HawgBeat Preview: Arkansas, UALR set to play historic game
Arkansas will try to snap its two-game losing streak when it hosts UALR on Tuesday. Here is a preview of the midweek matchup…
Schedule (TV)
Tuesday - April 2 - 6:30 p.m. CT (SECN+)
The game will be streamed on SEC Network-plus, meaning it can be watched online on ESPN3.com or on the WatchESPN app.
Weather Report
It should be beautiful conditions for Arkansas’ game Tuesday night, with temperatures starting in the low-60s before dipping into the mid- to upper-50s after sunset, according to the Weather Channel. The wind might be a factor early, but it’ll settle down as the game progresses. There is no chance for rain.
Arkansas’ Starting Pitcher (season stats)
Tuesday - Fr. LHP Patrick Wicklander (11 games/5 starts, 2-1, 5.11 ERA, 37 K/15 BB, 24 2/3 IP)
Considering his struggles out of the bullpen on the weekends, head coach Dave Van Horn said he might let Wicklander actually go deep into the game against UALR, depending on how he’s pitching.
“I just feel like the kid, he needs to pitch,” Van Horn said. “He gives us a couple of innings here and there and we keep pulling him out, saving him for the weekends, and we don’t use him a whole lot on the weekend. If he’s throwing good, maybe we just let him go.”
Wicklander’s splits as a starter and reliever are well-documented, but here they are again:
~Starter: 5 games, 2.84 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 19 innings, 62.1 percent of pitches are strikes
~Reliever: 6 games, 12.71 ERA, 2.65 WHIP, 5 2/3 innings, 55.8 percent of pitches are strikes
With Jacob Kostyshock, one of their top bullpen arms, out with an injury and the Auburn series set to begin on Thursday, Van Horn will have to navigate Tuesday’s pitching carefully if the offense can’t produce a lot of runs. If the Razorbacks do score early and often, fans are likely to see several other freshmen after Wicklander.
In the Polls
After losing its first series of the season and first home series since 2017, Arkansas fell four spots to No. 12 in the latest HawgBeat Composite Poll. UALR is unranked and checks in at No. 187 in the RPI, where the Razorbacks are No. 6.
Scouting the Opponent
UALR’s starting pitcher (season stats)
Tuesday - Jr. RHP McKinley Moore (8 games/2 starts), 0-2, 9.00 ERA, 12 K/10 BB, 10 IP)
The Trojans are off to a 5-4 start in Sun Belt play, but have struggled to a 5-14 record in non-conference play, making them 10-18 overall.
Arkansas is the third SEC team on UALR’s schedule, as it lost to Ole Miss 11-8 and Mississippi State 15-4 last month. The Trojans are riding a three-game winning streak, though, using a walk-off squeeze bunt Sunday to complete a sweep of Georgia State over the weekend.
Much like some of the other mid-major teams the Razorbacks played earlier in the season, UALR has a lot of upperclassmen on its team. In fact, only one of its regular starters is an underclassmen. The other eight include six seniors and two juniors.
“They’re going to have a lot of junior college kids and they’re always going to have an older team,” Van Horn said. “They’re going to have four or five JC guys starting.”
Senior right fielder Ryan Benavidez leads the way, as he’s reached base in 18 straight games and has a team-high .330 batting average to go along with five home runs and 17 RBIs.
Although he’s hitting just under .300 at .298, senior first baseman James Gann leads the Trojans in the other two Triple Crown categories with seven home runs and 20 RBIs. Riding a seven-game hitting streak, senior designated hitter Riley Pittman has raised his batting average to .304 with four home runs and 19 RBIs.
Ramon Padilla missed most of the first month of the season, but has been one of UALR’s hottest hitters since returning a couple of weeks ago. The junior catcher is 9 for 29 (.360) with five RBIs over the last six games.
One name Arkansas fans might remember from the fall scrimmage between the two teams is Troy Alexander, as the senior left fielder absolutely crushed a solo home run off Kostyshock. His batting average is just .212 this season, but he does have five home runs and 16 RBIs.
On the mound, the Trojans are starting Moore, a 6-foot-6 right-hander. He seems to have good stuff, limiting opponents to a .250 batting average, but struggles with his command. He has 10 walks in 10 innings, which is similar to what he did in the fall scrimmage against Arkansas. Despite loading the bases with a pair of walks and a hit by pitch, Moore completed the scoreless inning with a couple of strikeouts.
If it’s a close game, it wouldn’t be surprising to see sophomore right-hander Hayden Arnold, who has been arguably UALR’s top pitcher. The Rison native who played high school ball at Watson Chapel has a team-best 3.14 ERA, 31 strikeouts and 13 walks in 28 2/3 innings.
Historical Significance
This is not your typical midweek matchup for Arkansas. After a decades-long ban, it marks the first time the Razorbacks have ever played an in-state school in baseball during the regular season.
Last year, athletics director Hunter Yurachek loosened the in-state restrictions that had been in place since before Frank Broyles arrived in Fayetteville, allowing the Razorbacks to schedule schools within the University of Arkansas system.
Arkansas hasn’t played an in-state school in football since beating UA-Monticello 41-0 in 1944 and the last time it faced one in the regular season in basketball was during the 1950-51 season.
“I think it’s great that on a Tuesday night you’ve got two Arkansas schools playing each other and there should be a little more interest,” Van Horn said. “I just think it’s good for the state and I think it’s good for baseball in the state of Arkansas.”
The two teams played a 14-inning scrimmage that Arkansas won 16-3 in Little Rock on Oct. 12. It was played in front of a sellout crowd at UALR’s Gary Hogan Field.
“I think it was good we played in the fall, just because we’ve seen each other and maybe it takes a little stress off of both of us,” Van Horn said. “We both want to win but it’s not life or death.”
Although playing in-state schools has always been a hot topic among fans, Van Horn said he has received mostly positive feedback from the fans he talks to.
He also gets the sense that UALR and UAPB - which visits Fayetteville on April 16 - are excited and thankful to get the opportunity to play at Baum-Walker Stadium. Eventually, the Razorbacks will play games at their home ballparks, as well, Van Horn said.
Curry Connection
Another great storyline going into this midweek matchup is that it pits Van Horn against one of his former assistants. UALR head coach Chris Curry was a volunteer assistant at Arkansas in 2009 and 2010.
“He’s one of the better coaches I’ve ever been around,” Van Horn said. “He’s really smart. I think catchers make good coaches and he’s a good one.”
Curry spent several seasons as a catcher in the minor leagues, reaching Triple-A at one point, before beginning his coaching career.
When the Conway, Ark., native made it to Fayetteville, he worked with a true freshman named James McCann. By the end of the 2009 season, McCann had established himself as a starter and he went on to become a second-round draft pick and now plays for the Chicago White Sox.
“I think he maybe calmed him down and helped develop him and taught him some tricks of the trade and probably advanced him a little bit,” Van Horn said. “(McCann) was our guy and he did it as a true freshman. … I think Chris helped in his development and helped him move on.”
Lineup Changes
Aside from a couple of games in Alabama, Arkansas has struggled to score runs in SEC play. The Razorbacks are averaging 4.9 runs, but half of their total runs came in their two wins over the Crimson Tide. Take those away and the average dips to 3.1 runs per game.
In an effort to jump start his offense, Van Horn mentioned at the Swatter’s Club meeting Monday that he would likely shuffle his lineup for the first time this season.
“We could move two or three guys around, just to try to change it up a little bit, see if we can get a little more production,” Van Horn said. “We’ve got to get guys in the top of the order to drive in runs.
“We just have to get something that flows. We’ll experiment a little bit and see how it turns out.”
Stat of the Midweek
Although this will be Arkansas’ first regular-season game against an in-state foe in baseball, the Razorbacks have played in-state opponents in other sports.
The men’s basketball team is 24-0 all-time against other Arkansas teams, most recently beating Arkansas State 67-64 in overtime in the first round of the 1987 NIT. The women’s basketball team is 17-11, most recently losing to Arkansas State 98-84 in the first round of the 2005 WNIT.
The football team is 46-5-3 in such games, with all of them occurring before the conclusion of World War II. Two of the losses were to Ouachita Baptist, another was to Little Rock High School and the others were to war-time institutions.
UA-Monticello was aided by participating in the V-12 Navy College Training Program when it beat the Razorbacks in 1943, while the other loss was to Camp Pike - now Camp Robinson - during World War I.
All together, those three sports have an 87-16-3 record (.835) against in-state opponents.
Stat Comparison - Arkansas | UALR (national rank, out of 297 teams)
Batting average: .291 (42nd) | .257 (168th)
Slugging percentage: .457 (27th) | .396 (123rd)
On-base percentage: .388 (52nd) | .366 (133rd)
Home runs: 29 (t-26th) | 26 (t-43rd)
Runs/game: 7.1 (38th) | 5.9 (139th)
ERA: 3.42 (36th) | 5.78 (217th)
WHIP: 1.19 (20th) | 1.65 (224th)
Strikeouts/9 innings: 10.0 (21st) | 8.5 (129th)
Strikeout-to-walk ratio: 2.70 (28th) | 1.70 (196th)
Fielding percentage: .974 (67th) | .954 (262nd)
Stolen bases/game: 1.64 (t-53rd) | 0.93 (t-173rd)
Preview Video
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