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FAYETTEVILLE -- The season did not begin how Arkansas, or starter Connor Noland, had hoped Friday afternoon.
Getting the nod on Opening Day, the senior right-hander did not look the part of an ace in the first inning before settling in and giving the Razorbacks a chance in their 3-2 loss to Illinois State at Baum-Walker Stadium.
After retiring the first batter, Noland allowed four straight batters to reach - including an RBI single by Jake McCaw - and eventually balked in a run to put Arkansas in an early 2-0 hole.
Even the final two outs were sharp line drives caught by infielders, with second baseman Robert Moore making a nice play on one of them.
“The first inning was tough,” head coach Dave Van Horn said. “I just saw a lot of nerves going on out there.”
After the first inning, though, Noland seemed to settle down and put together a good outing. He allowed just one base runner in each of the next four innings.
“He settled in and had some good innings, kept the ball down with some sink,” Van Horn said. “He pitched like we knew he could. I don't know sometimes it's one inning that gets you. You don't think that maybe an opening game of the year, you think it might get a little wild. But it ended up being a Friday night game that was really well-pitched.”
In the end, Noland went five innings and gave up two earned runs on five hits and two walks with five strikeouts. That final line was not an unusual Opening Day line, but Noland did not receive much help from his teammates at the plate Friday.
In last year’s season opener against Texas Tech, right-hander Zebulon Vermillion started the game on the mound for Arkansas. He threw four innings and gave up two earned runs on three hits and two walks while striking out four. The difference was the fact that his performance was backed up by 13 runs.
Noland started on Opening Day against Eastern Illinois in 2020 and put up one of the best performances of his career. He went 6 2/3 innings and surrendered just one unearned run on two hits while walking one batter and striking out 11. Again, he was backed by the bats as the Hogs scored five runs.
Go back a year further and ace Isaiah Campell got the nod for the season opener in 2019 against Eastern Illinois. The right-hander put up a similar line: three earned runs on five hits with five strikeouts in five innings. Continuing the trend, the Razorbacks scores 15 runs that day to win 15-7.
The point is, Noland was on par for an Opening Day starter. His first inning was not beautiful, but he countered it with four efficient innings and the game was tied 2-2 heading into the sixth inning when reliever Kole Ramage took the mound.
The plan was for him to throw 60-65 pitches, with the possibility of getting up to 70, but he officially finished with 75 pitches, including 49 strikes.
“After the first inning, it got better -- a lot better,” Van Horn said. “So we let him go out (in the fifth), really to build him up a little bit. He was maybe a hitter or two away from coming out of the game, but he got through it.”
Moving forward, freshman left-hander Hagen Smith will start on the bump for Arkansas on Saturday. No matter how he performs, the Razorbacks' bats will need to wake up if they want to bounce-back against the Redbirds.
“I think we’ll bounce back and I think we’ll have a better day tomorrow,” Van Horn said. “Does that mean we’re going to win? I don’t know. Illinois State’s got a good team and they’re solid and they throw strikes.
"We’re gonna have to make some things happen. We’re gonna have to swing the bat a little better, but I do believe that we’ll bounce back tomorrow.”
First pitch of Game 2 is slated for noon CT Saturday and the game will be streamed on SEC Network-Plus.
