Arkansas has its second SEC road series of 2022 this weekend at Florida. Here's everything you need to know ahead of the three games in Gainesville...
Schedule, How to Watch
Thursday, April 7 – 5 p.m. CT (SEC Network)
Friday, April 8 – 5:30 p.m. CT (SECN+)
Saturday, April 9 – 12 p.m. CT (SECN+)
Weather Report
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Weekend Rotation
Arkansas will go back to the proven rotation it has rolled out in every series of the 2022 season.
Noland and Smith are both coming off wins in the Mississippi State series, while Wiggins didn’t factor into the decision in Sunday’s 5-3 loss.
In 2021, both Noland and Wiggins made an appearance during the Florida series in Fayetteville, although neither have a start against the Gators in their careers.
Both appeared in the 9-3 Arkansas victory on May 22, but Wiggins had the more effective outing. As a freshman, he hurled three innings of scoreless ball while striking out two, allowing two hits and walking none. Noland, on the other hand, allowed a run in his lone inning on the bump.
On the flip side, the Gators’ rotation is less settled, as evidenced by them leaving Sunday open as a TBA.
Barco is the bonafide ace, popping up on the SEC leaderboards in nearly every statistical category. His 1.87 ERA is sixth in the league among qualified pitchers, .169 batting average allowed is fourth – edging Wiggins by less than a hundredth of a point – 58 strikeouts are second and five wins are tied for fifth. That is all in 43 1/3 innings of work, which is the third most in the SEC.
Earlier this week, Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn had high praise for the southpaw, deeming him the “No. 1 left-handed starter” and “highest potential draft choice” in the SEC.
The sophomore has a deep pitch repertoire. Mainly utilizing a fastball in the mid-90s and a slider as his swing-and-miss pitch, he’ll also throw a curveball as a setup pitch and mix in a changeup occasionally.
In three SEC starts against Alabama, LSU and Georgia, he’s pitched 20 innings and allowed only four runs on 13 hits and nine free passes while striking out 24. His most recent start against the Bulldogs was his least effective, being pulled after five innings and allowing a trio of runs.
He could prove to be a nightmare for Razorback hitters, as their numbers against lefties are much worse than when they face right handers. In 2022, the Arkansas bats have put up a very solid .292 batting average against righties while hitting a lowly .247 against lefties.
“Them throwing a lefty, does it make a difference who we’re going to start?” Van Horn said after Tuesday’s victory over UCA. “It could maybe at one position, but I don’t know. You just kind of keep it and go with what’s working.”
The Gators’ Friday starter, Sproat, had a hot start to the season, but has struggled some as his workload increased. Primarily a reliever in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, he was electric out of the bullpen, getting his heater up to 99 mph with run and sink consistently.
Since he’s been slotted into the starting rotation, however, he’s been more in the 94-96 mph range. He pairs that with an above-average slider and an uncommonly used changeup.
Through his first 15 1/3 innings in 2022, he allowed only two runs to cross home. In the past 23 2/3 innings, he’s allowed 15 runs, 12 of which came against SEC competition, even though his strikeout and walk rates remain consistent. Although he’s only allowed a single round tripper on the year, he’s been somewhat hittable and doesn’t usually last very long into starts. The Razorbacks will look to jump on him early in the game.
Florida has yet to name a starter, but sixth-year senior Garrett Milchin got the nod last weekend. The right-hander has had a very up-and-down career. In his first year on campus in 2017, he had a solid year, tossing 27 1/3 innings and holding a very respectable 3.28 ERA to go along with a .214 batting average allowed.
Due to an array of injuries and a redshirt year in 2018, he didn’t appear in a game again until last season. He wasn’t great, posting a 4.98 ERA in 21 2/3 innings.
This season, on the other hand, he’s shown some improvement. He is by no means a strikeout guy, only sitting down five batters on strikes through 13 1/3 innings this season, but he’ll pound the zone, as evidenced by his low walk rate.
His consistency in the zone does lead to him being hit around at times, though, as he surrenders more than a hit per inning and has allowed opponents to bat .321 when he’s in the game so far in 2022. His lone outing over 2 1/3 innings this season was against Florida A&M, when he went five innings, so expect Saturday to be more of a bullpen day for the Gators.
Projected Starting Lineups
(NOTE: Jace Bohrofen, who homered twice in Arkansas' midweek game, could potentially start at DH or play in the outfield. He has a .216/.275/.486 slash line.)
Know the Foe
2022 record: 19-10 (3-6 SEC)
Head Coach: Kevin O’Sullivan (15th season, 585-278)
Conference standings: t-4th in SEC East, tied for last in SEC overall
~The Gators are coming off a 2021 season where they were the unanimous preseason #1 ranked team in the country. They went onto a 38-22 (17-13 SEC) record and finished third in the SEC East. Finishing the season with a #25 ranking in the Coaches Poll, they were eliminated in their own regional after losing 5-3 to South Florida and 19-1 to South Alabama.
~Jud Fabian was drafted in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft with the 40th overall pick by the Boston Red Sox. After they were unable to agree to terms on a contract, he elected to return to Gainesville for his junior year. Although he’s put together a good year to date, mlb.com only has him ranked as the #45 overall draft prospect for 2022. Robert Moore, Cayden Wallace, and even the injured Peyton Pallette all rank higher than him. Despite that, he’s coming into this series off a red-hot month, leading the conference in home runs, slugging percentage, walks and total bases in March. His 13 home runs on the year currently are tied for second in the nation, only trailing Virginia’s Jake Gelof by one.
~Although the Gators completed solid road series wins over #22 Miami and Alabama, they’ve recently dropped two series in a row, losing two of three to #21 LSU at home and were swept in Athens, Ga. by the Bulldogs last weekend. Their most egregious series of the year came in the season opener, when they squandered a game one win against Liberty, losing the last two to be defeated in two of three games. They tend to win series openers – when they have Barco on the mound- winning the first game of a three-game series five of seven times. On the other hand, they’ve only won a rubber match in two of seven tries.
~The Gator’s won’t blow anyone away with their speed on the basepaths. Compared to Arkansas, who’s 23 of 25 on stolen base attempts on the year, the Gators have only converted 21 of 28 tries (12th in the SEC). Their leading base thief is Wyatt Langford, who’s swiped five on seven attempts. They’re also considerably worse than the Razorbacks at defending stolen bases. While the Hogs have thrown out 13 of 40 base stealers, the Gators are much more generous, denying five of 27.
~The aforementioned lack of speed also leaves them susceptible to the double play. They’ve grounded into 16 this season, which is the third most in the conference. The Razorbacks will surely try to take advantage of this, as they have turned two 22 times on the year. That’s the third most in the conference as well.
~Similar to Arkansas’ previous SEC opponent, Mississippi State, Florida is a good defensive team. Their .981 fielding percentage ranks third in the conference behind the Bulldogs and Razorbacks. It is to be seen if they will utilize defensive shifts as frequently as Mississippi State, though.
