College Students, get a year of HawgBeat coverage for just $11.95. Request details via email from your school account (.edu) to nchavanelle@yahoo.com.
Not a subscriber? Subscribe for free for 30 days w/code HAWGS30
NEW USERS | RETURNING USERS
FAYETTEVILLE — No comeback was needed Sunday afternoon, as Arkansas used the sac fly and a big fly to cruise to an easy victory.
Jacob Nesbit launched a three-run home run in the fourth and three others drove in runs with sacrifice flies to help the Razorbacks beat Murray State 6-0 at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Not only did the win complete a sweep of the Racers, but it improved Arkansas to 10-0 on the season. That is its best start since 2003, when it won the first 10 games of head coach Dave Van Horn’s tenure.
“It feels great because of the competition we’ve played,” Van Horn said. “It’s not like we just sat here and played a bunch of mid-majors and got after them. We had to fight for wins. You win 10 in a row, you don’t expect to do that.
“You look at what’s going on around the country, mid-majors are beating the big schools all the time. To beat who we’ve beaten, I’m real proud of the guys - I told them that - for showing up every day and getting after it.”
After needing an eighth-inning homer to win Game 1 and falling behind 4-0 early before rallying to win Game 2, the Razorbacks struck first in the final game of the series by taking a 1-0 lead in the opening frame.
That remained the score until the fourth. Jalen Battles and Zack Gregory reached on back-to-back walks to chase starter Jack Wenninger, and then Nesbit hit the second pitch thrown by reliever Nathaniel Gorczyca into the left field bullpen.
“I was just sitting on a fastball,” Nesbit said. “I swung through the first pitch. I thought I got a good swing off on it, though. Then he threw me another fastball and I got the barrel to it, and it felt really good.”
The three-run homer - the fifth long ball of his career - gave Arkansas a 4-0 lead, which was plenty of run support on a day the pitching staff combined for a shutout.
“Obviously he’s not known for hitting home runs, but he’s gotten a lot of big, clutch hits for us over the last two-plus seasons, so that was another one,” Van Horn said. “That gave us a chance to go up 4-0 at the time, really gave us a nice cushion.”
It was also a big swing for the veteran player who had been struggling at the plate. Before hitting the home run, Nesbit was hitless with six strikeouts in seven at bats.
Despite being a full-time starter as a redshirt freshman on the 2019 College World Series team and starting every game last year, he was pinch hit for twice during the opening weekend in Arlington, Texas, and removed from the lineup entirely since returning to Fayetteville.
Van Horn praised Nesbit for continuing to have a good demeanor even though he made just one appearance as a late-innings defensive replacement in the four-game sweep of SEMO last weekend and not playing at all in the first two games against Murray State.
“It’s pretty much been business as usual for me,” Nesbit said. “I show up and get my work in. I’m around the guys and love every second of it. I’m just trying to be as good of a teammate as I can. We’re rolling right now and it’s awesome to see and be a part of.”
Using the Sac Fly
The home run by Nesbit was one of only five hits for the Razorbacks in the game. Instead, they used a little bit of small ball and 11 free passes to scratch across the other half of their runs.
“We didn’t go out of the zone too much,” Van Horn said. “It was one of those days that, I even told them before the game, the way the wind was blowing in hard - totally different from the first two days - that we were probably going to have to manufacture some things.”
In the home half of the first, Robert Moore drew a leadoff walk and went first-to-third on Christian Franklin’s single to set up Brady Slavens’ sacrifice fly to make it 1-0.
Arkansas added a pair of insurance runs in the fifth inning via the sacrifice fly, as well.
