HawgBeat's coverage of the Razorbacks' Road to Redemption in Omaha is brought to you by Arkansas Oral Surgery, which has offices located in Conway and Russellville.
FAYETTEVILLE — It’s rare for a starting pitcher to earn MVP honors when he pitches once in a weekend, but that’s just what Isaiah Campbell did.
Arkansas’ ace was named Tournament MVP of the Fayetteville Regional, as voted on by the media covering the event, for his stellar performance in Saturday’s crucial win over TCU.
HawgBeat’s vote went to Campbell, as well. Here’s why, followed by the entire All-Tournament Team and how we voted…
The winner’s bracket game on Day 2 is always the most critical of an NCAA Regional and the Razorbacks held their top guy back to face either Cal or TCU.
It proved to be a huge decision on the weekend because Jim Schlossnagle also made the bold decision to hold Nick Lodolo, a projected top-10 pick in the upcoming MLB Draft, and the Horned Frogs knocked off Cal.
Considering he’s a left-hander, runs were going to be hard to come by for the Razorbacks’ offense and they managed only three. There was a very slim margin for error and Campbell responded by turning in his best outing of the year.
He kept TCU off the board until the seventh, with its lone run coming on a sacrifice fly. Head coach Dave Van Horn said they considered taking him out after that, but he asked for another inning. He got it and threw a perfect eighth that included his seventh and eighth strikeouts of the night.
That helped the Razorbacks improve to 2-0 in the regional. Over the last 10 years, teams that won their first two games advanced to the super regionals 81.3 percent of the time. That trend ended up applying to Arkansas.
Simply put, it was the biggest and most important performance of the weekend.
Catcher: Casey Opitz (Arkansas)
None of the catchers in the Fayetteville Regional really hit the ball much and Opitz had only one hit all weekend, but it was arguably the most important hit for Arkansas. With the bases loaded in a scoreless tie, he delivered a single up the middle to drive in two runs. Before that hit, the Razorbacks were hitless in their last nine at bats with the bases loaded.
On top of that, Opitz was sensational behind the plate. No one even attempted to steal on him and he didn’t make an error in 31 chances, which has become expected. Perhaps most telling of his job behind the plate, both head coaches - Central Connecticut’s Charlie Hickey and TCU’s Jim Schlossnagle - gave him unsolicited praise in the postgame press conferences.
First base: Trevor Ezell (Arkansas)
This was easily the toughest position to pick. Cal’s Andrew Vaughn came in as the reigning Golden Spikes Award winner and was probably the worst of the four first basemen, as TT Bowens, Jake Guenther and Ezell each had tremendous weekends.
Ultimately, Ezell got the nod because he finished the regional 8 for 14 (.571) with three doubles, one home run, four RBIs, three runs scored and a stolen base. Those numbers made him a strong candidate for Tournament MVP, as well.
Second base: Jack Kenley (Arkansas)
Another guy who was considered for Tournament MVP is Kenley. He went 6 for 10 (.600) with two doubles, two RBIs, three runs and two walks. Despite coming into Sunday’s game with the worst batting average with runners in scoring position among Arkansas’ starters, Kenley had a pair of two-out RBI hits in the regional clincher.
Shortstop: Adam Oviedo (TCU)
Most of the shortstops struggled in the Fayetteville Regional, highlighted by Casey Martin going 1 for 13 and committing a couple of errors in one inning. Oviedo had the best weekend, as he went 4 for 12 (.333) at the plate and played really solid defense for the Horned Frogs.
Third base: Buddy Dewaine (CCSU)
The Blue Devils were expected to be an easy out at the Fayetteville Regional, but proved to be anything but that. Dewaine was a big reason why, as he went 5 for 13 with a double, triple and home run. All five of hits came in Central Connecticut’s last two games, when it knocked off Cal and gave TCU a scare.
Outfield: Heston Kjerstad (Arkansas)
Dominic Fletcher got a handful of votes and deservedly so, as he played excellent defense and had the two-run double that started the scoring Sunday, but Kjerstad got HawgBeat’s vote and earned the All-Tournament spot. Even though he struggled in the final game, Kjerstad still finished the weekend 4 for 11 (.364) with a double, a home run, two RBIs and three runs scored.
Outfield: Johnny Rizer (TCU)
With a hit in all four games, Rizer finished the weekend 6 for 17 (.353) to make him an easy choice. His best game was against Cal in the Horned Frogs’ opener, as he went 3 for 6 with a home run and three RBIs. On top of that, he managed to hang on to a ball despite a scary collision with a teammate. Had Rizer not made that play, Central Connecticut would have gotten a three-run inside-the-park home run that could have swung the game in the other direction. It was probably the biggest defensive play of the entire regional.
Outfield: Dave Matthews (CCSU)
His name probably automatically made him a fan favorite, but Matthews backed up his Hall of Fame name with excellent play. Much like Dewaine, he went 0 for 4 against Arkansas in the opener and then dominated over the next two games. Matthews was a triple shy of the cycle in a 3-for-4, four-RBI performance against Cal, with his home run breaking a tie, and then he went 2 for 5 against TCU.
Designated hitter: Hunter Wolfe (TCU)
With a 3-for-4 performance Sunday that included a home run, Matt Goodheart made a run for this spot, but Wolfe had a great weekend for TCU. Despite going just 1 for 7 against Arkansas, he went 4 for 9 with an incredible seven RBIs in wins over Cal and Central Connecticut.
Starting pitcher: Isaiah Campbell (Arkansas)
This needs no explanation. He was the Tournament MVP.
Starting pitcher: Connor Noland (Arkansas)
The first of two positions that HawgBeat’s ballot differentiated from the actual All-Tournament team, Noland got the nod as the second starting pitcher. On the biggest stage of his career, the freshman gave the Razorbacks 5 1/3 solid innings in the opener against Central Connecticut. He gave up two runs - only one of which was earned - on two hits and no walks while striking out two. Most importantly, he did it on only 58 pitches and could have been available in Monday’s if necessary game.
Honestly, Arkansas’ third starter in the regional, Patrick Wicklander, could have gotten the nod because he threw five scoreless innings against TCU’s dangerous lineup in the clincher, but HawgBeat’s vote went to Central Connecticut’s Tom Curtin. In seven innings, he limited an explosive Cal team to three runs - two earned - on four hits and two walks to help the Blue Devils win their first ever NCAA Tournament game. It was a big-time performance in a huge upset.
Relief pitcher: Matt Cronin (Arkansas)
Any one of three or four Arkansas relievers could have been named to the All-Tournament team. HawgBeat’s vote went to Kevin Kopps, who worked out of a jam and struck out four in 1 2/3 scoreless innings against Central Connecticut.
If we could do it over again, Cody Scroggins and Jacob Kostyshock would get serious consideration. The former gave up a pair of hits, but struck out four in 2 2/3 scoreless innings, while the latter retired all four guys he faced with three via strikeout.
Instead, Cronin got the spot for a perfect ninth inning against TCU’s 2-, 3- and 4-hole hitters to preserve a 3-1 win and earn his 12th save of the season.
Relief pitcher: Jake Eissler (TCU)
On the surface, Eissler’s numbers aren’t all that impressive. He gave up three earned runs on nine hits while striking out six in 5 2/3 innings. However, the context of his performance makes him an easy choice for the All-Tournament team.
His outing came in Sunday afternoon’s elimination game against a scrappy Central Connecticut team that wouldn’t quit. The Horned Frogs’ starter lasted only two innings and Eissler came in and settled things down. Although he hadn’t thrown more than four innings since March, he gave his team nearly six innings to preserve the bullpen for the important game against Arkansas later in the day.
