To any and all of you out there whose faith in Dave Van Horn and his band of merry men had begun to wane, fear not. After knocking off the top-ranked Texas Longhorns like some lowly, DIII school, ‘tis plain to see that the ship has not merely been righted but is back in tip-top shape, just in time for the end of conference play and the postseason. This was a thorough beatdown, one where the Razorbacks completely out slugged, out pitched and out fielded the latest addition to the mighty, mighty SEC in all three games.
Yes, ‘twas a big baseball weekend over in Fayettenam as Arkansas hosted Texas for the first time as an SEC foe and showed them exactly how this new conference gets down, sweeping the longtime rivals in dominant fashion – 9-0, 6-1 and 13-8.
The series kicked off on a crisp Mayday evening in the Ozarks, and Zach Root immediately went to work, striking out the side in the top half of the first – 1, 2, 3. From there he continually baffled the opposition for seven-straight innings with a nasty mixture of mid-90-mph fastballs and big-breaking, off-speed stuff, fanning 11, while only surrendering two hits. And after offering up 63 strikes and 36 balls on Thursday night, Root provided the Longhorns with 99 real problems, and every single one of them was a pitch.
Game two rolled around and along with it a three-armed and six-eyed Razorback pitching monster in the form of Gage Wood, Gabe “I ain’t no Common” Graeckle, and Aiden Jimenez. The righthanders mowed down the Texas lineup with impunity, striking out 15, while the Razorback bats provided just enough offense behind Brent Iredale’s 12th tater of the year to take game two and provide the Hogs with a chance for a sweep.
After a week of dicey weather, the skies turned blue and the big white clouds rolled out for Saturday afternoon’s final game of the series. And thanks to the one and only CBall – me, Douga Three Shirts and Rowdy, three illustrious members of the Airport Rd. Razorback Fan Club, attended the ballgame and were not only provided with fabulous tickets, located just above the visitors’ bullpen, but also a ride to and fro the ballpark, lunch and some cold, tasty beverages during the game. It was blissful, to say the least. Then, the only thing that could place a cherry atop an already fabulous weekend came to fruition, as Bomb Walker Park exploded with big flys – a total of eight by both teams – en route to a 13-8 Razorback dub and sweep of the so-called best team in the land.
Texas got on the board first with a two-run homer, (their first lead of the series) and all that did was open the floodgates for Arkansas and its line up fulla light tower power. Reese, “Big Country” Robinette returned from last year’s season-ending injury and blasted two homers to lead the way. Kuhio Aloy, Justin Thomas, Jr., and Charles Davalan also flexed their guns and went yard for the Hogs in the rout.
So, it’s off to Baton Rouge to face LSU before hosting Tennessee in the final SEC series. But this team’s eyes have always been on the big prize, and no doubt they have the CWS firmly in their sights, still. I believe in my heart of hearts that this team has the talent and moxie to win the whole enchilada. Only time will tell.
Meanwhile, across campus at cozy Bogle Park, the Razorback softball team took two outta three from LSU and continued their climb up the ranks. Tis a good time to be an Arkansas Razorbacks fan, so show some support and wear your best Razorback schwag this week.
WooPig!
RIP Daisy Ray – fly away, sweet girl, and please keep an eye on all of your homies down here on Vaughn St. We miss you.