Wilmsmeyer's big day lifts Diamond Hogs past JMU
FAYETTEVILLE — Thanks to a big day from Missouri transfer centerfielder Ty Wilmsmeyer, the No. 3 Arkansas Razorbacks (2-0) earned a 15-5 run-rule victory in eight innings against James Madison (0-2) on a sunny, but chilly afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium.
In just his second game in the Razorback uniform, Wilmsmeyer set a career-high with five runs batted in. He added went 3-5 at the plate with a pair of runs, a homer and an impressive web gem in the field.
"Yeah, the five RBIs really stand out," head coach Dave Van Horn said postgame. "He really got us going with that opposite field home run. He hit that ball pretty hard. That lefty kind of held us down there the first couple of innings. The hitters were a little frustrated, missing some pitches. Him getting that hit, that was big for us.
"But he did a good job. I really liked that two-strike base hit up the middle. I think he might have had another two-strike base hit. We’ve had him lead off, we’ve had him down in the nine hole. We kind of like him down there, kind of like a second leadoff guy. He has a little sneaky power and can really run. Great job of beating out that double play ball. He got down in the count. Got an RBI there. He just kept chipping away. Five RBI. That’s a pretty big day for someone hitting down in the order."
Standout junior right-hander Brady Tygart earned the start for Arkansas and threw five innings of one-run ball. He gave up two hits, walked two and struck out four. The Hernando, Mississippi, native threw 78 total pitches and 43 of them were strikes. He did hit three batters, including leadoff man Mason Dunaway twice.
Veteran righty Koty Frank tossed the final 2 1/3 innings for Arkansas and he retired all seven of the batters he faced will earning the save in the process.
While Tygart didn't have his best stuff, he was pitching to contact and working around any base runners he had. In two of the first three innings, he gave a free pass to Dunaway by hitting him in the helmet twice. Tygart also gave up a single in the top of the second, but he managed to face four batters each in the first three innings and retired three of four in all three frames.
On the offensive end, the Diamond Hogs weren't providing Tygart with much run support during early on. Wilmsmeyer led the bottom of the third off with an opposite field solo home run to right, but that was the only run scored through three frames.
JMU lefty Kuhle was giving the Razorbacks fits, as the southpaw caught four batters looking at strikes and had just the one bad pitch to Wilmsmeyer through three innings.
After giving up a one-out single and hit by pitch, Tygart then issued a pair of two-out walks — one of which plated a JMU run — to allow the Dukes to tie the game at 1-1. The junior righty left the bases loaded with his third strikeout of the game to get out of trouble.
The Razorbacks finally showed up with run support in the bottom of the fourth by plating four runs on four hits. A pair of errors by the Dukes helped the Arkansas lineup out, plus Jared Sprague-Lott and Wilmsmeyer added RBI singles in the frame to help extend the lead to 5-1 entering the fifth.
With 62 pitches under his belt, Tygart returned for the top of the fifth and worked his first perfect frame of the day. A web gem from centerfielder Ty Wilmsmeyer, who robbed a home run for the third out, helped Tygart get through his final frame of the afternoon.
Wilmsmeyer's big day continued in the bottom of the fifth with a two-run single to center that made the Arkansas lead 7-1.
"I think Coach (Nate) Thompson and Ty have just gotten on the same page as far as what works for him," Van Horn said. "A little bit of everything — some of what he did before and some new stuff — maybe relaxed a little bit. You transfer in from another school, especially one from the same conference, it’d probably be a little stressful. You just gotta relax and get comfortable and I think he’s starting to feel that way."
Left-hander Parker Coil entered in the top of the sixth to relieve Tygart, but he was taken out after giving up four runs before earning three outs. Righty Koty Frank earned the third out of the frame, but not after JMU had made it 7-5.
The Razorbacks responded in the bottom of the sixth by plating six runs. Peyton Holt, Sprague-Lott, Wilmsmeyer, White and Kendall Diggs all drove in runs in the frame to make it a 13-5 lead for the Razorbacks entering the seventh inning.
Frank went three up, three down in both the seventh and eighth innings to keep his outing perfect to that point. Arkansas went down in order in the seventh, but shortstop Wehiwa Aloy's first hit as a Hog drove in a pair of runs and put the run-rule in effect in the eighth inning to give the Razorbacks a 15-5 win.
Up next, the Razorbacks and Duke will meet for Game 3 on Sunday at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. CT and the game will be streamed live on the SEC Network+.