Tygart emerges as key bullpen arm for Hogs
College students, get a year of HawgBeat coverage for just $11.95! Request details via email from your school account (.edu) to andrewhutchinson413 (at) gmail (dot) com.
The story of the season for Arkansas baseball so far has been efficient starting pitching. A few players have emerged as reliable arms of the bullpen, with freshman Brady Tygart standing out at the end of games.
In Game 3 against Kentucky on Sunday, the right-hander put together an impressive two-inning save that secured a series sweep. His poise on the mound in stressful situations has earned the trust of head coach Dave Van Horn.
“Tygart showed the other day he could handle the pressure of finishing up the game against a good lineup,” Van Horn said Wednesday.
The Hernando, Miss., native did not see the mound until March 2 against Omaha, when he gave up two hits and struck out two of his five batters faced.
“I really liked what I saw,” Van Horn said after the 15-3 win over Omaha. “He jams a guy, gives up a bloop single, and makes a nice pitch. The guy stays inside the ball and slaps it the other way and his first two college pitches are singles… It didn’t phase him. He got out of it with a strikeout or two.”
Van Horn followed that statement up by saying he thought Tygart would be able to give the Hogs quality innings this season. Since then, Tygart has entered the game in big moments and delivered.
His second outing was a one-inning save in Game 2 of the Southeastern Louisiana series when Tygart faced the minimum and recorded one strikeout.
Arkansas dropped the first game of the series to the Lions, so trusting Tygart in a two-run game in the ninth was a big decision. Van Horn said there is no worry when giving Tygart the ball in a tight situation.
“A lot of guys have good stuff, but a lot of guys are scared to go out there between those two white lines when the game is on the line,” Van Horn said. “You can see it in their body language and the way they move. You don’t see that from Brady. Brady kind of likes it.”
Tygart saw the mound twice in the series against Illinois-Chicago. He was trusted to take over with two outs in the top of the eighth and a 4-1 disadvantage during Game 2. Tygart forced his first batter into a groundout to send the Hogs to the plate for an eventual four-run bottom of the eighth.
The top of the ninth was not a cake walk, as Tygart walked a batter and hit one with a pitch. He stayed in the game, though, and struck out two while the third out came from catcher Michael Turner catching a runner stealing second.
“I like the mentality,” Van Horn said. “He doesn’t get rattled. We’ve seen that from him now. That’s what you’ve got to have at the end of the game.”
Tygart ran into real trouble for the first time in Game 4 of the UIC series. He allowed four hits and two earned runs in his 2 1/3 innings of work. Van Horn said the battle with Tygart is knowing how long to leave him in.
“Well, you start to see how many pitches can he throw before his stuff starts to deteriorate a little bit, so to speak,” Van Horn said. “We saw him a couple of outings ago where he threw, and it was second time on the weekend, and it wasn’t as good as the first.”
For now, Tygart is shaping up to be a trustworthy late reliever and closer for the Razorbacks. He could end up serving a different role toward the early/middle parts of games, but that is something that needs to be worked up to. Van Horn said the staff is taking its time developing Tygart.
“We continue to build these guys up,” Van Horn said. “When you recruit them, you recruit them because you like what you see, you’re thinking they’re going to get better. You don’t know what they’re all about inside, because we’re not around them enough.”
The starting pitching has proved to be very effective so far this season, but having go-to arms out of the pen is crucial. Arkansas saw last season that having an elite reliever can win a team a lot of ball games.
While no one will likely match what Kevin Kopps did last season, Tygart could be a key relief pitcher in the Razorbacks' effort to replace him this year.