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FAYETTEVILLE -- The Cardinal team took Game 2 of Arkansas’ annual Fall World Series, defeating the White team 9-5 and tying the series at one game apiece.
Cullen Smith’s Cardinal team jumped out to a 5-0 lead after two innings, lighting White pitcher Kole Ramage up for four doubles. The early hole did not deter the White hitters, as they hung five runs over the next two frames to tie it up.
While the Cardinal team received contributions from up and down the batting order, Bobby Wernes and the White team used the hot bat of freshman Peyton Stovall to keep the game close. His two doubles produced four runs, including the one that knotted the score at five in the fourth inning.
Freshman second baseman Reece McWilliams delivered the game-winning RBI for Cardinal, bringing Kent State transfer catcher Michael Turner home with a single in the fifth.
With the series now even, here are some key takeaways from Sunday’s scrimmage:
Redshirt Year Beneficial For Adamiak?
Sophomore right-hander Mark Adamiak shined for the Cardinal team after redshirting during the 2021 season. In 2 1/3 innings, Adamiak threw 54 pitches, allowing one hit, two walks and two runs with five strikeouts, though his third inning of work made his stats look worse than his performance.
Adamiak worked around a one-out walk in the first inning to strike out the side. He hit junior right fielder Zack Gregory to lead off the second, but Turner caught him trying to steal second, and Adamiak fanned two more hitters, facing one more than the minimum through two innings.
Of the 11 batters he faced, Adamiak delivered first-pitch strikes to nine of them.
“He throws a lot of strikes,” Stovall said. “He’s always around the plate, and that's gonna be a guy that we’re going to lean (on) this year. I'm excited for him, and I'm excited to see what he's going to do in the spring.”
Ramage Can’t Find His Groove
Senior righty Kole Ramage tossed a long, 23-pitch first inning in which he surrendered an unearned run. Sophomore third baseman Cayden Wallace doubled with one out and advanced to third on a ground ball to the right side. Freshman shortstop Jude Putz could not complete the inning-ending double play, throwing it past Ramage at first and allowing Wallace to score.
Even though he retired the next hitter to escape with minimal damage, things never fell into place for the fifth-year senior. Ramage hit the first batter in the second inning and notched two quick outs with a fly ball and a baserunning error, but allowed consecutive RBI doubles and a walk to finish his outing.
All four hits Ramage allowed were doubles and he walked two batters. Seven of the 11 batters he faced reached base, and he recorded as many outs as he allowed runs, though only four of the five were earned.
Newcomers Deliver for Cardinal
As disastrous as the bottom of the second inning was for Ramage, it was quite the opposite for three freshmen hitting back-to-back-to-back in the Cardinal order.
Right fielder Max Soliz Jr. got the line moving with a double to left field, and it might have produced a run had freshman left fielder Gabe D’Arcy been more decisive and not gotten thrown out trying to retreat to third base.
After Soliz’s two-bagger, shortstop Drake Varnado laced one of his own to left, scoring Soliz for the second Cardinal run of the game. The lineup flipped to the top, and first baseman Kendall Diggs ripped the third straight double into right field, plating Varnado.
“To see (the young guys) do well in the fall, especially with a crowd like this, it was probably something they're probably not used to,” Turner said. “So the fact that they're able to produce like they did today is pretty cool to see.”
After Bobby Wernes pulled Ramage for righty Miller Pleimann, Diggs came around to score on a single by Oklahoma transfer Jace Bohrofen. Behind him, Turner picked up the fourth RBI knock of the inning, pushing the Cardinal lead to 5-0.
Turner scored the eventual game-winning run in the fifth, doubling to center field and scoring on a single through the right side by McWilliams.
“I’m extremely proud of my class, and I feel like we’re going to do some big things here at Arkansas,” Stovall said. “We have a lot of great guys, you know, pitching and on the defensive and hitting side. So I'm excited, and I'm ready for this journey to keep continuing with my guys.”
Stovall Stays Hot
After shining out of the leadoff spot in Game 1, freshman first baseman Peyton Stovall doubled down Sunday with a four-RBI game.
Like he did Friday afternoon, Stovall stuck out looking in his first at-bat, but he made his ensuing at-bats count. Down five runs in the third inning, he put the White team on the scoreboard with a double to right field. Down three in the next frame, he did the same thing, clearing the bases with two outs to tie the score at five apiece.
“He's as advertised for sure, he can play,” Turner said. “He’s fun to watch, especially with a young guy like that you don't see it very often, so to see somebody come in and like that do well right away is respectable.”
Though head coach Dave Van Horn recruited him as a middle infielder, Stovall has shown plenty of capability as a first baseman through two games. He has successfully fielded nearly every throw that has come his way, with the exception of a short throw from third baseman Ethan Bates that he did not pick. Stovall also initiated what should have been an inning-ending double play for Ramage in the first inning.
“The more positions you can play the better,” Stovall said. “I've definitely had struggles with it over the fall but now I'm going to continue to try to improve and to work on that, on the corners.”
Starks Impresses in Save
Sophomore righty Gabriel Starks recorded a six-out save for the Cardinal team, retiring six of the seven hitters he faced.
He induced two foul pop-ups and a groundout to work around a one-out walk in the sixth, and went 1-2-3 against the heart of the White order in the seventh, striking out senior center fielder Braydon Webb and got junior second baseman Robert Moore and transfer left fielder Chris Lanzilli both to fly out to left.
