HOGS PIN HOPES

on loser’s bracket run.

OMAHA, Neb. — A former University of Arkansas pitcher might start for Texas Tech against the Razorbacks in today’s College World Series elimination game at TD Ameritrade Park.

Red Raiders Coach Tim Tadlock said Sunday that he’ll start either sophomore right-hander Bryce Bonnin or junior right-hander Caleb Killian against Arkansas.

Bonnin (6-1, 4.42 ERA) played for the Razorbacks last season when he was 1-0 with a 4.26 ERA in 19 innings.

Tadlock said Bonnin’s familiarity with the Razorbacks’ hitters, including pitching against some of them in practice last year, could figure into his decision.

“I think there’s some comfort level with him pitching against their guys probably five or six times, maybe even more,” Tadlock said. “I would think there is some motivation there for him.

“I think there is some human element there that wants us all to give the ball to Bryce.”

Bonnin has pitched in 14 games this season, including 12 starts. In 59 innings he has 58 strikeouts and 41 walks. He has held opponents to a .231 batting average.

“He’s gotten better throughout the year,” Tadlock said. “His stuff has been electric from Day One.

“I remember the first start, his mound presence was off the charts. Not sure he got a lot of people out that day, but we knew from that point on were going to keep running him back out there.”

Bonnin got just one out in his Texas Tech debut. In one-third of an inning against Oregon he faced seven batters and allowed 6 runs — 4 earned — along with 4 hits and 2 walks in a game the Red Raiders rallied to win 12-11.

In four Big 12 games, Bonnin had a 2-0 record and 2.65 ERA over 17 innings. In NCAA Tournament starts against Dallas Baptist and Oklahoma State, he had a 2.38 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 111/3 innings.

“We’ve reaped the benefits of it here down the stretch,” Tadlock said of staying with Bonnin after his tough first start. “He’s thrown the ball really well.”

Killian has an 8-3 record and 3.93 ERA in 18 starts and 891/3 innings.

Martin OK

Arkansas shortstop Casey Martin practiced Sunday after having a sore shoulder resulting from a collision in the baseline with Florida State’s J.C. Flowers.

“It’s alright, it’s alright,” Martin said. “Just a little sore.”

Flowers scored the only run in FSU’s 1-0 victory over the Razorbacks on Saturday night after he was hit by a pitch by Cody Scroggins leading off the ninth inning, went to second on a fielder’s choice — when he slid into Martin and the Razorbacks didn’t record an out — and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and came home on a sacrifice fly.

After Flowers broke for second base on a hitand-run call, Martin came charging into his path to field a ground ball up the middle by Carter Smith. Scroggins got a hand on the ball.

“Cody hit it with his hand and top-spun it, slowed it down a little bit,” Martin said. “So I had to go pick it. It was just a tough play.”

Flowers knocked the ball out of Martin’s glove and then his glove came off. Martin stayed in the game and afterwards had ice on his shoulder.

“Kind of a crazy play,” Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. “If Cody doesn’t touch that ball it’s probably a double play. [Martin] fields it and steps on the bag and throws.

“Cody touched it and slowed it down a little bit, and then [Martin] got tied up with the runner, a big strong kid. It wasn’t a good situation. But Casey seems to be good.”

Tech’s Holt injured

Texas Tech sophomore center fielder Gabe Holt didn’t practice Sunday.

Holt, who batting .320 and has a .438 on-base percentage as the Red Raiders’ leadoff hitter, hasn’t played since the second game of Texas Tech’s super regional against Oklahoma State last weekend. According to media reports, Holt had surgery on an injured left thumb last Monday.

“The neat thing about Gabe is that when he feels like he can go [he’ll play],” Red Raiders Coach Tim Tadlock said. “He came off an injury last year where I think he had his appendix taken out and literally went 10 days without seeing a pitch, and came out and played great.

“He’s a guy that has played a lot of baseball at a high level, so if we can get to that point [where Holt can play], it would be cool. But right now the guys need to pick him up and do everything we can to play good without him.”

Sophomore Dylan Neuse replaced Holt in center field and in the lead-off spot Saturday against Michigan. Neuse went 1-for-4 and drew a walk.

Back in 1985

Florida State’s 1-0 victory over Arkansas on Saturday night was the second College World Series game the Razorbacks have played that ended with that score.

The Razorbacks opened the 1985 College World Series by beating South Carolina 1-0 in 14 innings.

Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn was in the dugout for that game, too. He was a graduate assistant coach for the Razorbacks in 1985.

“What do you want to know about it?” Van Horn said Saturday night when reminded of that 1-0 game 34 years ago. “We won that game. That’s all I remember.”

Arkansas is 4-2 all-time in 1-0 NCAA Tournament games. The Razorbacks lost to Oregon State 1-0 in 1986, beat Arizona State 1-0 in 1989 and beat Rice 1-0 and Baylor 1-0 in 10 innings in 2012.

Oops

The Omaha World-Herald is a newspaper with a storied history that does a wonderful job covering the College World Series, but it had a glaring error at the top of page 1A of Sunday’s edition.

There were logos for the four teams that played in Saturday’s games — Arkansas vs. Florida State and Michigan vs. Texas Tech — except the paper ran an Arkansas State University Red Wolves logo instead of a UA or Razorbacks logo.

Pain in the ACC

Teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference have been the source of frustration for Arkansas at the College World Series in recent years.

The Razorbacks’ 1-0 loss to Florida State was their third to an ACC team at TD Ameritrade Park since 2015. In all three games the winning run was scored in either the eighth or ninth inning.

In its College World Series opener against Virginia in 2015, Arkansas allowed the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and an insurance run in the ninth, and the Cavaliers won 5-3 en route to winning the national championship.

Two days later against Miami, Jacob Heyward hit an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Hurricanes a 4-3 victory.

Arkansas is 2-3 against the ACC all-time at the College World Series. The Razorbacks beat Virginia 4-3 in 12 innings in 2009 and beat North Carolina 7-3 in 1989.