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FAYETTEVILLE -- The Bobby Wernes-led White team cruised to a 9-3 victory over rookie skipper Cullen Smith and the Cardinal team in the opening game of Arkansas’ annual Fall World Series.
Familiar names such as Cayden Wallace, Robert Moore and Brady Slavens decorated the box score with two hits apiece, but the newcomers pulled their own weight on both sides.
Oklahoma transfer outfielder Jace Bohrofen was one of the Cardinal team’s lone bright spots, smashing the only home run of the day with a laser into the right field bullpen.
Prized freshman Peyton Stovall looked like a seasoned veteran, seeing 22 pitches in four plate appearances at the top of the White lineup, and Wake Forest transfer Chris Lanzilli delivered a pair of clutch hits out of the four hole.
“Bobby Wernes put together a real good squad for us, so luckily we were able to pitch the ball well and hit the ball well in the same day and we got the W,” Lanzilli said.
With White leading 1-0 in the best-of-five series, here are a few key takeaways from Friday’s action:
Noland Looks Strong
Eight pitchers took the mound for the Razorbacks Friday afternoon, but none was more impressive than senior right-hander Connor Noland.
The Greenwood native never found a groove in 2021 after battling an injury during the first half of the season, but he resembled his freshman form in Game 1 of the Fall World Series.
Noland threw 51 pitches in four shutout innings, allowing just three baserunners for a stress-free afternoon. He used a variety of pitches to record a healthy mix of outs, including six grounders, three strikeouts and a pair of fly balls, one of which was a double play.
“(I) didn't have the big curveball today but made up for it with some other pitches that I don't normally use,” Noland said. “(I was) using the changeup to a lot of lefties, but had some great plays by the defense that really helped me out.”
Sophomore center fielder Cayden Wallace tagged Noland for a one-out double in the first inning, but he induced two ground balls to escape unharmed.
He retired the next six hitters in order, settling into a rhythm after senior right fielder Zack Gregory made a diving play for the first out of the second inning.
Wallace recorded another hit to lead off the fourth inning, but Noland got some more defensive help when Lanzilli gunned Wallace down trying to tag from first base. Senior designated hitter Brady Slavens also reached on a single, but Noland ended the two-out threat with another ground ball.
Noland served up first-pitch strikes to half of the 14 hitters he faced, and only had to pitch from the stretch four times.
Stovall Shows Patience
Head coach Dave Van Horn has spoken very highly of Stovall, one of Louisiana’s most prized 2022 recruits. After withdrawing from the 2021 MLB Draft, in which he was a projected first-round pick, the shortstop honored his commitment to the Razorbacks and he was every bit as advertised Friday.
Wernes slotted Stovall in atop the White lineup, and his case to start 2022 there is a strong one. Though he struck out looking in his first at-bat, he saw seven pitches, apparently fazing Cardinal starter Heston Tole.
As the White team paraded around the bases, Stovall registered two more plate appearances in the next two frames and made the most of both of them, as well. He kept the line moving in the second with a five pitch at-bat that resulted in a single to right and drew a six-pitch walk to keep the bottom of the third alive with two outs.
His fourth trip to the plate cost Cardinal hurlers four more pitches, but fortunately for sophomore Tyler Cacciatori, Stovall lined it right to his glove.
He also played the entirety of the scrimmage at first base with no apparent issues. If Slavens transitions into the outfield as Van Horn has hinted, it would create a spot for Stovall’s bat in the lineup.
Lanzilli Makes Case to Start
The Wake Forest transfer shined for Wernes and the White team, going 2 for 3 with three RBIs, two runs, a double, a walk and an outfield assist.
“It's just a whole different experience playing here, as opposed to somewhere else in college baseball,” Lanzilli said of his experience in Fayetteville so far. “And that's not even mentioning the talent here. Just incredible.”
Lanzilli showed remarkable plate discipline out of the cleanup spot, notching both of his RBI knocks in two-strike counts. He opened the scoring with a double to left in the first, and drove in the eventual game-winning run on a hard ground ball past the diving third baseman with two outs in the second.
After his assist in the top of the fourth, Lanzilli walked to lead off the home half, coming around to score his second run of the game after three more free passes from Cacciatori.
Listed as an infielder/outfielder on the roster, Lanzilli’s versatility gives Van Horn all the reason to write him into the starting lineup every day. He showed capability in left field Friday, and he could round out the infield, filling the void left by Smith and Jacob Nesbit at third base or slot in at first base.
Tole’s Outing Better than Final Line
After finding an important role as a freshman out of the bullpen in 2021, Tole recorded only five outs as the Cardinal team’s starter Friday. He threw 56 pitches, most of which were strikes, but he did not get quite as much help defensively as the other Razorback hurlers, bumping his pitch count much higher than it needed to be.
Tole struck out Stovall to begin his afternoon, but things went south when freshman shortstop Drake Varnado’s throwing error let senior center fielder Braydon Webb aboard. Tole surrendered hits to the fearsome duo at the heart of the White order — junior second baseman Robert Moore and Lanzilli — before balking as Moore attempted to steal home.
The extra pitches he had to throw brought his pitch count close to 30 in the first inning, but Tole punched out Gregory and fanned junior designated hitter Leyton Pinckney for his second and third strikeouts of the frame.
Tole recorded two outs in the second, but the two singles he surrendered proved costly when he faced Moore and Lanzilli again. After walking Gregory, Tole should have been out of the inning, but a pop-up by sophomore third baseman Ethan Bates fell untouched on the infield, costing Tole another run.
Tole had several hitters in two-strike counts, but just could not seem to finish them when he needed to. Still, he looked much better than his six runs allowed would suggest.
“When you want to play for one of the best teams in the country and play in the best division, it always helps when there's competition inside the locker room,” Noland said “It's just pushing everybody to get better every day and it's gonna help the team in the long run.”
