FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas baseball team scrimmaged for the fifth time in 2024 on Monday afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium and the White squad earned a 10-7 victory over Cardinal in 4.0 innings.
Freshman right-handed pitcher Tate McGuire got the start for Cardinal and freshman left-hander pitcher Colin Fisher took the mound for White. Both pitchers gave up four earned runs, with McGuire exiting the game after only recording two outs in the bottom of the first and Fisher handing things over after 2.2 innings pitched.
The MVPs for each team were without a doubt third baseman Peyton Holt (Cardinal) and shortstop Wehiwa Aloy (White). Holt led the game with four RBIs off two hits, including a 415-foot bomb to left field off of Fisher in the top of the first. Aloy continued to smash too, as he finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a 417-foot homer off of McGuire.
Shortstop Jared Sprague-Lott had a home run for Cardinal and designated hitter Parker Rowland added a double as well. For White, left fielder Jayson Jones, catcher Ryder Helfrick, designated hitter Hudson Polk and third baseman Reese Robinett each finished with a hit.
Check out a box score, interviews, top performances and notable quotes from Monday's scrimmage, plus read more of HawgBeat's Arkansas baseball content and join The Trough premium message board today for the inside scoop on everything Diamond Hogs.
--------
Highlights
- Peyton Holt, Jared Sprague-Lott, Wehiwa Aloy and Reese Robinett all hit home runs in Monday's scrimmage.
- Catchers Hudson White, Parker Rowland and Ryder Helfrick each had a double during Monday's scrimmage alongside Peyton Stovall and Jayson Jones.
- White scored a whopping eight runs in the bottom of the first thanks to two hit-by-pitches, two home runs, three doubles and a walk.
- Freshmen arms Diego Ramos and Jaewoo Cho were each fairly impressive in limited action. Ramos allowed two hits with one earned run in 1.1 innings, but struck out three batters. Cho went a full 2.0 innings and also had three strikeouts with one earned run.
--------
Box Score
--------
3B Peyton Holt Interview
--------
Notable quotes from DVH at Swatter's Club luncheon
On specific roles for relievers:
DVH: "Early on, for the most part, it’ll be older guys. We’ll try to bring those young guys along. But the stuff that some of them have, just like the other day, Gabe Gaeckle was unbelievable for an inning. He was nothing but strikes and he didn’t go below 97 with a slider, a curveball and a change-up. Then it goes away a little bit. It’s just the way it is when they’re young."
On the competition in the outfield:
DVH: "Kendall Diggs has done a tremendous job. He just continues to hit and be a tough out. He plays with a different swag look about him now that I really like. (Ty) Wilmsmeyer in center is a really good defender. He didn’t hit much in the fall. I just think a new program, maybe a lot of self-inflicted pressure going from one SEC school to another. But he’s swinging the bat well now for us and even if he doesn’t hit he’s going to play defense for this team. Then left field it’s going to be a little bit of a battle.
"(Jayson) Jones hit a home run inside — because it went like 415 feet so we give him a home run — it was inside. He’s hit some balls good. Then you look at (Will) Edmundson, he popped one the other day in a big situation and he also had another hit. And (Ross) Lovich, the left-handed hitter, you could always use a lefty against those crafty righties. He’s 20 pounds up from what he was in the fall. I just feel like he’s going to make a push to play as well."
On Sophomore RHP Ben Bybee's hamstring injury:
DVH: "Yeah, he’s got a little bit of a hamstring issue. He did it over the holidays working out. I guess he tweaked it in the summer a little bit. It bothered him a little in the fall ball but he … we’re not throwing him this weekend. Obviously he’s not throwing today. He’s a little irritated with that. He wants to pitch. And we’re ‘Well, we don’t need to throw you. We need to get healthy.’
"Because he’s been throwing the ball good. He’s got another pitch or two this year, he’s bigger and stronger and he throws a lot of strikes. Yeah, it’s a little bit of a light hammy. He’s just got to keep it stretched out. I’m just hoping it’s one of those things that once he gets over the hump it’s done."
On Texas Tech transfer LHP Mason Molina's preseason performance:
DVH: "Well, he had a really good fall. Although he didn’t throw a ton of strikes in the fall, we didn’t score on him. A lot of 2-2, 3-2 counts, strikeout, fly ball. We didn’t hit him. The other day, we got him. He got behind in the count. I mean, how do I assess it? He’s going to be better than he’s been his first couple outings, I really feel."
On junior LHP Hagen Smith's maturity:
DVH: " You know, Hagen is a great teammate and he’s never going to say much. If we got a six run lead in the sixth and he’s up to 85 pitches, he doesn’t need to go 105. You know, these are the things that — and a lot of times I have to tell Coach (Matt) Hobbs, ‘We need to get him.’ Because a pitch coach will let him go back, let him go back. Now is important, but later is more important. So, if we can save an inning here or there, it might save us down the road.
"But he’s not going to fight us on it, he gets it. I mean, he’s been in all the roles, he’s been a middle reliever, he’s been a closer, he’s been a starter. He’s grown up from those experiences as far as knowing, I know that I don’t need to go in the first inning and throw every pitch 99 miles per hour. I need to be able to pitch at 95-95 and we’d rather have him go 93-97 when he needs it in the fifth.
"And so you have to hold some back, he has to pitch. Use his changeup and his cutter, he’s learning to do that. He knows to be a starter here and at the next level, he’s got to go out and show people that."
On Sacramento State transfer SS Wehiwa Aloy's Arkansas visit:
DVH: "He wasn’t feeling real good on his visit, and he ended up having to go and get his gallbladder taken out. I don’t know if y’all know all this. That’s a good story down the road for you. He was going to go play in the Cape after he committed to us from the airport. I gave him one more shot. I called him at the airport before he got on the plane, he committed and canceled his other trips.
"He might be playing in another uniform. It was scary. He had been having problems. He played with stomach issues all spring last year. They took his gallbladder out. He’s been fine ever since. He was super quiet on his visit. We hoped he liked it. We felt like he did. But that’s kind of just his personality."
On Peyton Stovall being the No. 48 ranked 2B according to D1Baseball:
DVH: "I got that. I looked about, I know two names that were one and two, and then I just moved onto the next tweet or whatever it was I was looking about. They don’t know. They don’t know yet. They know what could be. Think about it, his first year he played first base. His second year, he was fielding really well, but his arm was bothering him all year. It’s hard to swing the bat when your shoulder’s got a tear in it, and he fought through it. It’s a different swing now. It’s different. I’m sure he’s on a mission, let’s put it that way."
On the new SEC tournament format:
"I think what it does, it gives the teams that did well during the league, the grind, a chance to get a bye or two. I’m not in love with single elimination, but if you finish what, in the top-four, you get two days off. If you finish in the top maybe five, six, seven, eight, you get one day off. Something like that. The way you look at it is, okay, I would hate to be the No. 1 seed and having to play a 16 and they didn’t throw their ace on the weekend because they knew they had to win the tournament. This makes more sense.
You can line your pitching back up. And if you finish way down, hopefully doesn’t happen to us, then you should have to win some games to get in. But at least you still get to go to the tournament. Get to work out a little bit. You win, you get to play again. You win two, you’re probably in the championship game, I think. I think that’s the way it works. You could win three games and win the championship, and man, that’s a lot better. That’s a lot better than having to win four, maybe even five, and maybe even six if you lost the first day."
--------
