DVH eyes 600th win in first game of Tony Gwynn Classic
Mike Anderson previews Saturday's Alabama game
Q&A: Henry talks Razorbacks, latest visits
Hogs extend seventh in-state offer
WHAT: No. 3 Arkansas (4-0) vs. Cal Poly (1-3)
WHERE: Tony Gwynn Stadium, San Diego (Calif.)
WHEN: Friday 3 p.m. (CST)
TV: Cox Sports Television
After a thrilling one-run victory over Arizona on Wednesday night, Arkansas jumps right into the Tony Gwynn Classic, starting with Cal Poly on Friday afternoon. With a win, Razorback head coach Dave Van Horn would reach his 600th victory at Arkansas.
The Hogs (4-0) have shown they can get the job done at the plate as well as on the mound. Arkansas scored 46 combined runs in their first two games with Bucknell, but in the finale against the Bison and the Arizona victory they prevailed with just 4 total runs.
The Mustangs (1-3) opened the 2018 season by playing in the College Baseball Classic in Surprise (Ariz.). California Polytechnic State University, located in San Luis Obispo, sits a little over 300 miles north of San Diego.
Arkansas ace Blaine Knight (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 4 K’s, 2 BB) is expected to make his second appearance of the year, this time against Cal Poly’s righty Michael Clark (0-0, 5.40 ERA, 3 K’s, 2 BB).
Here are three things to know about the Mustangs of Cal Poly:
Surprisingly, Arkansas isn’t the highest-ranked team the Mustangs have played.
In the third game of the year, Cal Poly faced off against No. 2 Oregon State in the College Baseball Classic. The Mustangs lost 16-7, giving up 20 hits to the Beavers. However, Cal Poly did notch 13 hits and 2 home runs of their own. Despite the negative outcome, playing another high-caliber opponent could prove helpful for the Mustangs against Arkansas.
Cal Poly hits .259 as a team with 5 home runs, 20 RBIs and 16 walks.
The Mustangs come in with 30 fewer runs scored than Arkansas, but they have the ability to put the bat on the ball. Cal Poly enters the matchup with 5 home runs on the season (five more than Arizona). Junior infielder Kyle Marinconz leads the Mustangs with 2 homers of his own. Catcher Nick Meyer has the Mustangs highest batting average with .429 (6 for 14). Infielder Bradlee Beesley is only hitting .167 for the year, but has the most RBIs on the squad with 5.
The Mustangs lone victory was an impressive 10-inning comeback.
Gonzaga jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the eighth inning of the first game of the season, but Cal Poly managed to score 5 unearned runs in the top of the ninth, sending the game to extra innings. Sophomore infielder Scott Ogrin hit a two-out solo blast in the tenth inning to win the game. Gonzaga’s only other loss on the season was to No. 2 Oregon State, 4-3.