By Otis Kirk
FAYETTEVILLE -- Less than 24 hours after a run-rule victory over Little Rock, Arkansas fell to the Trojans 11-4 on Wednesday afternoon in Baum-Walker Stadium.
It appeared the game would be a repeat of Tuesday's one-sided win when the Hogs hit two home runs in the bottom of the second for a 3-0 lead. Jace Bohrofen started the inning off with a solo shot. After Kendall Diggs walked, Brady Slavens also hit a shot over the fence in right field and it appeared the Hogs were heading for another easy win. Dave Van Horn called the game humbling.
"Well you know baseball, what a humbling game," Van Horn said. "You’ve got to show up, you’ve got to play defense and you’ve got to throw strikes. And yesterday, Little Rock didn’t do it and today we didn’t do it. We probably walked 9, 10, (it was 9) somewhere in there, hit a couple of people, made a couple of mental mistakes in the field.
"Comebacker to the mound, bases loaded, you’ve got to know where you’re going to throw the ball and you don’t have to be told by the catcher and the whole stadium and you get twisted up. There was a diving play in left field. You don’t dive for that ball, you just let it drop, you know. Cut a relay throw to home plate that was gonna be perfect. The catcher didn’t say anything and that means let it go. You know it just all added up."
It was an error on former Bryant pitcher Austin Ledbetter that Van Horn referred to. Slavens also had one in the game. Ledbetter was one of five Arkansas pitchers and took the loss in his first decision. Ledbetter worked 2.1 innings, allowed three hits, three runs though none earned, two walks and fanned three. Ben Bybee got the start and then Christian Foutch, Zack Morris and Parker Coil followed him and Ledbetter to the mound.
Little Rock had other ideas though. They score three of their own in the top of the third. The Trojans then broke a 3-3 tie in the top of the sixth with three runs and then added four more in the seventh and the final one in top of eighth. Former Bryant catcher Jake Wright hit a two-run home run in the seventh. Little Rock coach Chris Curry was pleased to see his team respond like they did following Tuesday night's nightmare.
“It was a very big win for our program, obviously,” Curry said. “Any time we get an opportunity to go on the road against a top five club that is in-state and we have so much respect for - and get a win - it’s great.
“And more importantly, and this is not just coach speak, after the way we got punched in the mouth last night. We were down, we were frustrated, we wanted to have a better showing."
Reliever Jacob Weatherley pitched 4.2 innings to finish the game and pick up his second win in three decisions. Weatherley allowed two hits, one run, walked five and struck out six. He combined with starter Eric McKnight and Austin Stubber to pound the strike zone and only allow seven walks.
“Last night, 15 walks, so when we met as a coaching staff we said ‘hey let’s make them beat us by swinging the bat. And that’s not just today, that’s every game. Let’s make them beat us by swinging the bat,'" Curry said. “So we ran some guys out there that would not be intimated by the stage and would just throw it over the plate."
Van Horn was complimentary of Weatherley as well.
"Then you give credit to Weatherly," Van Horn said. "He’s one of their top relievers and he just threw 105 pitches (stats said 107). Six innings maybe, six or seven innings (4 2/3) and he did a great job. They played better than us. They deserved to beat us."
Bohrofen doubled home Tavian Josenberger in the bottom of the ninth to end the scoring and set the final score. As if the loss wasn't enough, Van Horn also discussed the injury that kept leading hitter Jared Wegner out of the lineup for the first time this season and was also asked if he will be ready by Friday for Tennessee?
"I'd say it's 50-50," Van Horn said. "He's got a little fracture in that thumb, little hairline. Broken, whatever you want to call it. He's very tough. It's not a clean break or anything, it's more of a hairline fracture. It's very painful right now, but I think if anybody could handle the pain, it would probably be him. I don't know yet. We'll know more tomorrow. I don't think it'll be until Friday I'll know if I'm going to write him in the lineup. He's going to have to show me he can play."
It's Wegner's left thumb as Van Horn went into a little more detail on the injury.
"He can grip the bat," Van Horn said. "If you hurt your top hand thumb, it’s going to affect you more than the bottom hand, I would think, the way we swing a bat. It’s more about the pain and him not thinking about that thumb, so if he shows me tomorrow that he can hit a little bit or Friday, we’ll probably go with him. But we won’t know for a day or two."
Arkansas (26-7, 8-4) and Tennessee (23-10, 5-7) will play the first game of the series on Friday at 7 p.m. and televised on the SEC Network. Saturday's game begins at 6 p.m. and then 2 p.m. on Sunday. Both those games will be on the SEC Network+.
Photos Courtesy of Craven Whitlow CW3 Action Sports
