Diamond Hogs down Eastern Illinois
February 26, 2001
Charlie Shields
Staff Writer
For the fourth consecutive game, the Razorback baseball team
came from behind to pick up a victory.
After falling behind 2-0 early, the Hogs scored six unanswered
runs in rout to a 6-2 win over the Eastern Illinois University
Panthers Friday night.
The Hogs did not commit an error for the second game in a row.
It was the second errorless performance of the season.
"We laid around all day, and it was just so iffy with the
weather. I didn't know we were going to play until about 4:30,"
said Norm DeBriyn, UA head baseball coach, after the game was
delayed 90 minutes because of heavy rain.
Junior right hander Charlie Isaacson picked up his second win
by scattering seven hits over six innings as the Hogs improved
to 6-2 on the season.
Jared Manatt pitched three shutout innings to preserve the Hog
lead and picked up the save.
Pete Martin (0-1) got the loss for EIU despite not allowing a
hit in 3 2/3 innings of work. Martin walked five batters, including
walking the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth. He was removed,
and all three runs scored.
In all, the Hogs scored five runs in the inning. Reliever Andy
Hoffman walked outfielder Jeff Hoefler to force in a run, and
second baseman Brett Hagedorn then drove in two runs with a single
to left field, the Razorbacks first hit of the game. Catcher Kyle
Washburn continued his hot hitting with a two RBI double to round
out the scoring for the inning. Washburn was 2-4 in the game with
two RBIs. He leads the Hogs in batting with a .440 average.
The Hogs added a run on a Hoefler double in the eighth that plated
Cody Clark, who had reached on a single.
The Hogs scored its six runs on just six hits, while the Panthers
could turn eight hits into only two runs. Razorback pitchers Isaacson
and Manatt combined to strike out 10 and walk just two, while
Panther pitchers Martin and Hoffman struck out four and walked
seven.
"We didn't swing the bats much, but we won the game, and
you have to give the players credit for getting that done."
DeBriyn said.
The win improved the Hogs to 11-1 all time against EIU, with all
of the games being played in Fayetteville. The Hogs have won five
straight games.
The game was the first of the season for the Panthers, who had
not even practiced outside before Friday.
March 9, 2001
Charlie Shields
Staff Writer
The No. 5 South Carolina Gamecocks will be looking for revenge
this weekend when Arkansas travels to Columbia to play a three-game
series at Sarge Frye Field.
Last season, the Hogs snapped the Gamecocks' 21-game overall win
streak and 17-game Southeastern Conference win streak by taking
two of three games from then-No. 1 South Carolina in Fayetteville.
In that series, South Carolina won the Friday game at Baum Stadium
8-2, but the Hogs took the Saturday game 11-10 and the Sunday
game 9-3. The Gamecocks won the SEC regular season title and finished
the year 56-10.
This year, the Hogs open SEC play against the hot-hitting Gamecocks,
which leads the SEC in homeruns. Offensive players to watch for
the Gamecocks include Bryon Jeffcoat, infielder; Tim Whittaker,
catcher; and Marcus McBeth and Brennan Dees, outfielders.
USC will probably start Chris Spigner, Gary Bell and and Kip Bouknight,
pre-season All-American. For the Hogs, Charlie Isaacson, Scott
Roehl and Layne Berry will most likely start.
The Razorbacks [10-6] split a two-game series with Evansville
this week.
Michael Conner, junior outfielder, came up big in the Wednesday
game, hitting two home runs - one traditional over the left field
wall and one inside the park.
Last weekend, catcher Kyle Washburn hit an inside-the-park homerun
against San Diego State at the Hormel Foods Classic in Minnesota.
Players to watch for the Hogs include outfielder Scott Crossett,
outfielder; and Cody Clark, third baseman; and Washburn.
The Hogs will play one game Tuesday at Wichita State and then
host Georgia for a three-game set next weekend.
March 12, 2001
Charlie Shields
Staff Writer
Arkansas [10-8, 0-2] got off to a bad start this weekend in Southeastern
Conference play, losing the first two to No. 5 South Carolina
[15-2, 2-0].
The Gamecocks took the first game 16-5 before a crowd of 2,311
and the second game 7-4 in front of 3,864.
In the Friday night contest, the Gamecocks trailed the Razorbacks
5-2 in the bottom of the sixth when they loaded the bases and
chased Layne Berry, Hog starter.
Josh Merryman came out of the bullpen and proceeded to give up
six runs and four hits in one-third of an inning, including a
grand slam by the Gamecocks' Tripp Kelly, who had five RBIs in
the game. Before the inning was over, the Hogs had used two more
pitchers, and the Gamecocks sent 17 men to the plate, scoring
12 runs.
Bryon Jeffcoat added to the Gamecocks' run total with a two-run
homerun, his seventh of the year, in the bottom of the eighth.
Kip Bouknight, 2000 Golden Spikes Award winner and SEC Player
of the Year, started for the Gamecocks and struggled early, going
just 3 2/3 innings and giving up five runs and walking seven batters.
Tony Adler [1-0] got the win for South Carolina by pitching 4
1/3 innings of scoreless relief. Merryman [2-1] suffered his first
loss of the year for the Razorbacks.
Brett Hagedorn was 2-5 in the game and had three RBIs, and Scott
Crossett and Andrew Wishy had one RBI each. Hagedorn leads the
team in RBIs with 19.
In the Saturday game, the Razorbacks outscored the Gamecocks 11-6
but had only one extra base hit and committed five errors as Charlie
Isaacson [2-3] picked up his third loss of the season.
Luke Weatherford, Kyle Washburn and Michael Conner each had two
hits for Arkansas, but the Hogs struggled to put runs on the board.
Jeff Fletcher made the Hogs' only extra base hit, an RBI double
in the ninth inning.
Justin Leraris, Arkansas relief pitcher, had a strong outing,
striking out five of six batters he faced to end the game.
For the second game in a row, a Kelly home run, his third of the
season, propelled South Carolina into the lead, and they never
looked back.
The Hogs led 2-1 after 2 1/2 innings when Kelly led off the inning
with a home run. Tim Whittaker also homered for the Gamecocks.
Whittaker has six home runs on the season, and his 27 RBIs lead
the SEC.
Gary Bell [5-1] pitched 7 2/3 innings, scattered eight hits and
struck out eight in rout to his league-leading fifth win of the
season.
The Hogs travel to Wichita State Tuesday for one game and then
are back home, hosting Georgia for a three-game set.
March 30, 2001
Charlie Shields
Staff Writer
The Razorback baseball team [15-15, 2-7] will have an opportunity
to make up ground in the SEC West the next two weeks when they
face the Mississippi State Bulldogs [4-9. 5-4] followed by Ole
Miss Rebels [21-7-1, 7-2]. Both series are at Baum Stadium.
The Hogs are in fifth place in the West in conference play, while
the Bulldogs are in third.
Last weekend, the Razorbacks were swept in a three-game series
at Florida, lifting the Gators out of the SEC East cellar. The
Gators were winless in conference play before last weekend. The
Hogs are playing on a high-note though, as Wes McCrotty hit a
game-winning RBI single with two out in the bottom of the ninth
inning to beat Kansas 6-5 Tuesday night.
MSU lost two of three to Louisiana State University last weekend.
The Bulldogs won the Sunday game 13-0 as starter Tanner Brock
pitched a one-hit shutout of the Tigers.
Brock earned SEC pitcher of the week honors for his performance.
Mississippi State beat Ole Miss 15-6 Wednesday night in the Mayor's
Trophy game. In its last two games, MSU accumulated 33 hits and
28 runs after struggling offensively for most of the season.
The Hogs also had a pitcher receive top honors last week. Freshman
Scott Roehl was named one of the Louisville Slugger National Players
of the Week. He pitched a no-hitter against Kansas State March
20, a feat that brought Arkansas national attention on ESPN's
"Sportscenter" and "Baseball Tonight."
Several Hogs doing well in SEC play are outfielders Brian Kirby
(.414 average, 2 home runs, 6 RBIs in league play) and Jeff Hoefler
(.385, 4 RBIs), third baseman Cody Clark (.367, 9 RBIs) and shortstop
Jeff Fletcher (.357, 4 RBIs).
Players to watch for MSU include Jason Burkley, a catcher who
is batting .377 and has 17 RBIs on the year.
He is third in the SEC in fielding percentage among catchers at
.995 and has only one error this season. Matthew Maniscalco (.267,
8 RBIs) is the SEC's top defensive shortstop with a .992 fielding
percentage.
MSU leads the overall series with Arkansas 25-19. The teams met
just once last season (the other two games were rained out), and
the Bulldogs won 3-2.
The Hogs will start junior Charlie Isaacson (3-4, 5.80 ERA) Friday,
sophomore Gary Hogan, Jr. (0-1, 3.12) Saturday and Roehl (1-2,
3.90) Sunday. Isaacson is third in the SEC in strikeouts with
45, and the Razorbacks are second in the SEC in strikeouts with
239, two behind league-leading Tennessee.
Probable starters for MSU will be Joey Collums (1-2, 5.27 ERA),
Paul Maholm (2-2, 3.07) and Brock (3-1, 2.95). The top reliever
for the Dogs is Chris Young (1-0, 0.47). MSU is third in the SEC
in team ERA at 3.09.
In other action around the SEC this weekend, the best team from
the East takes on the worst team from the West as Tennessee (8-1)
travels to Auburn (0-9).
The Tigers are 13-4 at home this season, but the Vols are 8-2
on the road.
Three losses would put Auburn at 0-12 in the SEC, after they started
the season 16-1 in non-conference games.
Georgia will travel to Ole Miss, and South Carolina will travel
to Alabama.
In these series, East teams could help Arkansas gain ground in
the West. Florida is at Vanderbilt, and LSU is at Kentucky.
Game times for the Hogs and Dogs this weekend are 6:30 p.m. Friday,
2 p.m. Saturday and 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Students get in free with
a UA ID.
April 2, 2001
Charlie Shields
Staff Writer
The Razorback baseball team [16-16, 3-8 Southeastern Conference]
split the first two games of a weekend series with Mississippi
State [15-10, 6-5 SEC], winning Friday night, 6-5 , and losing
Saturday, 9-3.
Scott Woods [1-0] picked up the win for the Razorbacks Friday
as the Hogs came back from an early five-run deficit. Woods pitched
three scoreless innings of relief, allowing just one hit and striking
out three.
The Hogs out hit the Bulldogs 14-4 for the game, but State took
advantage of seven walks, two wild pitches and two passed balls
in the first two innings to lead the Hogs 5-0.
Arkansas plated two in the fifth inning to pull within three runs,
one on a Jeff Fletcher sacrifice and the other on a Brian Kirby
single. Then, in the eighth inning, Jeff Hoefler and Michael Conner
hit home runs to put the Hogs ahead.
Hoefler's was a three-run shot over the right field wall that
plated Cody Clark and Wes McCrotty, and Conner's was a solo over
the left field wall.
Chris Young [1-1] received his first loss of the season for the
Bulldogs. He allowed four runs on six hits in 2 1/3 innings of
relief of starter Adam Larson. Young's ERA coming into the game
had been an anemic 0.47.
Charlie Isaacson started the game for the Hogs. He pitched six
innings, giving up five runs on three hits. He struck out five
batters and walked seven.
Also notable for the Hogs were Clark and McCrotty, who were both
3-4 in the game. Hoefler and Brett Hagedorn had two hits each.
The Saturday game saw four Bulldogs hit homeruns, the first time
this season MSU has hit more than one homerun in a game. Michael
Brown, Jon Knott, Casey Long and Josh West each hit home runs
for a team that had just seven on the season before the game.
Junior Gary Hogan, [0-2] started the game and took the loss for
the Razorbacks. He pitched four innings and gave up five runs
on seven hits. Paul Maholm, MSU starter, received the victory,
pitching 8 1/3 innings and giving up three runs on eight hits.
Hagedorn had three of the Razorbacks' eight hits, and Scott Crossett
had two of the Razorbacks' three RBIs.
Next weekend, the Hogs take on SEC West-leading Ole Miss at home,
and MSU travels to Tennessee to meet the SEC East-leading Vols.
These stories were printed in the Arkansas Traveler, the UA student newspaper.