Hogs to Host MVSU in Midweek Action

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas baseball team opens another five-game week with a pair of midweek games, welcoming Mississippi Valley State to town Tuesday-Wednesday at Baum Stadium.

Tickets
Single game tickets to the series can be purchased by clicking here.

Follow Live
Both games will broadcasted live on SEC Network Plus and the WatchESPN App with Alex Perlman (PXP) and Troy Eklund (Analyst), while Phil Elson (PXP) and Rick Schaeffer (Analyst) will have the call on the IMG Razorback Sports Network.

Probable Starters
Tue. | 6:35p | (ARK) TBA vs. (MVSU) TBA
Wed. | 3:05p | (ARK) TBA vs. (MVSU) TBA

Leading Off

• Arkansas welcomes Mississippi Valley State to town for a pair of midweek nonconference games at Baum Stadium.

• The Razorbacks are coming off back-to-back SEC series wins, taking two of three from Ole Miss and Auburn.

• Arkansas is currently in a three-way tie with Ole Miss and Mississippi State for third place in the SEC West at 5-7 in conference play, sitting behind Texas A&M and LSU.

• The Razorbacks hit three home runs over the weekend at Auburn and rank third in the SEC with 28 home runs on the year, while launching multiple home runs in a game eight different times.

• Arkansas has posted consecutive victories when trailing after 7.0 innings, combining to score eight runs over the final two innings in those games.

• The Razorback pitching staff has posted a 2.90 ERA over the last eight games with 60 strikeouts and holding opponents to a .250 batting average.

• Zach Jackson ranks second in the SEC with a 1.76 ERA as he continues to stifle hitters with 43 strikeouts in 30.2 innings of work. He has 15 strikeouts out of the last 26 outs he has recorded and leads the SEC with only one extra base hit allowed.

• Tyler Spoon is riding an eight-game hitting streak after collecting six hits over the weekend to bring his average to .316 on the season. He is on the brink of putting together two different 10-game hitting streaks during the first 31 games of the year.

• Bobby Wernes continues to pace the offense with a .349 batting average. He has hit safely in 24 of 30 games this season and has multiple hits in five of the last eight contests.

• Dominic Taccolini has five quality starts in eight appearances this season after lasting 7.0 innings and giving up just one earned run to Auburn. In his last three SEC starts, Taccolini has surrendered just five earned runs and recorded 12 strikeouts in 18.2 innings of work for a 2.41 ERA.

Series History
Arkansas is 6-0 all-time against Mississippi Valley State, including straight wins against the Delta Devils last year. The Razorbacks have outscored MVSU 41-5 in six games, including scoring 21 runs last year in three games, while allowing just one run.

DVH Hits Milestone Win
Head coach Dave Van Horn picked up his 500th victory at Arkansas in the series finale at Auburn and currently has 1,085 career wins in his 27-year career as a head coach. Van Horn joins Razorback legend Norm DeBriyn as the only two coaches in program history to record 500 wins during their tenure at Arkansas. Debriyn and Van Horn have combined for 80.9-percent of the wins in Arkansas’ history. He is also one of only three active coaches in the SEC with 500 wins at his current institution.

MLB Opening Day #ProHogs
The Razorbacks have four former players on MLB opening day rosters. Logan Forsythe (Rays), Craig Gentry (A’s), James McCann (Tigers) and Dallas Keuchel (Astros) all opened the 2015 season on active rosters. Drew Smyley and Cliff Lee have opened the year on the disabled list.

Power Up
Andrew Benintendi is currently tied for the SEC lead with nine home runs on the year, joining slugger and reigning SEC Player of the Week Christian Stewart as the top power hitters in the league. Benintendi is on the verge of becoming the first Arkansas player to hit double-digit home runs in a season since Kyle Robinson finished the 2011 season with 10 home runs.

Underclassmen Doing Work
The freshmen and sophomores on the pitching staff have combined to throw 190 of a possible 274 innings this season for 69.3 percent. The trio of Dominic Taccolini, Zach Jackson and Keaton McKinney have thrown 113.0 of the 190.0 innings by the underclassmen. Jackson’s 1.76 ERA and 1.40 strikeouts per inning leads the team.

Roll It Up
Arkansas has turned 33 double plays on the year to rank third in the SEC behind Mississippi State (39) and Alabama (34). The Razorbacks have turned 214 double plays over the last four years to rank No. 4 in the country during this span. Mississippi State (240) leads the nation, followed by Georgia Tech (223) and Southern Miss (218).

RPI Outlook
Arkansas’ RPI jumped up to No. 85 after back-to-back SEC series wins according to BoydsWorld.com. the Razorbacks will play a pair of top-30 RPI teams in their next two SEC weekends, taking on No. 26 Kentucky this weekend, before traveling to No. 4 RPI Texas A&M the following week.

Coming Up
Arkansas welcomes Kentucky to town for a three-game series this weekend, playing Friday at 6:35 p.m., Saturday at 6:05 p.m. and Sunday at 1:05 p.m. The Razorbacks are 35-23 all-time against the Wildcats, including an 18-9 mark in Fayetteville.

For more information on Arkansas baseball, follow @RazorbackBSB on Twitter.