Hogs pitchers make do with sparse support
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas’ offense did just enough Friday.
Trey Killian and Zach Jackson handled the rest.
The two pitchers combined to strike out eight while walking just one and Arkansas used a two-run sixth inning to beat Loyola Marymount 2-1 in front of an announced crowd of 1,642 at Baum Stadium.
“I feel very fortunate to have won the game,” Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. “We won the game because, for the most part, we played solid defense and we pitched well.”
Killian, who was making his first start of the season after suffering tendinitis in his elbow, had a strong first outing.
The junior right-hander from Mountain Home who led the SEC with four complete games last season, threw 59 pitches — 41 for strikes — in 32/ innings, allowing the
3 Lions’ lone run and 4 hits.
“I felt really good,” Killian said. “The ball seemed to be coming out of my hand really well. I’m just glad to be back out there.”
The Lions’ only run came in a three-hit fourth when David Fletcher scored on a sacrifice fly to center by David Edwards.
Two Loyola Marymount (8-5) hits later, Jackson (2-0) came in and silenced any additional scoring threats.
The sophomore righthander, who struggled in recent starts against South Alabama and Eastern Illinois, gave up just 1 hit — a leadoff single in the seventh — and struck out 5 in 51/ innings.
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“I just thought it was a great job by our pitchers,” Van Horn said. “We’ve been struggling a little bit on the mound. I thought Trey did a tremendous job of throwing strikes on both sides of the plate.
“Then to see Jackson come in and do what he did, he’s got really good stuff and it was just good to see him pitch well, see him smile a little bit, gain some confidence.”
It also helped the Razorbacks (8-2) stay in the game and overcome early base-running miscues, which included runners getting picked off the in the third and fifth innings.
Arkansas scored the go-ahead run when Bobby Wernes poked a two-out single to right-center to score Tyler Spoon off Loyola Marymount ace right-hander Colin Welmon (2-2).
Welmon, who entered the game with a 0.86 ERA, showed signs of fatigue in the inning, walking Andrew Benintendi and Spoon. A wild pitch and an error allowed Benintendi to score and tie the game at 1-1, and an out later Wernes’ single brought home Spoon, who slid in safely when Lions catcher Cassidy Brown lost control of the ball.
“That pitcher had my number really all three atbats,” said Wernes, who went 1 for 3 with 2 strikeouts. “I just tried to get my hands out to a fastball. I got jammed a little bit. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good, and it squirted through and we took the lead.
“I was a little fortunate. [Welmon] was pitching real good. Real good.”
Welmon gave up 7 hits in 52/ innings, throwing 61
3 strikes in 96 total pitches. Loyola Marymount Coach Jason Gill said the colder weather in Fayetteville may have played a factor in Welmon’s effectiveness late.
“I don’t think he would have been out that quick if it was a little warmer,” said Gill, whose team was playing its first game outside of California. “I don’t think people realize how much energy it takes to pitch in a game like this, and he had to pitch out of some jams and make some stressful pitches.
“It’s unfortunate he got tagged with the loss, but it’s baseball. It’s a team sport. Arkansas is a good team and has pretty good pitching, and when you’re playing championship-level baseball and it’s a 2-1 game the little things will matter.”