The No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks (40-9, 17-7 SEC) were outdone this weekend by No. 8 Kentucky (35-10, 18-6 SEC) as the Wildcats took the final two games of the series inside Kentucky Proud Park.
After a confidence-boosting rout of the Wildcats on Friday, the Razorbacks were blown out Saturday before falling short of a comeback in Sunday’s rubber match.
Here is a closer look at this weekend’s action as Arkansas dropped its second SEC series of the 2024 season.
Game Recaps
Game 1 – Arkansas 10, Kentucky 3: The series opener saw Hagen Smith toss 6 innings of 1-run baseball while striking out 14 Wildcat batters as the Hog offense got things rolling with a 6 spot in the seventh. Kendall Diggs seemed to finally break out of his slump with a big four-RBI performance, and Will McEntire got his mojo back too with two shutout innings in relief. The vibes were good for the Hogs after a rainy victory.
Game 2 – Kentucky 11, Arkansas 3: Things looked good early on for Arkansas as Hudson White put the Hogs up 2-0 with a two-run shot in the second. Brady Tyart seemed to have his stuff on the bump as well. The momentum shifted in the bottom of the second when Ross Lovich dropped what would’ve been the third out on a fly ball to left. Two runs scored on the mishap, and from there on out it felt like the Razorbacks had been deflated as Kentucky would go on to plate nine more runs. The only positive note was a really strong outing by Gage Wood, who went 4 1/3 innings in relief, preserving the Arkansas bullpen for Game 3.
Game 3 – Kentucky 7, Arkansas 4: Everything seemed to line up well for the Hogs, with the bullpen still intact with Gabe Gaeckle and Mason Molina ready to go. Molina didn’t have his best stuff, and McEntire got hit around once again before the Razorbacks found themselves down 6-0 in the fifth. They would claw back with two in the fifth, one in the seventh and another in the ninth on Peyton Stovall’s eighth long ball of the season. But it wasn’t enough, and the Wildcats secured the series.
Series MVG (Most Valuable Gorilla)
Peyton Stovall: 7-15, HR, 4 RBI, BB
The Razorbacks managed a pretty solid weekend at the plate if you just look at the hit column. Hog batters compiled 26 hits on a respectable staff on the road in the SEC. Not too awful.
Seven of those 26 hits came from Stovall, who set the tone all weekend long at the leadoff spot, driving in 4 runs, including 1 on a blast to right field as the Razorbacks attempted to mount a comeback in the top of the ninth in Game 3.
The junior from Haughton, La., leads Arkansas in slugging and batting average by a good margin as he now slashes .362/.486/.586.
Stovall’s role as the tone-setter is overly valuable, and as the Hogs round out the regular season they will need him to have more weekends like this.
Series MVA (Most Valuable Arm)
Hagen Smith: W (9), 6.0 IP, 14K, 2 BB, 1 ER
When Smith struck out 17 against Oregon State back in February, Arkansas fans knew they were in for something special in 2024. They have not been disappointed, as Friday’s performance was just another spectacle.
Fourteen strikeouts is the second most so far this season for Smith, who looked un-hittable after faltering slightly in the third, when he gave up an earned run.
It seemed as though the Arkansas offense finding its way impacted Smith’s confidence on the bump, and he seemed to be throwing much more freely with some run support.
Three Takeaways
Winning on the road in the SEC is hard
Just this weekend, Alabama, Vanderbilt and Texas A&M – all ranked teams – joined the Razorbacks in losing a road series.
The bottom line is that to win on the road in this conference is no easy feat. The Razorbacks are now 2-2 in road SEC series, and that’s not anything to sneeze at.
So, while being concerned about the offense is valid, as the Hogs only scored seven runs across the last 18 innings in Lexington, it should be a lower level of concern than if that were to happen inside Baum-Walker Stadium.
Lastly, just keep in mind that the 2018 Razorbacks that were a pop-up away from winning the national championship, failed to win a single road series all year.
Has the pitching staff been taken for granted?
Arkansas fans have been treated all year long to a pitching staff that looked invincible up until the last few weeks when they have shown that they are, indeed, human.
It seems as though the fan base wasn’t the only ones taking the strong Razorback staff for granted. The Arkansas offense seems to have gotten used to only needing to score 4-5 runs to win a ball game, and are starting to see the unrealistic nature of their expectation.
The opposing team scoring 6-7runs should not feel insurmountable, but it does, and it’s not for lack of talent or ability, as we’ve seen the Hogs mount comebacks against the likes of Texas Tech.
The Arkansas offense is capable of putting up more-than-respectable numbers at the plate. But maybe that starts with lowering its expectations for the pitching staff.
Kendall Diggs is back, but Will McEntire isn’t
The Razorback offense revolves around the veteran core that consists of Diggs and Stovall.
Stovall has been doing his part, as previously mentioned, but Diggs has been in a dramatic slump, which he seems to have broken out of after going 4-12 on the weekend with a big night on Friday. Not that all concerns should be laid to rest just because of one good weekend, but it is a good sign for the Hogs.
On the other hand, Arkansas fans should be concerned about McEntire. After a solid two-inning outing on Friday, McEntire came back out in relief of Molina in Game 3 and recorded just 2 outs before giving up 3 earned runs, moving his season ERA up to 4.37.
It wasn’t that long ago that McEntire and Smith were in an ERA battle, but McEntire has given up 13 earned runs in his last 13 innings on the mound. Teams seem to have figured him out.
Up Next
The Razorbacks will not play a mid-week game. They are preparing to host Mississippi State inside Baum-Walker Stadium next weekend.