The Razorbacks’ “Murderer’s Row” part of their schedule continues this weekend with a road trip to Vanderbilt. Here’s a preview of the three-game series…
Schedule (TV)
Friday, April 12 - 7 p.m. CT (SECN)
Saturday, April 13 - 8 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
Sunday, April 14 - 1 p.m. CT (SECN+)
The first two games of the series will actually be televised, with the first being on the SEC Network and the second being on ESPNU. Arkansas has had four previous games televised, going 1-1 against Texas on the Longhorn Network and 1-1 against Ole Miss (win on ESPNU, loss on SEC Network).
Game 3 will only be available on SEC Network-plus, meaning it can be watched online on ESPN3.com or on the WatchESPN app. As always, the other two games will also be streamed online.
Weather Report
Rain could force Arkansas and Vanderbilt to alter this weekend’s series. It looks like they will be able to play the game at 7 p.m. Friday night, but there is a 90 percent chance of rain Saturday and 80 percent chance Sunday.
Temperatures will be in the low-70s and 60s most of the weekend, with high winds (19 mph out of the south-southwest) predicted for the final day of the series.
Arkansas’ Starting Rotation (season stats)
Friday - R-Jr. RHP Isaiah Campbell (8 games/8 starts, 6-0, 2.29 ERA, 59 K/10 BB, 51 IP)
Saturday - Fr. RHP Connor Noland (9 games/8 starts, 0-1, 4.59 ERA, 22 K/9 BB, 33 1/3 IP)
Sunday - TBA
With Jacob Kostyshock still out with an injury, head coach Dave Van Horn is sticking to the same pitching plan he used last weekend at Auburn.
Campbell and Noland will start the first two games, but usual Game 3 starter Cody Scroggins (2-0, 3.13 ERA) will be available out of the bullpen. If the redshirt junior right-hander doesn’t pitch in either of those games, he would still start Sunday’s game.
Left-hander Patrick Wicklander (3-1, 3.82 ERA) would presumably start Game 3 if Scroggins pitches in relief, as he did last weekend. In his first SEC start, the freshman threw five scoreless innings against the Tigers. That lowered his ERA as a starter to 1.98 in 27 1/3 innings, compared to 12.71 in 5 2/3 innings as a reliever.
In the Polls
This will be a top-10 matchup, as Arkansas is No. 10 and Vanderbilt is No. 7 in the latest HawgBeat Composite Poll. It is also a meeting of two top-five RPI teams. The Commodores are No. 2 and the Razorbacks are No. 4.
Scouting the Opponent
Vanderbilt’s starting rotation (season stats)
Friday - Jr. RHP Drake Fellows (8 games/8 starts, 6-0, 3.44 ERA, 58 K/22 BB, 49 2/3 IP)
Saturday - Fr. RHP Kumar Rocker (8 games/5 starts, 2-4, 5.90 ERA, 32 K/8 BB, 29 IP)
Sunday - Sr. RHP Patrick Raby (8 games/8 starts, 5-1, 2.47 ERA, 38 K/22 BB, 40 IP)
Arkansas and Vanderbilt have identical 25-8 overall records, with the Commodores one game behind in the SEC standings at 7-5.
However, they have done so against a brutal slate that includes road conference series at No. 11 Texas A&M and No. 2 Georgia. According to D1Baseball’s RPI rankings, Vanderbilt’s strength of schedule is No. 3 behind USC and UCLA. (Arkansas isn’t too far back, checking in at No. 11.)
The Commodores have also been very good at home, posting an 18-3 record in Nashville. One of the three losses was an early-season midweek game that went 10 innings. Their most impressive weekend was last month when they swept Florida by a combined score of 34-6.
“Vanderbilt is one of the most talented teams in the country,” Van Horn said. “They’ve taken care of business at home for many years, but this year they’ve been putting the hurt on some teams. They’re going to be one of the toughest teams — if not THE toughest team — that we’ve played all year.”
As it seems like they always are, the Commodores are a complete team with good hitting (13th nationally in batting average), pitching (third nationally in strikeouts/nine innings) and fielding (third nationally in fielding percentage).
“They’ve had guys on the weekend who have thrown for them on the weekend for a couple of years and they have some guys coming out of the bullpen that are experienced,” Campbell said. “Then on the hitting side, they have a really good lineup - kind of like an Ole Miss lineup where top to bottom they’re going to be really tough to get out.”
Fellows and Raby are both back from last year’s rotation, with the latter in his fourth year as a starting pitching at Vanderbilt.
In his start against the Razorbacks in 2017, Raby gave up three earned runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out seven. He also allowed two home runs, including one by Dominic Fletcher (who actually homered twice in that series).
Fellows did not start a game in that series, but did allow two earned runs in two innings out of the bullpen. Although he has excellent numbers, he has been wild at times. In addition to his 22 walks, he also leads the team with seven wild pitches and 10 hit batsmen.
Those two bookend the rotation around Rocker, a talented freshman who was the No. 8 overall recruit in the 2018 class, according to Perfect Game. His father, Tracy, is a long-time defensive line coach in the SEC, even with a stint at Arkansas under Houston Nutt, and is now at Tennessee.
Offensively, the Commodores have a deep lineup with five regulars hitting at least .320.
Sophomore third baseman Austin Martin leads the team with a .388 batting average, which ranks fourth in the SEC, and also has three triples and three home runs.
Vanderbilt’s top offensive threat, though, is probably junior right fielder JJ Bleday. He is hitting .351 with an SEC-high 14 home runs and 41 RBIs, which ranks second in the conference. Despite the power numbers, he has shown patience with 23 walks.
Another player who could give Arkansas fits is senior shortstop Ethan Paul, who ranks third in the SEC with 40 RBIs to go along with his .354 batting average and four home runs.
Others to be aware of include sophomore center fielder Cooper Davis (.348), senior left fielder Stephen Scott (.320, team-high 12 doubles), junior second baseman Harrison Ray (10 for 11 on stolen base attempts) and sophomore catcher Philip Clarke (36 RBIs, tied for fourth in SEC).
Interestingly, Vanderbilt’s top hitter in SEC play is junior designated hitter Ty Duval. He is just 6 for 36 (.167) in non-conference play and 9 for 26 (.346) - including all five of his extra-base hits (four doubles, one home run) - against conference foes.
“It’ll just be another SEC matchup with a good team in a great atmosphere,” Heston Kjerstad said. “Just another good (series between) top teams in the SEC playing on the weekend.”
Turf Field
For the second of three times this year, Arkansas will be playing on a turf field instead of a normal grass and dirt surface this weekend
It split a pair of midweek games at Texas last month and will play at Kentucky next month, but what sets Vanderbilt’s Hawkins Field apart is that the entire field is turf, including the mound.
This was something mentioned by Van Horn and a few players following the Razorbacks’ win over Oral Roberts. In addition to being a different feel for pitchers, the turf makes the field play faster defensively.
The last time Arkansas visited the Commodores was in 2015 and it made four errors over the weekend. That gave the Razorbacks a .964 fielding percentage compared to their season mark of .975.
Stat of the Week
If it seems like the Matt Goodheart of the last four weeks is a completely different player than the first four weeks of the season, it’s because he is - kind of.
Around that time, he went to the eye doctor and got a new prescription for his contacts. The difference has been incredible. Here are those splits…
~Before: 7 for 29, 1 2B, 4 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, 9 K… .241/.290/.276
~After: 25 for 57, 6 2B, 1 HR, 15 RBI, 9 R, 10 BB, 1 HBP, 9 K… .439/.529/.596
Goodheart has had at least two hits in 10 of the 16 games during that span and has actually been more productive in the SEC games. His .462 batting average and .553 on-base percentage in conference games are 43 and 34 points ahead, respectively, of Tennessee’s Alerick Soularie for the best marks in the SEC.
“He’s been a force,” Van Horn said. “He’s got a lot of bat speed and he battles and he’s been swinging at good pitches and been laying off some borderline pitches early in the count and getting something he can handle.”
Stat Comparison - Arkansas | Vanderbilt (national rank, out of 297 teams)
Batting average: .291 (39th) | .307 (13th)
Slugging percentage: .463 (23rd) | .490 (8th)
On-base percentage: .394 (34th) | .409 (14th)
Home runs: 37 (t-20th) | 39 (t-15th)
Runs/game: 7.3 (29th) | 8.0 (14th)
ERA: 3.66 (39th) | 3.64 (38th)
WHIP: 1.26 (23rd) | 1.26 (26th)
Strikeouts/9 innings: 9.6 (33rd) | 11.0 (3rd)
Strikeout-to-walk ratio: 2.48 (46th) | 2.74 (22nd)
Fielding percentage: .971 (98th) | .982 (3rd)
Stolen bases/game: 1.52 (60th) | 1.03 (152nd)
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