Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Hogs (17-4) find winning tasty
FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas Razorbacks began wiping away the memory of their startling 0-13 conclusion to 2016 with a victory over Miami (Ohio) on opening day.
The catharsis continued last weekend with the Razorbacks’ first three-game sweep of Mississippi State since 2010. The Bulldogs are the defending SEC regular-season champions.
The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville outscored the Bulldogs 14-6 over the weekend, using effective pitching, from starters and relievers, hitting five home runs and showed roster depth with two key infielders — Jared Gates and Hunter Wilson — on the shelf with injuries.
“I thought all three wins were team wins,” Coach Dave Van Horn said. “We mixed and matched, especially with the pitchers. I used four or five different third basemen.
“As coaches, we told them, ‘We have confidence in everyone on the roster, and I don’t care if you’ve got a batting average or not, you may play. … We’re still not full strength. We can put on a little more experienced team if we’re healthy.”
Arkansas, which lost its final 13 games of 2016, including its last 11 SEC games, is tied atop the SEC with a 3-0 record along with Auburn, LSU, Kentucky, South Carolina and Missouri, the team it will face on the road this weekend. The Razorbacks’ 17-4 overall record trails only Missouri (191) in the conference.
“We’re really, really excited we came away with these three wins,” said infielder Carson Shaddy, who has five home runs after hitting two against Mississippi State. “We’re glad to get off to a good start.”
Pitcher Dominic Taccolini, who returned as a senior with a willingness to fulfill any role Van Horn and new pitching coach Wes Johnson needed, said the Razorbacks knew they could bounce back from last year’s collapse.
“It’s the way we won, not necessarily the winning, because we knew eventually we’d win,” Taccolini said after his four-inning save on Sunday. “It’s the way we won and how confident our team felt throughout the game, that we knew we had pitching on our side and we had the hitters there whenever we needed them.
“That kind of gives us the most confidence, just the way we won and the swagger we did it with.”
Van Horn said he particularly pleased Arkansas put together a strong performance in the third game of the series after back-to-back lackluster showings on Sunday afternoons in losses to Oklahoma State (8-3) and Rhode Island (3-0).
The key in that regard was 42/3 innings of shutout pitching by senior starter Josh Alberius, who lowered his ERA to 3.18 and notched the victory to improve to 1-3 after a couple of tough-luck losses.
“This is a good tone setter for us,” Alberius said. “Last year was kind of the exact opposite. I know it’s nice to be at home and win three games in a row in front of this crowd.”
The Razorbacks improved to 9-1 on their current homestand, which concludes with Wednesday’s 6 p.m. game against New Orleans (13-7), which has already beaten LSU twice in midweek games.
Arkansas has relied on solid Friday and Saturday starts against quality opponents during the first third of the season. Right-handers Blaine Knight (2-1, 2.39 ERA) and Trevor Stephan (4-0, 1.19) have done that, handing it over to an emerging back end of the bullpen, led by righty Cannon Chadwick (2-0, 1.12) and Taccolini (3-0, 5.40), and power throughout the lineup.
Arkansas has 30 home runs, nine more than Mississippi State and South Carolina, to lead the SEC. The Hogs rank eighth in the country.
Catcher Grant Koch’s six home runs ties him for second in the SEC, while Shaddy and Dominic Fletcher have 5 each, Luke Bonfield 4, and Jake Arledge and Chad Spanberger 3.
The Razorbacks scored five of their six runs Sunday without the aid of a home run.
At shortstop, Jax Biggers made four eye-catching plays against Mississippi State and has committed one error in 67 chances for the season.