Walt Beazley

Hogs Head To Alabama To Continue League Play

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – After a two-game series split at No. 9 Texas earlier this week, the eighth-ranked Arkansas baseball team gets back to Southeastern Conference play this weekend with a three-game series against Alabama at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.

Friday’s game one is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start, Saturday’s game two will be at 2 p.m., while Sunday’s series finale will be at 1 p.m. and all games will be broadcast on SEC Network+.

The Razorbacks (18-3, 3-0 SEC) had their seven-game win streak snapped Wednesday night in Austin, Texas, falling to the Longhorns, 7-6, at Disch-Falk Field. Arkansas is still off to their best start through 21 games since 2012 and has their pitching to thank for it.

Isaiah Campbell, once again, will take the mound for Friday night’s opener against the Crimson Tide. With four wins under his belt in five starts, the redshirt junior has one of the best strikeout-to-walk ratios (11.00) in the league and has totaled 10 or more strikeouts in three consecutive starts. The last Razorback pitcher to record 10 or more strikeouts in three-straight starts was Trevor Stephan in 2017.

On the offensive side, Arkansas might have awoken its bats after the 11-4 drubbing of Texas on Tuesday. The Hogs notched 11 hits in the win and hit two home runs, giving them 20 for the year. Christian Franklin hit Arkansas’ first grand slam of the year as part of a six-run second inning and later Heston Kjerstad blasted a 435-foot shot to straight-away centerfield for his third of the season.

As for Alabama, the Crimson Tide come into the weekend off a series loss at No. 8 Ole Miss, but is 18-4 on the year under second-year coach Brad Bohannon. Friday night’s starter Sam Finnerty was handed the hard-luck loss against the Rebels last week despite another quality start, his fourth in five outings. Finnerty threw six innings, allowing only one run on a homer in the second inning and gave up only four hits, while walking just one.

In the all-time series with the Tide, Arkansas has won five of the last six, including two in Tuscaloosa during the 2017 season. The Razorbacks have won six of the last seven series with the Crimson Tide dating back to 2012.

Follow Live
This weekend’s series will be available on SEC Network+ via the Watch ESPN app and WatchESPN.com. A combo of Roger Hoover, Eli Gold and Lance Cormier will call the games this weekend on SEC Network+.

Fans can listen to the radio call via the Razorback Gameday app and locally on KQSM 92.1 FM. Pregame coverage begins 30 minutes prior to first pitch. There will also be a live radio link available on ArkansasRazorbacks.com.

Important Links
Game 1 – WATCH | LIVE STATS
Game 2 – WATCH | LIVE STATS
Game 3 – WATCH | LIVE STATS

Probable Starters
FRI. : (ARK) RHP Isaiah Campbell (4-0, 2.37 ERA, 44 K, 4 BB) vs. (UA) RHP Sam Finnerty (4-1, 2.03 ERA, 23 K, 3 BB)

SAT. : (ARK) RHP Connor Noland (0-0, 3.80 ERA, 17 K, 6 BB) vs. (UA) RHP Brock Love (2-0, 2.50 ERA, 28 K, 7 BB)

SUN. : (ARK) RHP Cody Scroggins (1-0, 3.32 ERA, 33 K, 7 BB) vs. (UA) RHP Will Freeman (2-1, 3.20 ERA, 12 K, 4 BB)

Razorbacks Sweep Missouri For 18th-Straight Home Series Win
For the third-straight year, Arkansas was able to open SEC play with a three-game sweep after beating Missouri with a bottom of the ninth walk-off single by Casey Opitz in the series finale. The Hogs have been practically unbeatable at home over the last three seasons, winning 18-straight series at Baum-Walker Stadium dating back to 2017. Arkansas is 79-13 at home of the last three years and has not lost two in a row at home since April 27-28, 2017.

Casey Opitz Always Finds A Way
Before his game-winning hit on Sunday against Missouri, catcher Casey Opitz had only recorded a hit twice in his last 26 plate appearances, but reached base 10 times over that same span via walk or hit by pitch. Opitz currently has a .463 on-base percentage, ranking first on the team among players with 20 or more at-bats and tied for ninth in the conference. He finished the series against Missouri just 1-for-8 (.125), but drew three walks and one hit by pitch.

Pitching Continues To Drive The Boat
Over the last 10 games, Arkansas’ pitching has been virtually unhittable. With 109 strikeouts over the previous 88 innings, the Razorbacks have already recorded half of the number of shutouts (3) that they had during the entire 2018 season (6). Arkansas’ pitchers rank 10th in the nation with a 3.37 strikeout-to-walk ratio and fifth in Division I in strikeouts-per-nine innings (11.0).

I Can See Clearly Now
Going into the SEC opener against Missouri, sophomore Matt Goodheart was only hitting .241 with one multi-hit game with just seven hits in 12 games and four RBIs. Claiming he was having trouble seeing at night, Goodheart got a new contacts prescription and has, seemingly, turned the corner. Goodheart is now 6-for-14 (.429) in his last five games and went 4-for-8 (.500) in the three-game series against Missouri with a career-high two doubles in the opener.

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