Game Preview: Arkansas travels to Memphis to take on Tigers
Gafford announces his return to Arkansas for sophomore season
HD VIDEO: Clips from Rivals Camp Dallas
Hogs making strong impression on Major
WHO: No. 5 Arkansas (17-7, 4-2) vs. Memphis (8-16, 0-3)
WHERE: AutoZone Park, Memphis (Tenn.)
WHEN: Tuesday 6:30 pm (CDT)
TV: N/A
Arkansas’ roadtrip continues as the Hogs make their way to Tennessee to tackle the Memphis Tigers for the fourth straight season on Tuesday night. The game will take place in AutoZone Park, home to the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds.
The Razorbacks (17-7) are coming off a rough week where they went 1-3 against Charlotte and No.2 Florida. Arkansas was supposed to play two games against the 49ers but rain dropped it to one game, where they lost 6-3. Poor hitting in scoring opportunities and untimely errors spoiled the Hogs’ chances of winning their second straight SEC series against a top-five team. Arkansas took game one from Florida, but dropped the second 17-2 and fell in a close game three, 5-4.
The Tigers (8-16) have struggled to find their way all season long, losing over half their games, including a sweep at the hands of Houston this past weekend. Memphis split a two-game series with Arkansas-Little Rock earlier this year. They are 0-3 so far against SEC opponents and 1-1 in neutral site games.
Dave Van Horn will give junior Jake Reindl (1-1, 5.23 ERA) his first start of his Razorback career on Tuesday against the Tigers’ lefty Danny Denz (1-1, 3.24 ERA).
Here are three things to know about the Tigers of Memphis:
Memphis’ starting pitcher is familiar with midweek appearances.
The Tigers will send out sophomore Danny Denz to the mound Tuesday. Denz will be making his fourth straight midweek start. Although he’s only been credited with one victory, Memphis has won three out of his four midweek starts. So far this year, he has an ERA of 3.24 with 29 strikeouts in 25 innings of work.
A senior outfielder leads the charge.
Outfielder Tyler Webb currently leads the team in batting average (.315), hits (28) and runs scored (15). Webb has 10 doubles and 1 homer on the year while striking out 11 times in 89 at bats. He had a season-high 3 hits and 4 RBIs in a victory over Mississippi Valley. On the defensive side of the ball, Webb has yet to commit an error this season.
The Tigers have given SEC opponents a run for their money.
Memphis played No. 4 Ole Miss in Oxford on February 20. The Tigers racked up 13 hits in a close 8-6 loss to the Rebels. Shortstop Alec Trela tallied 3 hits while third baseman Kyle O’Keefe racked up 2 RBIs and a home run. The Tigers lost a one-run game to Tennessee on March 3. They could only muster 1 run on a homer in the eighth and 3 hits in the 2-1 defeat. Memphis took on Auburn 11 days later and lost by one run again, 5-4. So while the Tigers are 0-3 against the SEC, their three losses are by a combined 4 runs.