Whipping winds and chilly February weather were strong for Arkansas' (1-0) season-opening win against James Madison at Baum-Walker Stadium on Friday, but a united offensive approach kept the Hogs hot enough to secure the 6-4 comeback victory inside Baum-Walker Stadium.
Led by two-hit outings by third baseman Jared-Sprague Lott and right fielder Kendall Diggs, the Razorbacks racked up six runs on nine total hits.
"After we went down 3-0, we stayed pretty calm and we just wanted to chip away one batter at a time and just do whatever we could to get ahead," Sprague-Lott said after the game. "The home run was just a great moment. A lot of fun rounding the bases and getting back to the dugout with the rest of the guys."
Eight of Arkansas' nine batters reached base on either a hit or a walk, and catcher Hudson White added a left-field bomb in his first game as a Hog.
"I mean, I’d say he did a pretty good job at leadoff," head coach Dave Van Horn said after the game. "He struck out his first at bat, he homered his second at bat. I couldn’t tell you after that, but I think he walked maybe. But, you know, he’s going to hit second or third in the order probably most of the year, maybe fourth.
"Him hitting that home run there, I think he was frustrated with his first at bat because he’s one of those guys, he doesn’t strike out looking. He might strike out, but he’s going to work at it, he’s going to foul off pitches and make you work for that. You could just tell how frustrated he was, so it was good to see."
Down 3-0 after the top half of the first, the Razorbacks went on to score two runs in each of the first, second and third innings with solid place discipline by returning players and newcomers alike.
"Any time you can come back, especially late in the game, it’s a sign of a good team," Van Horn said. "Especially when you’re down three or four late, come back and win some games, walk people off in the ninth. It’s a confidence thing, but it’s probably because you’re pretty good, too.
"Today, everything happened early. I think any time you do that, your team knows, ‘Hey, it’s not a problem.’ We didn’t panic. We weren’t… We knew we hadn’t even hit yet. We were down 3-0, it could have been worse, but we responded. It was good to see that happen."
The Hogs struck out just seven times, six of which came from three players — short-stop Wehiwa Aloy, left fielder Jayson Jones and center fielder Ty Wilmsmeyer.
Arkansas also stole three bases, including a double-steal in the bottom of the third. Van Horn went on to say that the Hogs were going to be opportunistic in that department throughout the season.
"But we’re going to take what they give us, and that’s our thing," Van Horn said. "We have some guys that can run a little bit, we got some guys that are sneaky fast. But we will run when we have the right opportunity and maybe catch them off guard a little bit and I think that’s what we did a little bit today."
Up next, Arkansas will take on James Madison in game two of the series on Saturday inside Baum-Walker Stadium. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. CT and will stream on SEC Network+.
