Corralling the ’Horns
Pitching, Slavens carry Razorbacks
Brady Slavens homered and drove in four runs to back a sterling two-hit pitching performance as the No. 8 Arkansas Razorbacks blanked No. 9 Texas 4-0 in the Sunday nightcap at the College Baseball Showdown in Arlington, Texas.
The University of Arkansas improved to 2-0 in the season-opening tournament and shut out the Longhorns (0-2) for the first time in 33 years, since a 5-0 win in Austin, Texas, on May 7, 1988.
The Razorbacks will go for a showdown sweep in today’s 6 p.m. finale against No. 10 TCU (1-1), which owns the only Big 12 win of the showdown.
Peyton Pallette combined with Caden Monke (1-0) and Caleb Bolden for 15 strikeouts while holding the Longhorns to two singles.
Bolden, displaying a brand-new slider he developed last week, worked a four-inning save, striking out seven and allowing no hits on 56 pitches.
“To have a shutout like this on the stage that it’s on, is just huge,” Bolden said.
The official scorer gave Monke the win for posting two outs to get through the fifth. Often times in an early season game, the decision can
be given to a performance like that turned in by Pallette, who was razor sharp in his first career start. The right-hander threw 72 pitches over 41/3 innings, allowing no runs on 1 hit and a couple of hit batsmen, with 8 strikeouts and 1 walk.
“We just pitched well,” Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. “We pitched ahead in the count and kept them off balance a little bit. We didn’t give them the big inning, obviously. We didn’t give them anything.”
The Razorbacks snapped a two-game skid to the Longhorns over the last two seasons after beating the Longhorns 11-5 in a first-round game at the College World Series. Arkansas has won eight of the last 13 games in the series, which Texas has dominated historically.
Slavens, a junior designated hitter, drove in the only run the Razorbacks would need with a single in the fourth, then launched the team’s first home run of the season in the sixth to give Arkansas some padding at 4-0. Both of the big hits came with two outs.
“The first at-bat, the pitcher left a slider up, and I put a good swing on it and got it through the hole,” Slavens said. “Not missing a fastball when they give you one on the home run.”
Slavens’ homer, a climbing line drive to right-center field, came off right-handed reliever Dawson Merryman.
“He tried to sneak a fastball by him and he got every bit of it,” Van Horn said.
Texas right-hander Tristan Stevens (0-1) making his first start since 2018, was mostly sharp through five innings, not allowing a hit through three innings. and the job throwing in fifth a gave runner the Pallette “Pallette Monke and for third worked inning up dugout,” us, a a couple inning. strikes aboard just single relieved allowed did with out coming Van a of and of to one and tremendous hit one him only Horn nine-hole getting batsmen out quickly out jam in a said. and and single the us in hitter had escaped ball, Moore and both that Murphy second by shortstop Texas nearly coaxing baseman Stehly, turned hits. Jalen a ground Monke into Robert who Battles a double ball Pallette to center. play, cruised and a routine through fly the strikeouts, first to good two using effect. innings a 95 He mph with struck fastball five out the on side 12 pitches. in the second inning
one He out ran in into the third trouble inning, with starting with a hit by pitch on catcher DJ Petrinsky after getting ahead 1-2. Stehly notched the first hit of the game, a single through the left side.
Pallette walked Austin Todd one out Eric out. to load He Kennedy rallied the bases then to strike with got Mike Antico to pop up Battles in short left field to escape damage. Stevens got outs from the first 11 Razorbacks before giving up his first hit and immediately running into trouble in the fourth inning. First baseman Cullen Smith reached on a two-out single up the middle to start the uprising. With Brayden Webb at the plate, Smith advanced on a passed ball from Petrinsky before Webb reached on a walk. Slavens got ahead with a 2-1 count, then the left-handed hitter drilled a bouncer through the right side to plate Smith. “I know early on a lot of guys were hitting it hard right at people and not finding the holes, so I’m glad that got through,” Slavens said. Stevens tired in the sixth inning and the Razorbacks made him pay when Christian Franklin drew a out-out walk and advanced on a wild pitch before Smith drew a walk. Merryman relieved Stevens and struck out Webb looking to get on the brink of escaping the inning.
Slavens showed discipline on his at-bat before homering.
“The three-run homer, again with two outs, the pitcher had just gotten a big out and then Slavens took the first pitch, either a change-up or a cutter, which was just a little low,” Van Horn said. “It was good to see him take that pitch.”
Bolden struck out the first four Longhorns he faced and allowed just two base runners on a walk and a hit batter.
“I had my fastball today,” Bolden said. “I had my changeup, although I didn’t throw it much today. I developed a new slider this week and Coach [Matt] Hobbs was like, ’That’s filthy. Throw it as much as you can.’
“Coming into the ball game in basically the middle of the game, I have the mindset of, ‘This is my ballgame and I’m going to finish it.’ When I came out of the eighth inning, that’s when I told Coach Hobbs, ‘I’m finishing this ball game.’ And he was like, ‘Yes, yes you are.’ ”