UA pitchers toss coaches for loop
FAYETTEVILLE — Gonzaga worked deep into the Arkansas bullpen Wednesday and the result wasn’t pretty for the Razorbacks.
The Bulldogs (9-8) scored 12 runs in the last three innings on a comedy of walks and blunders for the Arkansas defense and routed the Razorbacks 15-5 before an estimated crowd of 2,196 at Baum Stadium to complete a two-game sweep.
Arkansas (9-5) will enter its SEC opener at defending national champion Vanderbilt on Friday riding a three-game losing streak after a meltdown low-lighted by 13 walks, 4 wild pitches, 3 hit batters and 2 passed balls.
“It was one of the ugliest games I’ve ever been a part of,” Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. “I haven’t seen much consistency from a lot of the pitchers. … I don’t know, but it’s definitely a concern.”
Gonzaga freshman Tyler Frost (1-2), who entered the game with a 7.20 earned run average, did not walk a batter and provided the Zags with a solid start, allowing 3 earned runs on 7 hits with 1 strikeout over 7 innings.
“I had location on my fastball and all my off-speed stuff as well, and also good fielders behind me,” said Frost, who was making his second start.
“He threw his breaking ball over a ton, and that was the difference between this outing and that other game,” Gonzaga Coach Mark Machtolf said.
Arkansas starter Cannon Chadwick gave up five walks in his three innings, but he kept the Hogs in the game by allowing only one earned run. The Razorbacks turned double plays with the bases loaded for Chadwick in the third and for Jackson Lowery in the fourth inning to head off huge innings for the Zags.
The score was tied 1-1 through three innings and 2-2 through four. The Razorbacks led briefly at 3-2 on Clark Eagan’s home run, his first of the season, to right field with one out in the fifth inning.
Gonzaga tied it again in the sixth on pinch-hitter Cory LeBrun’s two-out RBI single.
The Bulldogs turned it into a blowout with five runs in the seventh as Arkansas’ bullpen imploded, starting with back-to-back walks delivered by Parker Sanburn (01), who didn’t record an out.
Dustin Breshears put Gonzaga ahead for good with a run-scoring single, one of only three hits — all singles — in the inning. Arkansas pitchers walked four in the inning and hit a batter, and third baseman Bobby Wernes allowed another runner when his throw pulled Eagan off first base.
Gonzaga’s seven-run ninth inning featured runs scored on a hit batsman, a wild pitch and two bases-loaded walks.
“The mid-week games, you never know,” Machtolf said. “You get guys who maybe haven’t pitched a ton. I thought we pitched the ball really well … and they helped us out quite a bit today.”
Van Horn said he and pitching coach Dave Jorn agreed they have never seen anything like Arkansas’ current pitching struggles.
“I mean, it’s been incredible,” Van Horn said. “What do you do?… Obviously there’s some guys that they’ve got to … get between the lines and they’ve got to go attack that glove.”
The Razorbacks scored individual runs in the the third through fifth innings. Michael Bernal led off the third with a single, moved up on Eagan’s groundout and scored on Andrew Benintendi’s two-out single. Tyler Spoon doubled and came around on Chad Spanberger’s double to make it 2-2 in the fourth.
Benintendi capped his three-RBI day with a two-run home run, his team-leading fourth, far over the right-field wall off reliever Eli Morgan to draw Arkansas to within 8-5 in the eighth.