FAYETTEVILLE -- No. 2 Arkansas completed a weekend sweep of hapless Missouri winning 14-4 and 16-2 on Sunday at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Arkansas (30-3, 11-1) had defeated Missouri (11-20, 0-12) 21-3 in Game 1 on Saturday. The Hogs took control of both games early on Sunday and easily completed the sweep. Dave Van Horn was complimentary of his team.
"I mean obviously, good to win two games in one day," Van Horn said. "We came out, I thought in the first ballgame, and kind of kicked the ball around. It was a well-hit ball, but (Nolan) Souza makes that play 99 out of 100 times and we turn a double-play there… They ended up scoring a couple of runs and they took advantage of it. We had another play where we didn’t make a play. We had somebody picked off, and they scored again a couple more times. You take away those two plays, and we played pretty good. Weather’s not great, obviously. Bad as far as temperature and a little slick. I liked the way we pitched, for the most part. A couple of our starters got into some jams and they fought their way out. Didn’t give up big innings. Gave up a run or two and that was it, and then we’d come in and counter. Just about every time they scored, we’d score and usually score more. I don’t remember all of the details of the first game since we just finished the second game, but I liked the way our guys played. They competed hard, stayed into it and they know the importance of winning league games, and you could kind of see that.
"Then, second game, after two games previously that you score a lot of runs, you’re just thinking maybe things aren’t going to go your way. You’re going to have to really play well, and they scored early on us. I thought Landon (Beidelschies) battled out of that first inning. Only gave up one and then we come in and punch in five. I think (Carson) Boles hit a homer. The three-run homer that gave us five, it was good to see. I mean, we scored 50 runs in three games. We scored 50 runs in less than 24 hours, pretty much. You know, it’s because our hitters, they battle and make you throw strikes for the most part. Got a lot of big two-out hits. Pitchers didn’t walk very many people. I just told the team, even our relievers were coming in with good leads. The game’s for the most part over, and they didn’t just come in there and go through the motion. Man, they pitched, and that was really good to see. It gives the coach confidence, the players confidence, and I liked what I saw from the bullpen the last three games."
In the first game, Arkansas held a 6-4 lead after 3 1/2 innings, but exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the fourth to put the game away. Charles Davalan hit two home runs and knocked in seven runs in the game. He hit a three-run blast in the bottom of the second. His grand slam came as part of the big explosion in the fourth. Cam Kozeal was 2 for 2 in the first game knocking in a pair of runs as well.
In the second game, Kozeal hit two home runs and plated six runs. As Van Horn mentioned earlier, Boles did blast a three-run homer. Davalan added two more hits in the second game and knocked in one run. Van Horn has seen Kozeal and Davalan really take off at the plate in recent games including this weekend.
"Well, I mean, to me that’s a super easy question to answer," Van Horn said. "Those guys have been amazing. Davalan just seems like he’s always on base. He’s scored 50 runs this year already and he’s got double-digit homers. Got 50 hits. Kozeal was in-and-out of the lineup early and just, you know, wasn’t going to be denied for the most part. Just got better and better. Now he’s really hitting, and if you make a mistake he hits it pretty hard all over the field. He’ll fight you with two strikes, and his RBI count, he’s up to like 37 and probably 10 days ago, two weeks ago he might have had 18 or something. I don’t know. He’s driven in a lot of runs lately. Started innings. Finished innings with big hits. Finished off games, honestly. Those two hitters have been really good the last couple of weeks."
Kozeal moved up to third in the batting order in the last game on Sunday. Is that something fans could see more of though Van Horn did sit Logan Maxwell in that game?
"Well, when I took Maxwell out of the game because we’re trying to keep him healthy and his hamstring got a little tight," Van Horn said. "That’s why I moved him up. I did move him up anyway from 6 to 5 because he’s been swinging it, maybe to protect one of those right-handed hitters because I just felt like I needed to for the first game. Yeah, we got a lot of guys that can hit in the middle of the order, and they’re showing it."
In the first game on Sunday, Arkansas sent three pitchers to the mound. Aiden Jimenez (4-0) picked up the win. He followed Gabe Gaeckle to the mound. Jimenez worked 2.0 innings. He allowed no hits or runs while striking out a pair. Steele Eaves pitched the seventh. Beidelschies worked 4.0 innings. He allowed five hits, four runs, walked a pair of fanned six. In his one inning, Eaves allowed one hit and struck out one while also not allowing any runs.
The second game saw Landon Beidelschies, Christian Foutch, Cole Gibler and Carson Wiggins go to the mound. Foutch (2-0) was the second pitcher to take the mound. He struck out two in his inning of work. Beidelschies worked 4.0 innings. He allowed four hits, two runs, walked one and struck out seven. Foutch, Cole Gibler and Carson Wiggins didn't allow a hit or runs while on the mound. The four combined to strike out 12 Missouri hitters. Wiggins allowed the only other walk by an Arkansas pitcher.
Arkansas will host Arkansas State (14-17) on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.
Photos Craven Whitlow
