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FAYETTEVILLE — The only thing that could slow down Arkansas’ bats Sunday afternoon was Mother Nature.
The Razorbacks pounded out nine extra-base hits - including three home runs - before a steady rain made the field unplayable and led to the game being halted in the middle of the fifth inning with Arkansas up 11-4 on Southeast Missouri State.
Because SEMO got to hit in the top of the fifth and the Razorbacks were leading, the game was deemed official when it was called following a 30-minute delay.
“Obviously the conditions on the field were pretty bad, really from about the second inning on,” head coach Dave Van Horn said. “Really the decision at the end of the game was just the surface was getting so slick on the turns - coming around first, second and third.”
Despite going to the plate just four times and going three up, three down in the first inning, Arkansas managed to rack up 11 runs on 12 hits. Half of those hits were doubles, each by a different player.
It was the long ball that got the scoring started, though, as freshman Cayden Wallace went an 0-1 pitch into the Hog Pen for a leadoff home run. It was his second home run in three games.
Brady Slavens followed by turning on a 1-1 pitch and nearly hitting it over the scoreboard. Instead, it hit the first “A” in the “Baum-Walker” signage at the top of it for his third home run of the season, tying Christian Franklin for the team lead.
Each of them added a double in the fourth inning, immediately after Matt Goodheart crushed a two-run home run off the scoreboard.
Those swings gave Arkansas 10 home runs during the four-game sweep of SEMO. It also hit 11 doubles and a triple against the Redhawks, slugging .654 in the series. The Razorbacks had just four total extra-base hits and a .309 slugging percentage in their 3-0 start in Arlington, Texas.
“It was good to hit some home runs,” Van Horn said. “I think that we’ve taken some good swings, but it’s nice to hit the ball over somebody’s head, hit some doubles, not just singles. We feel like there’s some guys up and down that lineup that can juice the ball.”
Update on Opitz
There was a scary moment during the bottom of the third inning when Casey Opitz collided with SEMO first baseman Austin Blazevic.
The preseason All-SEC catcher hit a slow ground ball down the first base line that the pitcher fielded, but his throw was wild - likely because the ball was wet - and took Blazevic into Opitz’s path. The 6-foot-2, 203-pound first baseman then landed on Opitz.
After laying on the ground for a while and being examined by the trainer as an anxious Baum-Walker Stadium crowd looked on quietly, Opitz eventually got up and was able to walk off the field under his own power.
Van Horn told reporters that he passed concussion protocols and it doesn’t seem like he was seriously injured on the play.
“He did kind of hurt his wrist a little bit when he went down, but it was looked at (and) there was no breaks or anything,” Van Horn said. “It’s just sore. We’re keeping an eye on that, icing it a little bit. He’s in good spirits and looks like he’s going to be okay.”
