By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — It’s the current No. 1 ranked team in college baseball. . .
“I don’t really talk about it,” Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said. “It’s great, but at the same time, it’s just a number. There’s a lot of season left. Things are going to move around.”
Vs. the defending national champions. . .
“We’re the champ, we’re getting everybody’s best shot,” LSU head coach Jay Johnson said.
The top-ranked Razorbacks (20-3 overall, 5-1 SEC) and the No. 7 Tigers (20-6, 2-4 SEC) are on different trajectories as they open the third weekend of league play starting a three-game series in Fayetteville today at 6 on ESPN2.
Armed with a pitching staff ranked first nationally in four stat categories, including earned run average (2.50), Arkansas is a heavy favorite to win the series.
Not because the Razorbacks will be playing at home in sold-out Baum Walker Stadium where the Hogs are 16-1, but they’ve also won the last 9 of 13 games over the Tigers including 3 of 4 series wins including the last two (2019, 2022) in Fayetteville.
LSU’s inability for its pitchers to escape trouble – 65 percent of opposing runs (34 of 52) in its first six SEC games have been scored with two outs – and chilly bats (.236) in losing its first two league series at Mississippi State and home vs. Florida – have the Tigers in an early hole in conference play.
“We know what we’re capable of,” said Arizona transfer outfielder Mac Bingham, who’s batting .301 for the Tigers with 5 homers and 17 RBI. The best we’ve played in is at Texas (going 4-0 with a win over Rice and three victories in the Astros Classic).
“Right there, it shows you can beat anyone at any given moment. That’s how baseball works. We’ve seen how well we can play and we can still be better than that and we’ve seen when it’s not going well.”
Two of LSU’s starting pitchers – transfers Luke Holman (Alabama) and Gage Jump (UCLA) – improved from the Mississippi State series two weekends ago to the Florida series this past weekend.
But the third starter – returnee Thatcher Hurd – has struggled with an 11.17 ERA in 9.2 innings in being credited with losses to MSU and Florida.
Because of that, Johnson is shuffling his starting rotation. He’s putting Hurd back in the bullpen, moving Holman from Game 1 to Game 2 and Gage from Game 2 to Game 3.
The starter for tonight’s opener will remain a mystery until Johnson submits a lineup card.
Arkansas isn’t an overwhelming offensive team, ranked 13th in the SEC in batting average at .279.
But the Razorbacks have gotten a boost in the last 11 games ever since junior shortstop Peyton Stovall, a former Haughton High star, made his 2024 debut after sustaining a broken foot in a Feb. 5 scrimmage.
Stovall, one of Arkansas’ three team captains, is batting .310 with 3 homers and 12 RBI.
Two years ago as a freshman, he hit .295 with 6 homers and 31 RBI and hit .360 in five College World Series games with a team-leading 10 RBI. Last season, he started 38 games at second base before suffering a season-ending injury.
The Razorbacks are already 9-1 this season in games decided by 2 runs, largely because of its pitching staff led by junior Hagen Smith, a likely 2024 MLB draft first-round draft choice.
Smith, scheduled to start the series opener, is 4-0 with a 1.24 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 29.0 innings over six starts. The superb left-hander leads the nation in strikeouts per nine innings (19.2), ranks second in hits allowed per nine innings (3.4) and ranks fourth nationally in total strikeouts (62).
LSU’s Johnson knows what he’s up against taking a team with almost an entire new starting lineup and pitching rotation into an atmosphere the Tigers haven’t been successful even with experienced teams.
“This is one of the best programs in the country and we’re going to get their best shot,” Johnson said. “Our competitive level has to be off the charts. I really want to see us play with maturity. No matter what happens in the game, we’re always ready to move forward to the next pitch and do our job that pitch.”
No. 7 LSU (20-6, 2-4 SEC) at No. 1 Arkansas (20-3, 5-1 SEC)
PITCHING MATCHUPS
Game 1, today, 6 p.m. CT (ESPN2)
LSU –TBA
ARKANSAS – Jr. LH Hagen Smith (4-0, 1.24 ERA, 29.0 IP, 10 BB, 62 SO)
Game 2, Friday, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
LSU – Jr. RH Luke Holman (5-1, 0.78 ERA, 34.2 IP, 8 BB, 56 SO)
ARKANSAS – Jr. LH Mason Molina (3-0, 2.57 ERA, 28.0 IP, 15 BB, 47 SO)
Game 3, Saturday, 2 p.m. (SEC Network +)
LSU – So. LH Gage Jump (2-0, 2.38 ERA, 22.2 IP, 9 BB, 32 SO)
ARKANSAS – Jr. RH Brady Tygart (3-0, 1.59 ERA, 28.1 IP, 16 BB, 39 SO)
LSU-ARKANSAS SERIES
LSU has lost five of its last six SEC games played in Fayetteville. Arkansas swept the Tigers in 2022, and the Razorbacks won two of three in 2019. LSU’s last SEC series win in Fayetteville came in 2017 when the Tigers won two of three games over Arkansas.
A LOOK AT LSU
LSU’s pitchers lead the SEC with 312 strikeouts, and the staff averages 12.23 strikeouts per nine innings. Junior right-hander Luke Holman leads the SEC in ERA (0.78) and is second in strikeouts. . .Graduate catcher/DH Hayden Travinski of Bossier City Airline is hitting .400 (6-for-15) in LSU’s last five games with one double, three homers, five RBI and five runs. . .Senior outfielder Mac Bingham is batting .400 (8-for-20) in LSU’s last five games with one double, two homers, five RBI and three runs scored. . .Sophomore first baseman Jared Jones has three homers, four RBI and six runs in LSU’s last five games.
A LOOK AT ARKANSAS
The Razorbacks are No. 1 in the SEC in ERA at 2.50, and the Razorbacks have recorded 296 strikeouts in 201.1 innings. Arkansas is No. 13 in the SEC with a .279 team batting average. . .Pitcher Hagen Smith leads the SEC in strikeouts (62) and opponent batting average (.116), and he’s No. 2 in the league with a 1.24 ERA. . .Infielder Wehiwa Aloy, a transfer from Sacramento State, has team-highs of five homers and 24 RBI for the Razorbacks.
Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com