Hogs on target pitching, hitting
FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Arkansas will go with a pitching rotation of right-hander Connor Noland, lefty Patrick Wicklander and righty Kole Ramage this weekend at the Shriners College Classic in Houston.
The No. 5 Razorbacks (7-0) will take on Oklahoma, Texas and Baylor in the tournament, starting with Friday’s 3 p.m. game against the Sooners.
The annual classic is being billed as an SEC vs. Big 12 showdown, as it will pit Arkansas, LSU and Missouri from the SEC playing one game each against the three Big 12 schools.
Coach Dave Van Horn announced the pitching rotation Wednesday, the day before the Razorbacks will get an evening practice at Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astros.
Ramage (1-0, 2.84 ERA) has appeared in three games this season, twice as a reliever.
“If you look back at kind of what we did with Kole, we brought him out of the pen the first weekend and didn’t pitch until Sunday,” Van Horn said. “Then, we asked him to start again on Thursday, then brought him out of the pen on Sunday.
“We just feel like he deserves an opportunity to be more fresh and show us what he can do. So we’re going to give him all this week. He’s not going to pitch in the games on Friday and Saturday. He’ll start for us Sunday.”
Noland (2-0, 1.42) and Wicklander (2-0, 0.00) have both been tough through two starts. Blake Adams, Ramage and Caleb Bolden started the Razorbacks’ other three games.
Arkansas has not trailed during its 7-0 start. The Razorbacks scored in the first inning of all three games in its season-opening series against Eastern Illinois and jumped ahead of Gonzaga in each game of its four-game set at Baum-Walker Stadium.
“It’s great for the team,” said Wicklander, who will pitch Saturday’s 7 p.m. game against currently unbeaten Texas. “If we do trail this weekend, I’m excited to see how we bounce back from it. But overall, it’s great knowing we have the lead. We just have to keep throwing up zeroes as a staff.”
First baseman Cole Austin said he wasn’t aware that the Razorbacks had not trailed yet.
“Credit to our offense,” he said. “As soon as we get to the plate, we’re hammering balls, getting guys in when they need to get in and then our pitching has come in, and they’re putting up zeroes and we’re playing good defense. If we can keep that up this weekend, it’ll definitely help us out a lot.”
The Razorbacks rank 17th nationally with a .314 team batting average and ninth with 1.57 home runs per game.
Austin, a transfer from West Virginia and Arizona State, said he’d never been a part of an offense this potent.
“It’s funny because we were talking about how we feel we haven’t even been clicking on all cylinders yet and we’re still averaging eight or nine [runs] a game,” Austin said. “We’re definitely excited to see how we’re going to do each game when everybody’s clicking on full cylinders, everybody’s comfortable at the plate.”
The Razorbacks’ 2.14 team ERA is tied for 27th in the country.
“We go in and throw strikes, throw up zeroes,” Wicklander said. “Even when we don’t have our best stuff, we’re still limiting the damage, throwing up zeroes and basically getting it to the next guy to close out ball games.”
Wicklander started and pitched four innings in the Razorbacks’ 11-4 victory at Texas on March 19. He was staked to an 11-0 lead through the top of the fourth before allowing four runs in the bottom of the fourth. He expects to see much the same lineup in Houston.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a whole lot different,” he said. “I know they added one or two freshmen that are starting. But overall I know they’re a very experienced, veteran club. They’ll be good. I’ve got a few buddies over there I’ve been keeping up with. It’s going to be a good club. Not a whole lot has changed in the past year.”
The Razorbacks split two games against the Longhorns last season. They lost a 4-3 exhibition game in 14 innings against Oklahoma on Sept. 20 at Baum-Walker Stadium.
“As far as them physically and how they play the game, it just gives you a little bit of an idea,” Van Horn said. “You can look at video all you want, but when you get on the field with somebody, it’s usually a little better.”
Arkansas and Texas (9-0) both enter the classic unbeaten. Oklahoma is 7-2 with losses to Virginia and Illinois State in their first and last games, respectively. LSU has a 5-3 record, while Baylor and Missouri are both 4-3.