FAYETTEVILLE -- No. 3 Arkansas got a run-rule victory 15-5 over James Madison on Saturday at Baum-Walker Stadium.
The Razorbacks had an answer for each James Madison rally. With Arkansas up 1-0, James Madison tied the game at 1 in the top of the fourth. The Razorbacks answered with four runs in the bottom half of the inning.
Then leading 7-1 in the top of the sixth. James Madison plated four runs to pull within 7-5. The Hogs answered with six of their own in the bottom of the sixth for a 13-5 lead. Shortstop Wehiwa Aloy ended the game in the bottom of the eighth when he hit a bases-loaded, two-out single to left field plating both Will Edmunson and Hudson White for the run-rule win. Dave Van Horn was pleased with the win.
"Yeah, just we played a pretty good ball game actually," Van Horn said. "It seemed it got a little bit sloppy there but we kept playing good defense. That catch in center field by (Ty) Wilmsmeyer was a classic. That was beautiful. And it kind of fired up our dugout. Offensively, we had a lot of opportunities to score. We got on base a lot. They got out of a couple of jams but for the most part we kept getting some big hits.
"To me what I really liked was when we gave up the big lead, they scored four in that inning and we came back and scored six and kind of got the momentum back on our side and had a chance to finish it off. But for the most part I thought that for two days in a row in this type of weather we played pretty well."
Not only did Wilmsmeyer, a transfer from Missouri, save a home run with the catch in center field, he also had three hits and knocked in five runs. Wilmsmeyer is known for his glove, but the bat also shined on Saturday.
"Yeah, the five RBIs really stand out," Van Horn said. "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."
Van Horn said Wilmsmeyer's hitting coming around isn't by accident as he has worked on it with Nate Thompson, the hitting coach.
"I think Coach 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."
Wilmsmeyer talked about his day at the plate after the game.
"It was a great day out there," Wilmsmeyer said. "Obviously, able to come out of there with a win. Brady (Tygart) was pitching his butt off behind us so the defense has got to make as many plays as we can behind him. I was just able to barrel up the ball today and good things happen."
Tygart did have a very good start which Arkansas needed after only getting one inning from Friday's starter Hagen Smith. Tygart worked five innings allowing two hits, one run, walked two, struck out four, but did hit three batters, while picking up the win.
"My body didn’t feel like great but still got the results that I was looking for so I think it’s going to help me down the road," Tygart said.
Van Horn also talked about Tygart's day on the mound.
"It was pretty good," Van Horn said. "He got himself in a jam there. I think he walked two in that inning, or hit a batter and walked a batter. I think two of the five innings he had to fight through them a little bit. But his pitch count got up. And again, I’m taking into consideration that it’s not ideal baseball weather, especially for a pitcher trying grip a baseball and throw it. But pretty good first outing. A lot of counts were 2-2, 3-2, but he only walked two. I think he hit three. Again, Brady’s got a knack for getting out of some jams and he did it again today."
Koty Frank worked 2.1 innings in relief to get the save. Frank faced seven hitters, didn't allow a hit or walk anyone. He did get one strikeout.
Wilmsmeyer and catcher Ryder Helfrick hit home runs. For Helfrick, a true from California, the blast came on his birthday.
"I would say it went really well," Helfrick said. "Obviously, coming here, you’re working on catching. That’s one part of my game that I feel like has gotten a lot better since getting here. Excited about that, I caught well. The homerun was just a good swing on a good pitch. Catching Brady you just learn from him. Learn from what he has to teach and say. You kinda let him take the control on it."
Arkansas had 14 hits on the day. White, Aloy, Kendall Diggs and Jared Sprague-Lott each had two RBIs on the day.
Game 3 of the series will be Sunday with the first pitch at 1 p.m. Mason Molina, a lefty transfer from Texas Tech, will get the start for the Hogs. Right-handed pitcher Ryan Murphy will get the start for James Madison. The game can be streamed on the SEC Network+.
Photos Taken by Craven Whitlow CW3 Sports Action
