Arkansas set to take on Oklahoma
FAYETTEVILLE — Left-hander Patrick Wicklander will take the hill today for the University of Arkansas as the No. 1 Razorbacks kick off a stretch of nine games in 13 days while trying to rebound from their first loss of the season.
Wicklander (0-0, 3.68 ERA in 7 1/3 innings) will make his first start in more than a year in the 5 p.m. game against hard-hitting Oklahoma at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Oklahoma (8-7) beat Arkansas State 12-6 on Monday in Norman, Okla., to win the weather-delayed series 2-1.
The Razorbacks (12-1), who remained No. 1 in all six polls Monday, had a 16-game winning streak snapped in Sunday’s 2-0 loss to Louisiana Tech by right-hander Jarret Whorff.
“Hopefully they didn’t like that feeling of losing, and they’ll get hooked up and ready to go this week,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said.
Wicklander had not allowed a run in two appearances until giving up 3 runs on 6 hits in 1 1/3 innings in Friday’s 9-7 victory at Louisiana Tech.
“We just really want to give him the opportunity to think about starting for a couple of days, see how it goes, and maybe he’ll make a move for us the rest of the season,” Van Horn said after announcing Wicklander on Monday.
Oklahoma coach Skip Johnson said he would start sophomore left-hander Braden Carmichael (2-0, 3.27 ERA) then “draw names out of a cowboy hat” to get through the game.
The Sooners, who split a Sunday doubleheader with Arkansas State, will bus to Fayetteville and back today.
“That’s gonna be difficult probably, in some form or fashion, but that’s part of covid and what we have to deal with, and we like the opportunity,” Johnson said. “Twentyseven innings in 24 hours is tough on anybody. The biggest thing we’ve got to do is play it one pitch at a time, one out at a time and … show effort.”
Johnson, who coached against Van Horn in the Texas junior-college ranks years ago, touted
the Arkansas program.
“He's got a great program and done a great job of recruiting,” Johnson said. “The hype lives up to it. They've got great athletes and great facilities. It'll be a fun test for our team and a great environment to play in.”
Wicklander will face a loaded Oklahoma lineup that scored 35 runs in the three-game set against Arkansas State. Sooners first baseman Tyler Hardman, who hit for the cycle while going 5 for 5 in a 15-14 loss on Sunday, had his streak of reaching base in 16 consecutive at-bats come to a close Monday with a ground out in the fifth inning.
Hardman (.492, 2 HR, 15 RBI), who went 11 for 12 in the series with 11 runs scored, finished a double shy of the cycle Monday, when Oklahoma scored in every inning except for the second and eighth.
“They're scoring a lot of runs,” Van Horn said. “Now they've given up a lot of runs as well. So that's really what we know. We know their players a little bit. We've recruited some of them.”
The Sooners faced just one left-handed starter in their first 15 games.
Wicklander has not started since being cuffed around by South Alabama on March 6, 2020. He allowed 7 runs on 4 hits and 5 walks in 3 2/3 innings of a 13-6 loss to the Jaguars. That had been the Razorbacks' last loss until Sunday.
“He's used to being a starter, and I wanted to tell him early and let him think about it, kind of like it used to be for him,” Van Horn said. “I don't know exactly why as far as if there is a particular reason that we're putting him out there. It's more that he's been there, he's done that, and he hasn't had the opportunity to start yet. We're going to see what he can do.”
Wicklander will be UA's fifth different starting pitcher in what will be the Razorbacks' first legitimate mid-week game.
Arkansas catcher Casey Opitz (.366, 6 extra-base hits, 3 RBI) will carry an 11-game hitting streak into the game. The other Arkansas regulars hitting .300 or better are Robert Moore (.309, 3 HR, 10 RBI), Brady Slavens (.306, 4, 15) and Jalen Battles (.304, 1, 12). That trio is joined by Christian Franklin (.275, 3, 11) with double-digit RBI.
The Sooners have won three in a row in the series, including a 6-3 decision last year at the Shriner's Classic in Houston.
In that game, Arkansas' Connor Noland opposed OU right-hander Cade Cavalli, the No. 22 pick in June's MLB Draft by the Washington Nationals. Arkansas infielders Moore and Jacob Nesbit homered off Cavalli, who picked up a no-decision.
Hardman has a 16-game hitting streak and is one of several Sooners with big stats, among them Diego Muniz (.364, 9 RBI), Tanner Treadway (.356, 1 HR, 13 RBI), Brett Squires (.323, 8 RBI), Conor McKenna (.322, 4, 15) and Peyton Graham (.302, 2, 8).
“We played them a couple of times last year, once in the fall and then before the season ended we got to play them down in Texas,” Van Horn said. “So we've seen them a little bit. They're an offensive team and they have good talent. So it'll be a battle.”