Young Arkansas pitchers get first college baseball experience
An Arkansas bullpen loaded with promising young talent got its first true taste of college baseball when the Razorbacks dropped the third of a four-game series to the James Madison Dukes on Sunday at Baum-Walker Stadium, 7-3.
The Diamond Hogs started things strong with a 2-0 lead backed by a solid first appearance by Texas Tech transfer left-handed pitcher Mason Molina. The junior gave up two runs in the fourth before Kansas transfer left-hander Stone Hewlett closed the books on the inning.
"I thought he threw the ball pretty good," head coach Dave Van Horn said after the game. "His pitch count got up a little bit and when he got behind that’s when they got the big hits. I was hoping he would go five innings. He went 3 2/3 and it’d been nice to get another inning and a third inning out of him anyway."
Freshman right-hander Gabe Gaeckle relieved Hewlett in the fifth and didn't meet any trouble until the seventh, when he loaded the bases with zero outs before handing things off to junior Jake Faherty.
"Gaeckle’s first outing, throwing strikes for the most part," Van Horn said. "I thought he threw the ball well. They started getting on his fastball a little bit because he got behind in the count. That’s when they got their hits."
All three of Gaeckle's runners crossed the plate and he earned the loss in 2.0 IP with three earned runs, two strikeouts and a walk. Faherty eventually escaped the inning with a strikeout and received praise from Van Horn.
"Faherty, couldn’t have brought him in in a worse situation," Van Horn said. "Bases loaded, I think maybe no outs. You know, he really made a good pitch. He jammed their hitter and he just hit it through the middle. If he hits it one way or the other, it’s right at one of our guys. But give him credit, he found a way to… he got the barrel on it, but it was more towards the middle. But Faherty, I thought he did a good job."
In the eighth, freshman left-hander Tate McGuire took the mound and started things off on the right foot with a strikeout.
Danger followed though, as two walks and a hit-by-pitch forced Van Horn to make a move to the bullpen and righty sophomore Christian Foutch. McGuire tossed just 0.2 IP and collected a strikeout and two walks in that span.
"McGuire just got a little wild," Van Horn said. "He just couldn’t finish them off. He’d get to 1-2 and next thing you’d know it was 3-2, foul ball, ball four and we had to go get him."
Foutch went on to close the game for the Hogs, but not before allowing a moonshot home run to James Madison right fielder Brendan O'Donnell. The Colorado native pitched 1.1 innings and recorded two strikeouts, three hits and one earned run.
"Foutch came in and did a pretty good job," Van Horn said. "He just got behind in the count. Was it 3-1? The guy hits one 450 feet and just stood there and watched it. That’s good hitting. When they make a mistake, you hammer it."
Up next, Arkansas (2-1) will take on James Madison in the four-game series finale on Monday at Baum-Walker Stadium. First pitch is set for noon CT and will stream on SEC Network+.