Series Preview: Hogs in Texas for Round Rock Classic

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Arkansas is on the road for the second weekend of the 2022 season, taking on three different teams in the Round Rock Classic. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the games…

Friday, Feb. 25 - 4 p.m. CT (FloBaseball)

Saturday, Feb. 26 - 4 p.m. CT (FloBaseball)

Sunday, Feb. 27 - 4 p.m. CT (FloBaseball)

All three games this weekend will be streamed on FloBaseball, the same subscription-based service that streamed the State Farm College Baseball Showdown in Arlington at the start of last season. A month-long subscription, which costs $29.99, is needed to watch the games.

It should also be pointed out that all three games were moved up a few hours to start at 4 p.m. CT. They were originally scheduled for 7, 6 and 6 p.m. CT.

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After each guy lasted at least five innings against Illinois State, head coach Dave Van Horn said he is sticking with the same starting rotation for the Round Rock Classic.

The trio of pitchers combined for a 1.69 ERA and two of the three runs they allowed came in the first inning of the season, as the Redbirds jumped on Noland for two runs. The weekend was highlighted by Smith throwing six scoreless innings in his collegiate debut.

It was a much different story for the three pitchers set to face Arkansas this week. They combined for a 9.58 ERA, opponents went 17 for 44 (.386) against them, and none of them got through the fifth.

Despite a subpar start in the opener, Modugno is Indiana’s ace. He posted a 2.09 ERA and 1.16 WHIP while holding opponents to a .207 batting average last season, leading to D1Baseball putting him at No. 115 on its list of the top collegiate MLB Draft prospects.

It will be a battle of southpaws Saturday, as Mathews is a 6-foot-4 left-hander for Stanford. He posted a 6.08 ERA in 66 2/3 innings - mostly as a starter - last season.

The pitcher who had the best Opening Weekend start was actually Wilson. He worked into the fifth and was solid except for giving up three runs in the third inning. Before this season, he was a bullpen arm for the Ragin’ Cajuns, posting a 2.52 ERA in 25 innings over the last two seasons.

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Indiana

2021 record: 26-18 (26-18 Big Ten)
2022 record: 0-3
Head coach: Jeff Mercer (4th season, 72-50)
Conference projection: 6th out of 13 teams in Big Ten

~The Hoosiers are just a couple of years removed from winning the Big Ten regular-season title in 2019. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament that year and went 1-2 in the Louisville Regional.

~Last season, the Big Ten played a conference-only schedule and Indiana finished tied for fourth in the conference standings.

~Indiana returns just two players who started at least half of the games in its 2021: right fielder Morgan Colopy (.274/.315/.459 in 2021) and first baseman Kip Fougerousse (.209/.250/.304 in 2021).

~Two publications named a different Indiana player as its Preseason Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Outfielder Carter Mathison got the nod from Baseball America, while catcher Brock Tibbitts got the honor from Perfect Game.

~Indiana pitchers really struggled with their command on Opening Weekend, combining for 36 walks, 8 hit batters and 9 wild pitches in 25 2/3 innings against Clemson.

~The Hoosiers were swept by the Tigers, losing their first two games by a combined score of 28-4. That includes a 19-4 loss on Saturday in which they actually led 4-0 through two innings, only to give up 19 runs in six innings. They dropped a heartbreaker in Game 3, falling 5-4 in 10 innings.

Stanford

2021 record: 39-17 (17-10 Pac-12)
2022 record: 3-1
Head coach: David Esquer (5th season, 138-55)
Conference projection: 1st out of 11 teams in Pac-12

~The Cardinal are coming off their first trip to the College World Series in 13 years, sweeping Texas Tech in the super regionals. They went 1-2 in Omaha. It was their 17th all-time trip to the College World Series.

~Stanford took two of three games against Cal State-Fullerton last weekend, opening the season with a 1-0 victory. The Cardinal followed that up with an 11-0 loss, but then won the rubber match 11-1. They also won a midweek game against Santa Clara 5-0.

~Junior center fielder Brock Jones is Stanford’s top player, as he’s a preseason first-team All-American by several publications and landed on the Golden Spikes Award watch list. He was a second-team All-American last year, when he slashed .311/.453/.646 with 18 home runs and 62 RBIs.

~Although their class was just 42nd in Perfect Game’s recruiting rankings, the Cardinal landed one of the top prospects to actually make it to campus. Two-way standout Braden Montgomery, the No. 23 overall recruit in the 2021 class, signed with Stanford out of Madison Central in Mississippi. He struck out two in a perfect ninth inning to earn the save in the opener against Fullerton and followed it up by going 3 for 5 with two home runs and six RBIs in the rubber match.

Louisiana-Lafayette

2021 record: 32-23 (13-11 Sun Belt)
2022 record: 3-1
Head coach: Matt Deggs (3rd season, 43-33)
Conference projection: tied for 3rd out of 12 teams in Sun Belt

~The Ragin’ Cajuns are led by third-year coach Matt Deggs, who was an assistant coach under Dave Van Horn at Northwestern State from 1996-97 and at Arkansas from 2003-05. He was also an assistant at Texas A&M (2006-10) and head coach at Sam Houston State (2015-19).

~In his first full season at the helm, Deggs led Louisiana-Lafayette to a regular-season West Division title in the Sun Belt.

~After dropping their season opener 7-4, the Ragin’ Cajuns bounced back to win the next two games and take the series against consensus preseason top-25 team UC-Irvine. They won the rubber match 5-3 after scoring three runs in the eighth inning. Louisiana-Lafayette followed that by winning a midweek game against Southeastern Louisiana 6-5 by scoring two runs in the bottom of the 10th.

~Senior left-hander Brandon Talley was the Ragin’ Cajuns’ lone preseason All-Sun Belt selection, landing on the team as a reliever. He earned eight saves and posted a 1.59 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 34 innings last season, when he made the NCBWA Stopper of the Year midseason watch list.

~At the plate, senior Connor Kimple is off to a hot start for Louisiana-Lafayette. He homered in each game against UC-Irvine and is 6 for 14 (.429) through four games.

~One of the Ragin’ Cajuns’ key additions this offseason was Max Marusak, a former top-75 recruit who transferred in from Texas Tech. Not only is he 4 for 14 (.286) at the plate, but he’s also shown off his speed by going 5 for 5 on stolen base attempts through four games.

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