored in just three innings compared to seven by the Horned Frogs. TCU also added six stolen bases in the contest and it was 8-19 with runners in scoring position.
Here's a recap of the Diamond Hogs' first loss of their 2023 campaign.
After inducing a fly out on his first pitch, McEntire immediately ran into trouble. He issued a walk to the next batter and two batters later, David Bishop smacked a two-RBI double to the wall in left-center. Bishop was driven in by Luke Boyers on the next at bat and the Diamond Hogs were quickly down 3-0.
Pitching coach Matt Hobbs visited McEntire after the third run crossed the plate, and the big righty induced a fly out on the next at bat to end the frame.
Peyton Stovall drew a one-out walk and Brady Slavens pushed Stovall to third with a two-out double to left field. Wegner hit a 442-foot home run 112 miles per hour off the bat to tie the game with the Diamond Hogs' first deep shot of the season.
After issuing a pair of singles in the top of the second, McEntire was replaced by Morris. One of the runners that Morris inherited crossed home on a 4-6 fielder's choice that was inches from being a double play, and the result was a 4-3 TCU lead.
Polk tied the game up with a 385-foot solo shot to left in the bottom of the second. A Stovall single put runners on the corners and resulted in a pitching change from TCU starter Cam Brown to freshman righty Kole Klecker, who shut the inning down with his first career strikeout.
Morris threw 3 1/3 innings of quality ball, giving up two runs on three hits while walking one and striking out two. Freshman righty Gage Wood relieved Morris, and the two earned runs credited to Morris crossed after Wood gave up an RBI single and walked two runners.
With TCU ahead 6-4, Van Horn had seen enough from Wood, and he turned to right-hander Austin Ledbetter, who induced a groundout to third to strand three runners.
After Arkansas did nothing in the bottom of the fifth, Ledbetter saw his first three batters faced reach and TCU's eighth run cross the plate in the top of the sixth. Freshman southpaw Parker Coil came on in relief an issued a walk to load the bases with no outs.
Two more runs scored in the top of the sixth off a pair of sac-fly's that made it a 10-4 Horned Frogs advantage.
Kendall Diggs hit a 108.4 mph laser 370 feet to right field for a solo shot that made the deficit five, but that was all the Diamond Hogs could muster up in the bottom of the sixth.
TCU came back with an absolute moon shot from Austin Davis that traveled 400 feet. A hard-hit single from preseason Big 12 Player of the Year Brayden Taylor ended Coil's outing and brought on righty Dylan Carter, who retired the first two batters he faced.
Carter gave up a pair of runs on double from Davis, and that ended his day and brought freshman lefty Sean Fitzpatrick in the game. A third run crossed in the inning (given to Carter), but Fitzpatrick got out without allowing anything else and the score was 14-5 in favor of TCU.
After another scoreless inning by the Arkansas lineup, freshman right-hander Cooper Dossett took the mound in the ninth. He gave up a pair of runs on a two-RBI single and was replaced by fellow freshman right-hander Ben Bybee, who inherited a bases-loaded situation with two outs.
Bybee hit the batter with his first pitch to bring a run across, but he struck out the next to bring an end to the Arkansas pitching staff's rough day of allowing 18 runs to TCU.
Freshman Jayson Jones hit a ball 113.9 miles an hour off the bat and 408 feet to make it 18-6 and a Brady Slavens strike out right after sent everyone home.
Up next, the Razorbacks will finish their College Baseball Showdown appearances with a matchup against No. 9 Oklahoma State. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT and the game will be streamed on FloSports.
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