McEntire's vintage performance leads Arkansas to Opening Day victory
FAYETTEVILLE — Entering Arkansas' season-opener against James Madison on Friday, all eyes were on Razorbacks left-handed ace Hagen Smith. By the time the game ended in a 6-4 win for the Diamond Hogs, fifth-year senior right-hander Will McEntire's relief outing was the game's biggest storyline.
Across 5.2 innings of relief, McEntire threw 71 total pitches (48 for strikes) and he gave up just one earned run on three hits while striking out six and walking one. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound righty picked up the win for the Diamond Hogs on Friday.
The outing marked McEntire's fifth relief appearance of five-plus innings dating back to last season. He made his first relief appearance of 2023 on April 28 against Texas A&M and he has proven to be a very valuable long-relief option for head coach Dave Van Horn and company.
"The game settled down a lot because of Will McEntire," Van Horn said postgame. "He just did a tremendous job of coming in out of the pen and just letting us climb back in the game and get the lead. After that we didn’t hit as much. We hit a few balls hards but we just didn’t get that big hit."
McEntire got the job done on an overcast day that featured temperatures in the low 40s in Fayetteville.
"You can’t really feel your hands as much as you would when it’s warmer," McEntire said. "Your toes are cold. You just feel stiff the whole time, but it’s baseball. You’re going to play outside a majority of the time, so you just have to gut through it."
Smith's start to the season was not ideal, as he put the first two batters he faced on base and then JMU star Fenwick Trimble took Smith deep to center for a three-run homer before the Arkansas lefty could even record an out.
The D1Baseball preseason SEC Pitcher of the Year escaped the top of the first without giving up another run, but Smith threw 42 pitches in the frame and did not return to the mound in the top of the second. Arkansas plated a pair in the bottom of the first via RBI singles from Ben McLaughlin and Peyton Holt to make the deficit one run.
"Yeah, he hits a guy 0-2, a foul tip jumps out of the glove and all of a sudden you’re down 3-0," Van Horn said. "He just - you know - I don’t know. He’ll be a lot better next week."
Van Horn turned to McEntire, who sat down the first three batters he faced while recording two strikeouts in the process. Richmond transfer Jared Sprague-Lott and Texas Tech transfer Hudson White both hit solo homers in the bottom of the second to give Arkansas its first lead of the season.
McEntire worked his third straight scoreless frame in the top of the fourth and the Hogs were then held to their first scoreless inning of the contest in the bottom half.
In vintage McEntire fashion, he got better the longer he threw. In the top of the fifth, the fifth-year senior tossed just seven pitches while picking up his fifth strikeout and facing the minimum for the third time.
The Bryant native returned to the mound in the sixth for his fifth frame of the afternoon. While he allowed an RBI groundout that plated JMU's fourth run, McEntire retired three of the four batters faced to give up just the one run.
It was somewhat of a surprise to see McEntire return in the top of the seventh, but he earned his first out on one pitch. After issuing a walk, McEntire saw his third batter in the frame reach on a fielder's choice after replay review declared him safe.
The time spent reviewing the play allowed sophomore right-hander Gage Wood to get warm enough to come on with two outs in the top of the seventh to relieve McEntire after 5 2/3 innings pitched on the day.
"That’s just what Will does man," catcher Hudson White said. "Every time I’ve caught him, he’s been like that. Super consistent, does a great job keeping hitters off balance. Hits spots. He’s just done an awesome job.”
Wood struck out the first batter he faced to close the line on McEntire. A sophomore out of Batesville, Wood finished the game out by throwing 2 1/3 scoreless and striking out four batters to earn the save in the Razorbacks' Opening Day victory.
Up next, the Razorbacks will take on the Dukes on Saturday at Baum-Walker Stadium for Game 2 of a four-game series. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. CT and the game will be streamed live on the SEC Network+.