FAYETTEVILLE — The 22nd season of the Dave Van Horn era at Arkansas began with a series victory over James Madison, as the No. 2 Diamond Hogs (3-1) secured a 4-0 win over the Dukes (1-3) in Game 4 on Monday afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Freshman left-hander Colin Fisher out Noble, Oklahoma, earned the start for Arkansas and he was nearly perfect. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound hurler tossed five scoreless innings and gave up just three hits while striking out four and walking none.
Four of Fisher's five innings pitched started with one-pitch outs. He threw 63 total pitches and 38 of them were strikes.
"He actually stayed under his pitch count," Van Horn said postgame. "We could have sent him back out if we wanted to but we just felt like five was enough. You know, we didn’t know. If he’d had to work out of a couple of jams and he’d have only been able to go four innings with 70-75 pitches we’d have got him. But he threw low 60s it seemed like. He looked like he was in pretty good control out there."
Veterans Will McEntire and Koty Frank combined for three innings of scoreless relief, while Kansas transfer left hander Stone Hewlett closed things down in the ninth.
Arkansas was not particularly successful with runners on base, as the Hogs were 4-16 at the plate with runners on. The Razorbacks left eight total batters on base and they were 1-3 with the bases loaded on the afternoon.
Shortstop Wehiwa Aloy was the only Arkansas play with multiple hits (2) and Ben McLaughlin's two RBIs from a first inning single led the team.
"We’ve got to start picking up some runs when we have an opportunity, and a lot of times it’s with two outs," Van Horn said. "That’s how you build up a lead or catch up. But yeah, just good win. It’s a big difference between winning three out of four and winning 2-2 in an opening series like this."
Fisher began his career with a 12-pitch first inning in which he retired the first three batters he faced in college baseball. Kendall Diggs led the bottom half off with a single and Hudson White then reached via an error, which allowed McLaughlin to drive both home with a two-run single in the next at bat.
With a 2-0 lead to work with, Fisher worked another perfect frame in the top of the second. The frosh ran into a pair of two-out baserunners in the top of the third, but a 4-3 double play courtesy of second baseman Peyton Holt helped Fisher get through his third scoreless frame.
Sophomore slugger Jayson Jones finally got his first hit of the season with a 107 mile per hour RBI single in the bottom of the third to make it a 3-0 lead for Arkansas entering the fourth inning.
"That was really good to see," Van Horn said. "He swung the bat really well in batting practice today on the field. First time we’ve hit on the field since last week sometime. I felt like Friday — and again, it might have been because of cold weather — a little stiffer and slower. Today was loose and free in BP, basically. Then that’s what I saw in the game."Y
Fisher responded from a one-out single by racking up back-to-back strikeouts in the top of the fourth to close out another scoreless frame. After Arkansas went down in order in the bottom of the fourth, Fisher worked his fifth and final scoreless frame while adding his fourth strikeout of the game in the top of the fifth.
"My mindset was kind of throw strikes and trust the defense, because they were making some great plays," Fisher said. "If they’re making plays like that, you might as well throw it in the zone and let them hit it. So, I was excited."
Sixth-year senior righty Koty Frank relieved Fisher to being the sixth inning and he went 1-2-3 in the top half to keep JMU scoreless. The Razorbacks were retired in order for the second straight inning in the bottom of the sixth and Van Horn turned to McEntire in the top half of the seventh inning.
McEntire worked a pair of perfect frames in the seventh and eighth while an RBI single from Aloy gave the Razorbacks some extra insurance in the bottom of the seventh. Hewlett stranded a pair of two-out baserunners in the top of the ninth to complete the shutout for the Razorbacks and secure the series win.
Up next, the No. 3 Razorbacks will make the trip down to Arlington, Texas, for the College Baseball Series at Globe Life Field, the home of the Texas Rangers. Arkansas' first matchup will be Friday at 7 p.m. CT against No. 7 Oregon State. The game will be available to stream by purchasing a subscription to FloSports.
