PREVIEW: Hogs hit the road for top-5 showdown at Ole Miss

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Arkansas hits the road again this weekend for three games at Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss. Here’s everything you need to know about the series…

Schedule (TV)

Friday, April 9 - 6 p.m. CT (SEC Network)

Saturday, April 10 - 4 p.m. CT (SECN+)

Sunday, April 11 - 1:30 p.m. CT (SECN+)

The first game of the series will be nationally televised on the SEC Network, but the last two will be available only via streaming on SEC Network-Plus. That means it can be watched online on ESPN3.com or the ESPN app using the log-in credentials for a cable provider.

Weather Report

The first game of the series could be impacted by weather, as there is a 60 percent chance of thunderstorms in Oxford, Miss., beginning at 6 p.m., according to the Weather Channel.

Luckily it should move out of the area by Saturday morning. It will be 69 degrees with a strong wind out of the west for Game 2, while there is a high of 75 degrees with sunshine expected for Game 3.

Arkansas’ Starting Rotation (2021 stats)

Friday - Jr. LHP Patrick Wicklander (7 games/3 starts, 1-1, 2.13 ERA, 25 K/9 BB, 25 1/3 IP)

Saturday - So. RHP Peyton Pallette (8 games/5 starts, 1-1, 3.25 ERA, 39 K/12 BB, 27 2/3 IP)

Sunday - Sr. LHP Lael Lockhart (7 games/7 starts, 1-1, 3.41 ERA, 34 K/13 BB, 31 2/3 IP)

After hinting at it over the weekend, head coach Dave Van Horn officially announced Wednesday that he was once again tweaking his rotation.

Pallette, who spent a couple of weeks as the No. 1 starter, is back in the rotation and will start Game 2 against Ole Miss. He has been solid in his last couple of relief appearances, while Zebulon Vermillion - the former Game 2 starter - has struggled in his last two outings.

Vermillion, a right-hander, will go back to the bullpen and could be used in long relief against the Rebels.

“We’re just going to try to win the game,” Van Horn said. “If somebody needed to come out in the second or third inning, we’d probably go to him. If our starters give us four, five or six, we’ll see what the situation is and go with what we think is best at that time.”

In the Polls

This will be the second top-five matchup of the season for Arkansas, as it is still No. 2 in the latest Rivals Composite Poll and Ole Miss checked in at No. 5 after losing its series at Florida.

The Razorbacks are No. 1 in Baseball America’s poll and No. 2 in every other poll, while the Rebels are still as high as No. 3 by Baseball America, D1Baseball and the USA Today Coaches Poll.

Scouting the Opponent

Record: 23-6 (7-2 SEC)

Head coach: Mike Bianco (21st season)

Series history: Tied 51-51 (Rebels lead 24-21 in Oxford)

Ole Miss’ starting rotation (2021 stats)

Friday - Jr. RHP Gunnar Hoglund (7 games/7 starts, 3-1, 2.47 ERA, 70 K/11 BB, 43 2/3 IP)

Saturday - Jr. LHP Doug Nikhazy (5 games/5 starts, 2-1, 2.25 ERA, 40 K/12 BB, 24 IP)

Sunday - So. RHP Derek Diamond (7 games/7 starts, 3-3, 4.89 ERA, 37 K/11 BB, 35 IP)

Not only is this weekend a top-five matchup, but it also pits the top two teams in the SEC West against each other. Arkansas and Ole Miss are tied atop the division standings at 7-2.

The Rebels opened conference play with back-to-back sweeps of Auburn and Alabama before losing two of three games at Florida last weekend.

“We had an opportunity to watch them play three times early this season down there in Arlington,” Van Horn said. “They really don’t have any weaknesses. They field well, they can run, they can hit for power. They’ve got good starting pitching and a really good bullpen and they’re deep. You have to play extremely well to beat them.”

Unfortunately, the biggest news coming out of Oxford this week involved a significant injury, as first baseman Tim Elko went down with a torn ACL in Monday’s game against North Alabama.

He hasn’t been officially ruled out for the season, but he won't play against the Razorbacks this weekend. That is a significant blow for Ole Miss, as he leads the SEC and ranks sixth nationally with 36 RBIs. He’s also tied for third in the league with nine home runs and is hitting .340 this season.

“He has been around and is a big strong kid that was an experienced hitter,” Van Horn said. “He was having his best year by far. Honestly, I feel terrible for the kid. It’s tough when you are that talented and things are going great.”

In his absence, Cael Baker (.195) and Trey LaFleur (.167) are the most likely options at first base, according to RebelGrove. Left fielder Kevin Graham, who is now Ole Miss’ top hitter, could also move to first. He’s hitting .355 with five home runs and 26 RBIs.

Four other Rebels are hitting over .300, too, with one more a hair under: TJ McCants (.339), Peyton Chatagnier (.313), Jacob Gonzalez (.310), Justin Bench (.303) and Hayden Dunhurst (.299).

“They have a good lineup even losing Elko,” Van Horn said. “With him in their lineup, it was really deep. There is really not a break. There are a lot of left-hand hitters. He was one of their only righties hitting.”

Ole Miss has one of the better 1-2 punches on the mound in Hoglund and Nikhazy. The ace of the staff is Hoglund, who is No. 30 on MLB Pipeline’s list of top MLB Draft prospects. He’s holding opponents to a .194 batting average, while Nikhazy is even better, limiting opponents to a .133 average.

Senior right-hander Taylor Broadway is the Rebels’ closer, with a 3-0 record and an SEC-high seven saves in 11 appearances. He has a 2.16 ERA, 27 strikeouts and only three walks in 16 2/3 innings this season.

As a staff, the Rebels rank third nationally in strikeouts per nine innings (12.2) and sixth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.9).

“Those pitchers are going to give you five-plus every time just about,” Van Horn said. “They have got some guys at the back of the bullpen that can get you out. They have a variety of arms out there.”

Stat of the Week

He wasn’t recognized by the SEC for his efforts, but Kevin Kopps was named the MVP of Arkansas’ series win over Auburn last week by Van Horn.

Appearing in all three games, the right-hander threw a combined five scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts while allowing only two hits and one walk.

Following the performance, HawgBeat did a deep dive on his numbers and found that Kopps is generating a swing and miss on a whopping 26.0 percent of his pitches. That number is even higher in SEC play - 30.6 percent.

It doesn’t sound likely that Kopps will pitch in all three games again this weekend, but he’ll continue to be the Razorbacks’ top bullpen arm.

“You never know, I guess if we thought that’s what we needed to do or the situation is right,” Van Horn said. “Once for sure, could be twice, but three times I think would be every now and then. But you never know.”

HR Tracker

HawgBeat brought back the home run tracker last week, when Arkansas was one long ball ahead of pace compared to the record-breaking 2018 season.

After three games against Auburn and two against Little Rock, though, the Razorbacks have fallen behind the pace. They have 50 home runs through 28 games, while the 2018 team had 53 home runs at this point of the year.