FAYETTEVILLE - Long a baseball rivalry discussed but not achieved but now in Year Two as annual, the Arkansas Razorbacks and Arkansas State Red Wolves renew their intra state series tonight.
Actually this year twice over weather permitting.
At the Razorbacks’ Baum-Walker Stadium Arkansas and Arkansas State play at 6:30 tonight and 4 p.m Wednesday.
They played once last season at Baum-Walker. The Razorbacks broke a scoreless game with five fifth-inning runs and withstood an eighth-inning 3-run Red Wolves rally to win 8-4.
On paper these next two games appear a mismatch with Arkansas, ranked in all the national polls, 28-7 overall and leading the SEC West at 11-4 while the Red Wolves struggle, 7-24 overall and 2-12 in the Sun Belt Conference.
However strange things can happen in midweek games, especially with both squads saving frontline pitching for weekend conference series.
Coach Dave Van Horn’s Razorbacks, after sweeping nationally ranked SEC West rival LSU last Thursday through Saturday in Fayetteville, visit SEC West rival Texas A&M Friday through Sunday in College Station, Texas.
Coach Tommy Raffo’s Red Wolves, beating Sun Belt rival Arkansas-Little Rock last Thursday and Friday in Little Rock with Saturday’s game cancelled by rain, host Sun Belt rival Troy, for three games Friday through Sunday in Jonesboro.
Van Horn was a strong advocate of Arkansas Athletic Hunter Yurachek breaking the Razorbacks longstanding policy of not scheduling instate teams. The Razorbacks in Fayetteville this season have twice defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff and in Fayetteville beat the University of Central Arkansas. They play UCA again on April 26 at the Arkansas Travelers’Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock.
“I think it's good for the state, obviously,” Van Horn said. “And I think it probably makes it easier for us scheduling wise, because it's tough to get teams to come here midweek games in April. Maybe we have a home and away with Missouri State or someone in the region. But you know, it gives us more of an opportunity to stay at home. It's hard enough playing on the weekend when you've got to play the competition that we do.”
Van Horn knows firsthand the sky won’t fall if his Hogs lose to an instate team. UALR pummeled, 17-7 at Baum-Walker those same 2019 Razorbacks finishing at the College World Series.
Last year’s Red Wolves didn’t come to Fayetteville intimidated by the then No. 1 Razorbacks.That stems from their coach well familiar with playing the Razorbacks. Raffo, the captain of Mississippi State’s 1990 College World Series, team, spent 13 years at Mississippi State as the top assistant to retired Mississippi State legend Ron Polk before head coaching Arkansas State since 2008.
“I told our guys a couple years ago when we started playing them (instate schools) we're not going to beat these people every time,” Van Horn said. “They're going to beat us. It's baseball. And Arkansas State, you know, they've struggled a little bit this year, but they just beat Little Rock in two one-run games and I thought Little Rock was pretty good.”
The Red Wolves’ attack is led by second baseman Cail Daedrick of Marion, batting .317, left fielder Jaylon Deshazier of Pine Bluff, .298, designated hitter Jared Toler of Benton and Harmony Grove High, .264 wit seven home run and 25 RBI, and third baseman Ben Klutts of Poteau, Okla., .263, five home runs and 21 RBI.
Kole Ramage and Bryant’s Will McEntire, the starting pitchers in last Tuesday’s 15-0 and 6-0 sweep of UAPB, likely will be the tonight and Wednesday starters against Arkansas State, Van Horn said.
Van Horn said he’ll definitely start sophomore backup catcher Dylan Leach against Arkansas State to rest regular catcher Michael Turner for the SEC series at Texas A&M.
Leach hit for the single, double, triple, home run cycle plus another home run starting against UAPB.
Beyond Turner, who presumably could DH a game, Van Horn following Saturday’s victory over LSU seemed less inclined to rest other regulars against Arkansas State, especially since they took Easter Sunday off and had just a light workout Monday.
“These guys want to play,” Van Horn said. “If you're a baseball player, you want to play. There's some guys that I'll discuss some things with about taking a day off or not starting, maybe come off the bench if we need you. But we need to put our guys out there. They need to stay sharp.”
(END OF STORY)