Razorback baseball out to fast 9-1 start
The Arkansas Razorbacks were a simple pop foul out away from claiming their first baseball national championship last year.
Two outs in the bottom of the ninth, and a Oregon State batter popped up a weak foul ball with three Hogs converging on it in foul territory. In perhaps the most heart-wrenching mishap in Arkansas sports history, the ball dropped in the middle of the three when each one thought the other had it.
The reprieve ended putting the game into extra innings and the Beavers went on to win the title, leaving Arkansas with the runnerup trophy.
You would think that Arkansas superlative season in 2018 would lead to a high ranking in 2019, and while that is kind of true, still — the Razorbacks are rated as the seventh best team in the Southeastern Conference in 2019.
On the up side, the Hogs are ranked as the No. 16 team in the composite poll rankings which came out on Feb. 25. The composite poll is a compilation of the seven ranking/polling services that put out weekly lists of America’s college teams. There is no sport in America with as many separate opinion publications with as many polls as collegiate baseball.
The polls are: Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, D1 Baseball, NCBWA, Perfect Game, USA Today and Boyd’s World. When I was an undergraduate at Harding University, the head of the history department, Dr. Raymond Muncy, told us that to get the best read on what the truth is, get as many sources as you can and study them. College baseball has that covered.
I would think that with seven separate rating services, the overall composite poll ought to be spot on, and maybe it will be, at least at first.
Arkansas did lose some very good pitching from 2018, but they seem to have even greater depth now than they did last year. I listened to the Stony Brook/ Arkansas series last week which the Razorbacks swept 3-0. It seemed as though most of their hurlers were out there throwing 95 miles per hour throughout the games, played in cold and unpleasant conditions.
The Hogs have a lot of hitting coming back and if the pitching staff becomes as good as it looks it might, the Razorbacks may be headed back to Omaha for another shot at a national title.
Casey Martin, Dominic Fletcher and Heston Kjerstad are back this season after great performances in 2018. However a trio of unfamiliar names are currently the three top batters for Arkansas. Senior transfer Trevor Ezell is lighting it up with a .432 batting average with freshman Christian Franklin hitting a solid .346. A bench player last season, junior Jack Kenley is hitting .314 and is likely the fastest Razorback on the team. Most of the action he saw in 2018 was as a pinch runner. He hit a pair of homers in cold conditions last Saturday so he has some power.
Ezell transferred in from Southeast Missouri State with Franklin coming here from the Kansas City area. Franklin was considered as the No. 1 player in his state by some sports outlets, with Ezell graduating from SEMO and becoming transfer eligible. The Hogs’ excellent showing in 2018 probably had a lot to do with attracting the new talent.
Now to the pitching. Isaiah Campbell on the mound is 3-0 with a 3.10 earned run average and is the ace of the staff. Freshman football quarterback Connor Noland is a possibility as a starter as is junior Jacob Kostyshock, both with great ball speed. Kole Ramage and Matt Cronin are the heart of the bullpen, having pitched 15 innings total this season and allowing no runs at all.
The Hogs are deep in pitching and could well have five to six batters who can drive baseballs out of the stadiums.
Arkansas was slated to host North Carolina-Charlotte Tuesday and on Wednesday. They were scheduled play host to Louisiana Tech Friday through Sunday in Fayetteville. The first really important games will be March 15-17 when they host the Missouri Tigers to start SEC conference play. Two days after that, Arkansas is scheduled to travel to Austin to play former, and maybe still, arch rival Texas. The Hogs swept the Longhorns in Fayetteville last year, and the ’Horns are ranked in the top 20 as well as Arkansas this year. The former Southwest Conference foes will have revenge on their minds when the Hogs come calling.
Getting back to the rankings, SEC team Vanderbilt is the current composite nationally-ranked No. 1 team, just ahead of No. 2-ranked LSU. Florida is the consensus No. 7 team followed by No. 11 Georgia, No. 12 Mississippi State, No. 13 Mississippi, No. 16 Arkansas and No. 18 Auburn. That gives the SEC eight of the top 18 teams in the country, as far as rankings go.
MaxPreps looks good
The MaxPreps/CBS girls basketball poll has ranked Batesville and Berryville as the top two teams for nearly all the season and that is who will be tipping it off this week in the 4A championship game.
Little Rock Mills has led the boys polling all year and is in the finals in the 4A boys game. Magnolia will be their opposition, a team that wasn’t expected to be making it to the final this year, well that is until they managed to gain the right to host the state tournament.
Unlike most states where the high school state playoffs play on neutral floors through the championship final, Arkansas allows schools that think they may have a chance to advance
to the finals to bid on hosting the state tournament. By comparison, Missouri playoffs beyond the district competition were always played in neutral courts, at least in my time in that state.
Berryville girls hammered Harrison 54-38 in the semi-finals last Saturday. Berryville did not win their division this season but now have a good chance to win it all. The ’Hawks’ win over the Bobcats in the regular season helped deprive Berryville of their first seasonal goal.
The 4A-1 boys teams were wiped out in the first round of the region play, and the North Region boys only won one of the four opening contests at state. The 4A-1 girls took three of the four region sports with Farmington making the quarter-finals, Harrison the semi-finals, and Berryville the finals.
The final Top 25 state 4A polling, except for the top spots to be determined this week, are as follows:
Editor’s note: John McGee, an award-winning columnist, sports writer and art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools, writes a regular sports column for The Times. The opinions expressed are those of the writer. He can be contacted through The Times at prt news@nwadg.com.