Diamond Hogs stomp Omaha in return home
FAYETTEVILLE — The Diamond Hogs’ return to Baum-Walker Stadium after their first true road trip of the season was a welcome one.
Omaha, which entered Tuesday’s contest 213th in the RPI, and its inferior pitching was just what the doctor ordered after the Razorbacks suffered two defeats at No. 1 LSU by a combined 19 runs. They thrashed the Mavericks by a 16-3 final score, collecting 14 hits and nine walks to end their first losing skid of 2023.
Arkansas found itself down 2-1 through an inning in a half, but it batted around in the second and the third, amassing 12 runs.
It all began with one away in the second, when two hits at the bottom of the order preceded four consecutive walks by Maverick reliever Wyatt Sellers. The next arm, righty Kai Reum, allowed the fourth and fifth runs of the frame to score, hitting right fielder Jace Bohrofen in an 0-2 count and inducing a slow bouncer up the middle, which went down as a fielder’s choice for second baseman Peyton Stovall.
A fielding error on the fourth Omaha pitcher sparked the seven-run third. Catcher Parker Rowland drew the first of his two walks in the inning to keep it moving, and both runners advanced 90 feet when Tanner Olmstead slipped during his delivery and balked.
Shortstop John Bolton’s single to the opposite field scored two runs, and he came home on a 405-foot blast down the right field line off the bat of center fielder Tavian Josenberger.
"I took a fastball right down the middle the pitch before," Josenberger said. "I was kind of upset for a second, thinking I wasn't going to get another one of those. Looking for a heater, got one and put a good swing on it."
Four more hits and another pair of walks plated three more runs, making it a 13-3 Razorback advantage.
"What I like from our team is that we didn’t go out of the zone much," Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said. "We didn’t chase, and it set up some big innings for us. When they did throw it over the plate, we hit it pretty good. Just really unselfish by the offense tonight. I thought they did a great job of just letting the next guy work and taking a walk."
After right-hander Gage Wood wrapped up a pair of scoreless innings in relief of righty Ben Bybee, the Hogs poured three more on the Mavericks, highlighted by left fielder Jared Wegner’s 108-mph RBI triple.
The game’s biggest surprise came in the top of the fifth inning. A slew of defensive changes included the return of infielder Ben McLaughlin entering the contest as a pitcher.
"In my fall meeting, (the coaches) brought (pitching) up as a possibility," McLaughlin said. "I mean, it was always something I wanted to do. When I got hurt and tore my meniscus, they were saying 'When you come back, we want you to do both.' It was something that I definitely wanted to do."
The junior college transfer had not appeared in a game since Feb. 25, when he exited with an right knee injury. After recovering from surgery, he threw 11 pitches, recording two of his three outs on strikes.
"(Pitching) Coach (Matt) Hobbs, every time he’d throw, he’d tell me, ‘Hey, he’s throwing strikes, man,'" Van Horn said. "'He’s got a feel for throwing strikes.’ That’s the key to pitching, throwing strikes. So it was really good that he got his inning in and didn’t just throw all fastballs. He mixed in a slider or two, so it was good."
With the 10-run rule in play, Van Horn entrusted freshmen with recording the final six outs.
Christian Foutch posted his third scoreless frame of the season, working around a two-out error.
"We think he’s going to jump in and start helping us more," Van Horn said. "You saw he’s got good velocity. He’s got a splitter that’s pretty nasty. I thought he did a nice job."
Lefty Parker Coil got the call for the seventh, mirroring his right-handed teammate's performance, hitting a batter with two outs but ultimately sealing the 16-3 victory for Arkansas.
League play will resume for the Razorbacks at 6:30 p.m. Friday, when the Alabama Crimson Tide rolls into town for a three-game set at Baum-Walker Stadium. The series opener will stream live on SEC Network Plus, accessible through the ESPN app.
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