Connor Noland gets the win today, having pitched through seven innings.
By Otis Kirk
Arkansas looked like a different team on Friday as they led from start to finish to defeat Grand Canyon 7-1 in the opening game of the Stillwater (Okla.) Regional.
The Razorbacks entered the game having lost six of their last eight contests. One common denominator in the losses was Arkansas falling behind early and the starting pitchers weren't giving Dave Van Horn many innings. All that changed on Friday.
"Really, it started on the mound with Connor (Noland) today," Van Horn said. "Lot of strikes, really mixing well. Grand Canyon has a really good lineup, especially the top five or six guys. Those batting averages are legit, and they'll fight you. They're hard to strike out. They swing early, and if they get behind they just protect and make it hard on you. Connor did a good job of not letting them frustrate him. But I think he would tell you, that long second inning that we had was big for our team's confidence. And obviously if you're pitching with a four or five-run lead, it frees you up a lot. You know, we hadn't won in a while. It's been a couple of weeks, and it's a good feeling, I'll tell you that."
On Friday, Arkansas' Cayden Wallace hit a solo shot in the bottom of the first inning and then Razorbacks scored four more runs in the bottom of the second. The 5-0 lead allowed Arkansas to go on cruise control the remainder of the game. Wallace added another solo shot in the fourth inning. Van Horn liked what he saw from Wallace.
"Well, in the first inning the first couple of guys got out on maybe six or seven pitches," Van Horn said. "I think it was a 1-0 count, and it was a fastball - looked like it was knee high - and he crushed it. I mean, I don't know if you can hit a ball harder than that. It was a no-doubter right when it left the bat. I'm going to say it was about 450 feet. It gave us a little bit of a chance to go, 'Wow, we got a lead, haven't had one of those in a while.' Connor went out, got them out, got back in. It looked like we were going to do some damage, but it didn't happen. But I'll pick up that inning since I've already answered your question."
The Razorbacks plated four runs in the bottom of the second after there was two outs. Peyton Stovall singled to center field. Zack Gregory was hit by a pitch. Braydon Webb then singled to right field to score Stovall. Brady Slavens walked to load the bases. Wallace was hit by a pitch allowing Gregory to score. Then Michael Turner singled to center field to allow both Webb and Slavens to score for a 5-0 lead.
In addition, Noland (6-5) worked seven innings to pick up the win. Kole Ramage worked the final two innings. Noland allowed six hits, one run, a home run, three walks, fanned four and threw 89 pitches with 55 going for strikes. Ramage allowed two hits and struck out three of the eight hitters he faced. Turner, the catcher, liked what he saw on the mound from Noland.
"I thought he worked ahead in the count," Turner said. "Whenever he does that, he's super effective. And that's a tough lineup to throw against. You look up on the board, and all of their batting averages are above .350, so it's a little bit intimidating. But I thought he did a good job today."
Noland who had struggled in his most recent couple of outings talked about the difference on Friday.
"I think that's the difference - using the fastball effectively, getting ahead in counts, keeping them off-balance," Noland said. "I threw a lot of curveballs, a lot of sliders, mixed well. Michael called a great game, so that always helps."
The lone Grand Canyon run came in the top of the fourth when right fielder Taylor Aguilar hit a solo shot over the fence in right field off Noland. Grand Canyon starter Daniel Avitia only lasted 1.2 innings. He allowed four hits, five runs, all earned, walked three and struck out four of the 12 hitters he faced. He took the loss.
In the bottom of the sixth, Slavens walked to start the inning. Slavens alertly tagged and went to second base on a fly out by Wallace to center field. Turner, who had three hits on the day singled to get him home.
Noland also showed his football toughness getting hit with line drives twice in the same inning.
"I got hit in the right forearm with the first one, and then in the hip with the second one," Noland said. "It was pretty unbelievable. I've never seen that before in baseball. So, for it to happen to me was really special. But it helped that Mike called out where the ball was, and I had the ability to go make a play. So, I'm just glad that everybody played the game the same way. We play it hard, no matter what happens. That was really the difference in not making that play and making it."
The first one that hit him he bounced off the mound, located the ball and still threw Homer Bush Jr. out at first base.
"First one was an amazing play," Van Horn said. "I don't know if you realized this, but Connor made the All-SEC Defensive Team as a pitcher. He backed it up right there. That was a great play, an incredible play."
Turner agreed Van Horn and also praised Noland.
"That first play that he made was one of the best plays I've ever seen a pitcher make," Turner said. "Especially because he was almost on the base line. To avoid the baserunner with that throw, he couldn't have put it in a better spot. That was cool to see."
Arkansas (39-18) will face the winner of Oklahoma State and Missouri State on Saturday night at 6 p.m. Grand Canyon (41-20) will face the loser of the Cowboys and Missouri State at noon on Saturday in an elimination game.