Arkansas Shows Another Dimension, Highlighting College Baseball Roundup

Image credit: Arkansas righthander Will McEntire (Photo courtesy of Arkansas)

Arkansas rose to No. 1 in the country on the strength of its pitching staff. The Razorbacks entered Friday ranked No. 1 in team ERA (2.23), strikeouts per nine innings (13.8), strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.77) and WHIP (0.95). They had allowed just one run in their first four SEC games.

The success of Arkansas’ pitching staff has started with its rotation. Lefthander Hagen Smith (4-0, 1.24), righthander Brady Tygart (3-0, 1.59) and lefthander Mason Molina (3-0, 2.74) have been the best trio in the country and, aside from a poor Opening Day start from Smith, have been consistently excellent.

On Friday at Auburn, however, Arkansas showed it can win even without its starters being at the top of their game. Tygart didn’t have his best control and was knocked out in the fourth inning after giving up three runs on three hits and five walks. Still, the Razorbacks found a way and defeated the Tigers, 6-5. The win extended their winning streak to 15 games, the second-longest active streak in the country, trailing only Florida State (21, dating to last season).

Arkansas (19-2, 5-0) held a 4-3 lead when Tygart left the game, but Auburn scratched out two runs (one earned) against Koty Frank to push ahead in the sixth inning. The Razorbacks tied the game in the seventh on a sacrifice fly from Peyton Stovall and then took the lead in the top of the ninth when freshman Ryder Helfrick, who had entered the game as a pinch hitter in the seventh, blasted a solo home run to left field. It was Helfick’s second career home run and it proved to be a series-clinching blast. Righthander Will McEntire needed just 10 pitches to throw a perfect ninth inning to close out win and secure the series, following a victory in Thursday’s opener.

Frank (2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K) was the first man out of the bullpen Friday, followed by Gage Wood (.2 IP), Stone Hewlett (.1 IP) and Cooper Dossett (1.1 IP), who all did their jobs before handing the ball to McEntire in the ninth. And that came a day after McEntire and freshman Gabe Gaeckle combined for three perfect innings to close out Thursday night’s 1-0 victory.

McEntire is 2-0, 1.57 with two saves in 11 appearances on the season. In three perfect innings the last two nights at Auburn, he’s struck out five batters. After splitting his time between the rotation and bullpen the last two seasons, the redshirt junior this year has found a home in the bullpen, becoming the Razorbacks’ most trusted reliever.

The Arkansas bullpen hasn’t been called upon often to deliver nights like they did Friday, when five relievers combined to throw 5.1 innings and hold Auburn to two runs (one earned) on seven hits and a walk. But anytime the Razorbacks have needed them, they’ve answered the bell. Their bullpen is a combined 5-2, 2.87 with 11 saves in 94 innings.

With such a good rotation – Smith, Tygart and Molina are all likely to be drafted in the top 10 rounds and are All-American candidates – the bullpen is going to fly a bit under the radar. But there’s no shortage of talent in the group and nights like Friday are a reminder of just how impactful that can be.

Ace Watch

Friday night is for the aces. Here we highlight some of the best pitching performances of the day.

Chase Burns, RHP, Wake Forest: Burns continued his exceptional season, as he struck out 12 batters in seven innings to help No. 15 Wake to a 5-1 victory against Louisville. He held the Cardinals to three hits and no walks as he threw seven innings for the second straight week. Burns improved to 5-0, 1.93 with 68 strikeouts (second nationally) in 37.1 innings.

Braden Davis and Reid Hensley, Oklahoma: Davis and Hensley combined for a no-hitter in No. 14 Oklahoma’s 13-0 victory against West Virginia. Davis threw the first seven innings, striking out 12 and walking two. Hensley took over for the final two, striking out three and walking one. The duo combined for the program’s first no-hitter since Dane Acker threw one against LSU on March 1, 2020.

Luke Holman, RHP, LSU: Holman struck out 13 batters in six innings to help No. 5 LSU defeat No. 8 Florida, 6-1. The junior held the Gators to one run on one hit (a solo home run) and three walks. Holman improved to 5-1, 0.78 with 56 strikeouts and eight walks in 34.2 innings.

Ryan Johnson, RHP, Dallas Baptist: Johnson struck out 15 batters and threw a complete game to lead No. 20 DBU to a 3-1 victory at Sam Houston State. The junior was one out away from completing a two-hit shutout when the Bearkats broke through for a run on back-to-back hits, but he was able to finish his first career complete game. Johnson improved to 4-0, 1.93 with 64 strikeouts in 42 innings.

Nic McCay, RHP, South Dakota State: McCay threw eight scoreless innings to help the Jackrabbits to a 1-0 victory at St. Thomas. He struck out eight batters and held the Tommies to three hits and a walk. McCay, who missed all of last season due to injury, is 2-0, 2.28 with 38 strikeouts and 11 walks in 27.2 innings this season.

Justin Sinibaldi, LHP, Rutgers: Sinibaldi threw a four-hit shutout in a 3-0 victory against UConn. The senior struck out nine batters and walked one while becoming the first pitcher to throw a shutout for the Scarlet Knights since 2016. Sinibaldi improved to 4-0, 3.02 with 40 strikeouts and four walks in 41.2 innings.

Payton Tolle, LHP, TCU: Tolle struck out 15 batters in a five-hit shutout to lead No. 21 TCU to a 1-0 victory at Oklahoma State. It was the second career shutout for the junior, who also threw one last year while playing for Wichita State against ECU. Tolle improved to 2-1, 3.73 with 53 strikeouts and 14 walks in 31.1 innings this season.

Around The Horn

• N.C. State edged No. 6 Duke, 4-3, to open a critical series in Raleigh. The Wolfpack (14-6, 4-3) last week endured a four-game losing streak, including getting swept at Georgia Tech, but have this week bounced back with consecutive one-run wins against Coastal Carolina and Duke. On Friday, Sam Highfill (7 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 8 K) outdueled Preseason All-American Jonathan Santucci and Jacob Dudan threw two scoreless innings to earn the save. Duke (16-6, 3-4), meanwhile, is looking to bounce back after its own series loss, as it was beaten last week by Clemson.
• UTSA beat No. 12 ECU, 4-2, in its AAC debut. The Roadrunners (11-11), playing their first ever game in the conference, beat the Pirates (15-5), who have won the last four conference titles. Righthanders Robert Orloski (6 IP, 9 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K) and Ruger Riojas (3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K) combined to slow down the ECU offense and outduel Preseason All-American Trey Yesavage.
• Delaware upset No. 24 Campbell, 10-8, snapping the Camels’ eight-game winning streak. The game was back-and-forth early before Campbell (16-5) took an 8-6 lead in the fifth. The Blue Hens scored four runs in the seventh, however, and Anthony Gubitosi came in to throw three scoreless innings to slam the door. Delaware (10-10) was coming off a tough weekend against Rutgers, in which it was outscored 56-26 in a three-game sweep but picked up a big win to open Coastal Athletic Association play.
• Utah continued its hot start to Pac-12 play with a 7-3 win at California. The Utes (15-6, 4-3) got down 3-0 in the third inning, but chipped away to tie the game in the fifth and then scored four in the seventh to push ahead. Utah has won six of its last eight games, with the only losses coming against Oregon State. It is off to its best start to Pac-12 play since 2016, when it won the conference title.
• St. John’s defeated Fordham, 9-0, to extend its winning streak to 13 games. The Red Storm got seven scoreless innings from Xavier Kolhosser and they pounded out 13 hits in the win. St. John’s (16-4) is on its longest winning streak since 2015 and has the fourth-best active streak in the country, trailing Florida State (21), Arkansas (15) and Vanderbilt (14).