Webb hits hot streak ahead of series
FAYETTEVILLE — The resurgence of outfielder Braydon Webb has come at a crucial time for the University of Arkansas, which hosts defending College World Series champion Mississippi State for a three-game SEC set starting tonight at 6 at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Webb’s recent power surge has coincided with a hot run for the No. 2 Hogs (19-4, 5-1 SEC), who have won 14 of their last 15 games, stretching their SEC series winning streak to 12.
Mississippi State (16-10, 3-3 SEC) will start right-hander Preston Johnson (2-1, 3.41 ERA) in the series opener against Arkansas right-hander Connor
Noland (3-1, 3.41) in a game set for an SEC Network broadcast.
Webb, a bonus-year senior, started the season in an 0 for 23 slump through 14 games that left him out of the lineup several times as coach Dave Van Horn and hitting coach Nate Thompson looked for answers in their outfield and designated hitter rotation.
However, Webb’s exemplary defense in center field kept Van Horn writing his name into the batting order, recalling his hot fall in which he flashed power to all fields and had a batting average that ranked among the highest on the team in inter-squad work.
The 6-footer from McKinney, Texas, and Grayson (Texas) Community College got off the hitless slide with a game-ending grand slam in a 14-1 run-rule win over Grambling State on March 15.
Starting with that slam, Webb has team highs of 5 home runs and 14 RBIs over the last 9 games to go along with a .419 batting average (13 for 31) that has boosted his season average to .241.
His two-run homer against Kentucky on March 20 provided the first runs and the winning margin in a 3-1 win.
After that, he was asked about how he handled the extended slump to open the year.
“I mean, just trying to control things that I can control,” Webb said. “Just playing with confidence and just playing for the guys next to me, playing
for our amazing fans and just trying to keep a good perspective and treat each day as its own.”
The following weekend, his eighth inning two-run home run after a Jalen Battles single provided the go-ahead shot in a 7-5 win in the series opener at Missouri. He added a tworun double in a four-run seventh inning in Sunday’s 6-4 series-clinching win.
“He’s been swinging it good,” Van Horn said. “He’s helped us win. Who knows what would have happened in Columbia without a couple of his swings. A two-run homer and a big double Sunday after a couple of guys left the bases loaded.”
Webb’s hot streak helped Arkansas weather the extended absence of outfielder Jace Bohrofen (.214, 5 RBIs), who was in a 6 for 12 hot zone when he crashed his left shoulder into the wall during warm-ups on March 10.
“He’s always been a really good defender and really good arm,” Van Horn said of Webb. “I think it’s just that once he got over the hump a little bit the confidence goes up.”
Bohrofen, who also opened the year in a funk, will be on the roster for the series against Mississippi State, opening up other options for Van Horn.
Since his injury, the Razorbacks have gone with Zack Gregory (.281), a consistent onbase threat, in left field and the combination of Chris Lanzilli (.358) and Brady Slavens in the right field and designated hitter slots. However, Slavens’ lengthy hitting slump, an 0 for 17 skid that has left him with a .187 average, has opened a window for freshman Kendall Diggs (.190), who hit a three-run homer in Tuesday’s 16-8 win over Arkansas-Little Rock in his second consecutive game at DH.
Van Horn said he sees Bohrofen’s return as a big plus.
“You just kind of go with the guy who’s swinging it the best really,” he said. “That and if you need to make a defensive replacement. But I really feel like Jace is a pretty good outfielder.”
Van Horn said Lanzilli, who has two home runs and 15 RBIs to tie for fourth on the team, has been one of the team’s most consistent hitters, along with Michael Turner (.369, 4 HR, 25 RBIs), making him hard to take out of the lineup.
“Slavens has got to try to get back in the lineup, whether it’s DHing,” Van Horn said. “It’s not a problem for me at all. I don’t see it as a problem. I see it as a good thing and it’s nice to have some options out there.”
The Arkansas-Mississippi State series has been bizarre the last several years, with regular-season sweeps every year since 2016, two by the Bulldogs (2016, 2018) and three by the Razorbacks, including 8-2, 11-5 and 6-4 wins in Starkville, Mississippi last year.
“It’s been unusual because the teams are probably fairly even in those years for the most part,” Van Horn said. “It’s unusual to win three in a row against somebody that’s really good, and they’ve been really good. We’ve been pretty good as well.”
The Bulldogs are not out to a hot defense of their title, though they have won five of their last six games. Much like Arkansas, which lost likely Friday night starter Peyton Pallette prior to the year, the Bulldogs are coping with the loss of ace Landon Sims, their Friday flamethrower.
Van Horn said you can dismiss the Bulldogs’ rocky start.
“They had some rough days last year as you remember, but it didn’t seem to bother them a bit,” he said. “So we’re definitely not looking past them. They’re a great team and we’re looking forward to having a really good crowd this weekend. It’s probably for the first time now that basketball is over that we feel like it will be really loud here for a great atmosphere.”