Key veterans scuffling at the plate for Arkansas
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FAYETTEVILLE — Since opening the season with 12 straight wins and soaring to No. 1 in the rankings, Arkansas has lost its last two games to Louisiana Tech and Oklahoma.
It seems part of the Razorbacks’ struggles have been on the offensive side. During their winning streak, they were able to get hits when it mattered in the late innings, but the two losses ended when the potential go-ahead and game-tying runs struck out.
On Sunday, Arkansas managed only two hits in a 2-0 shutout loss to the Bulldogs. The offense was a little better, but not great in an 8-5 loss to the Sooners on Tuesday.
What has frustrated head coach Dave Van Horn the most is that multiple veteran players have not been hitting the ball recently. The three most prominent players who have been struggling are junior center fielder Christian Franklin, senior designated hitter Matt Goodheart and senior third baseman Cullen Smith.
“We’re not nearly as good as we can be,” Van Horn said. “Offensively, we’ve got some older guys hitting .250, .255, .245. Those guys got to get it going. They know who they are. Those are our older guys, they’re guys that are supposed to lead us. Hopefully we’ll kick it into gear.”
Over the past five games, each of them have seen their batting average drop significantly. Franklin is down to .255, Goodheart at .250 and Smith is down to .244.
In those games, Franklin is 2 for 19 with 6 strikeouts, Goodheart is 3 for 16 with 4 strikeouts and Smith is 1 for 14 with 7 strikeouts. Combined, that trio - the first two of which were preseason All-SEC selections and the latter of which was the team’s most consistent hitter this fall - hit just .122 and struck out in nearly 35 percent of their at bats.
Another notable player struggling of late is junior shortstop Jalen Battles. His average over the last seven games has dropped from .379 to a still-respectable .286. He has gone 2 for 13 with 5 strikeouts over the last five games, but he has drawn six walks over the last five games and launched the winning home run against Louisiana Tech on Friday.
“You just practice, work on things, watch video and show them what they’re doing wrong,” Van Horn said. “Sometimes it’s just mental. They start second guessing themselves and you can kind of see it in body language when things aren’t going their way. It’s a tough game, it’s a long season, but for us to do well in league play, we’ve got to have our veterans swing the bat.”
Coming into this season, Goodheart had a career average of .335 for his time in Fayetteville. Franklin has a career average of .299 and Cullen Smith had a career .300 average before arriving at Arkansas.
All three guys have hit at a high level for their college careers, so their simultaneous drop in average is surprising, especially for Goodheart.
Franklin struggled some during conference play last year, finishing the season with a .274 average against SEC competition. He has been a streaky hitter at times in his tenure at Arkansas, but he seemed primed for a breakout season as a preseason All-American and possible first-round pick.
Smith has not played a SEC-level schedule yet, coming over from East Tennessee State, so an adjustment period can be expected.
However, Goodheart has been a very consistent hitter in college, hitting above .300 in each of his two seasons with the Razorbacks. He was a second-team All-SEC selection in 2018 and has been a preseason first-team pick each of the last two years.
Based on their past experience in college baseball, those players should be able to turn it around at the plate. Arkansas hopes that happens sooner rather than later, though, with SEC play on the horizon.
“Everybody's not going to do it every game,” Van Horn said. “We just need some tougher at-bats from other guys. We need some of our older players to start swinging the bat better."
The Razorbacks open conference play with a home series against Alabama this weekend. Game 1 is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT Friday and will be streamed on SEC Network-Plus.