FAYETTEVILLE — The wait is over: Brady Tygart is returning to the mound in Game 2 of this weekend’s Arkansas vs Texas A&M series.
The star closer has been out with a UCL sprain since March 1, but has now been tabbed as the starter for Tuesday’s game. It comes after head coach Dave Van Horn told reporters earlier this week that he’d “definitely” be on the 27-man roster and that fans should expect to see him pitch against the Aggies.
Despite a rough outing by starter Hunter Hollan, the Razorbacks won the opener 7-5 behind a tremendous defensive play by Hunter Grimes and two-run homer by Jace Bohrofen. With a chance to clinch the series, they’re handing the ball to Tygart for his first career start.
All 28 of the sophomore’s collegiate appearances up to this point have been out of the bullpen, as he developed a reputation as one of the best closers in the country last season. However, Van Horn has always said he sees the right-hander as a weekend starter in the SEC.
Even though he might be on a pitch count, making that move this weekend makes a lot of sense because it would be a way for the Razorbacks to somewhat control the situation while also not immediately throwing him into a high-leverage spot. If he came out of the bullpen, he’d be waiting around not knowing when/if he’d pitch, but by starting, Tygart is able to go through a set pregame warmup routine and know exactly when he’s throwing.
All three games this weekend will be nationally televised, with the first two on ESPNU and the finale on the SEC Network, but as always, Best of Arkansas Sports will be at Baum-Walker Stadium and providing live, inning-by-inning updates of the Arkansas vs Texas A&M series below…
LIVE UPDATES — Arkansas vs Texas A&M
Pregame Tidbits (Game 2)
As expected, right-hander Nathan Dettmer has been named Texas A&M’s starter for Game 2. After showing some promise his first two years, the junior has regressed to a 6.02 ERA and 1.62 WHIP in 46 2/3 innings across 10 starts this season. He’s been even worse in SEC play, posting an 8.56 ERA and 1.99 WHIP in 27 1/3 innings across six starts.
The revolving door in left continues with freshman Mason Neville making his fourth career start.
During the UA’s pregame radio show, Dave Van Horn said Brady Tygart is on a pitch count. When asked about his expectations for the right-hander, he said, “One good inning or whatever he’s got. If there’s more, there’s more.” He added that Will McEntire will likely follow him.
T-1st: Texas A&M 0, Arkansas 0
Tygart sat 93-95 mph in his first inning back, plus mixed in some curveballs and even a couple of sliders. Haas started the game with a grounder back up the middle that actually hit Tygart, but he recovered and threw him out. Moss followed with a grounder up the middle and Bolton made a nice play to field it and Slavens picked it. Tygart fell behind 2-0 against both of them. He threw a first-pitch strike to Werner, but walked him by throwing four straight balls. He ended up stealing second without a throw, but was stranded when Minnich grounded out to second. It was a 20-pitch inning for Tygart.
B-1st: Texas A&M 0, Arkansas 0
After Diggs flied out to center, Stovall drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch that just missed. Bohrofen ended up working the count full, too, but took strike three and Stovall was thrown out trying to steal second. The strike ’em out, throw ’em out ended the inning after 18 pitches by Dettmer.
T-2nd: Texas A&M 1, Arkansas 0
Right-hander Will McEntire is now pitching for Arkansas. He issued a leadoff walk to Bost and LaViolette singled through the right side to put runners on the corners. That set up a sacrifice fly by Targac, who flied out to center. That was it for the Aggies, though, as Thompson popped out in foul territory and Kaufer struck out. It was a 20-pitch inning for McEntire.
B-2nd: Texas A&M 1, Arkansas 1
Dettmer threw just one total strike in issuing back-to-back walks to Cali and McLaughlin. After a ball to Slavens that made it a 1-1 count, the Texas A&M trainer came out and he was removed from the game because of injury. The new pitcher is left-hander Evan Aschenbeck.
Slavens lined out to to center on the first pitch he saw from Aschenbeck, but Cali was able to tag up on the play. With runners on the corners, Hunter Grimes pinch hit for Neville and got the job done, flying out to right-center for a sacrifice fly.
T-3rd: Texas A&M 1, Arkansas 1
McEntire struck out Haas and Werner — the latter of which was looking — sandwiched around a fly out to left by Moss. The 1-2-3 inning required just 13 pitches. He’s thrown 33 through two innings of work.
B-3rd: Arkansas 2, Texas A&M 1
Bolton looked at strike three and Diggs hit a harder grounder to second for a couple of quick outs, but Stovall reached on a two-out infield single and then scored all the way from first on Bohrofen’s double that got all the way to the wall in right. It looked like there might have been a play at the plate, but the second baseman who fielded the cutoff throw never got a grip on the ball or something and never made a throw. Cali followed with a walk – his fifth of the series – but McLaughlin grounded out to second. It was a 26-pitch inning for Aschenbeck, who has now thrown 36 in two innings.
T-4th: Arkansas 2, Texas A&M 1
After getting Minnich to ground out to second, McEntire walked Bost. A balk eventually moved him to second, but he and Van Horn both didn’t agree with the call. Van Horn actually came out of the dugout to argue for a moment. After a strikeout of LaViolette, it’s Schlossnagle’s turn to come out and argue. During Targac’s at bat, Bost was thrown out trying to steal third. Rowland threw him out easy. McEntire is up to 53 pitches.
B-4th: Arkansas 5, Texas A&M 1
On the first pitch of the home half of the fourth, Slavens hit a chopper to first that somehow hopped over the first baseman’s head and then kicked away from Texas A&M’s fielder’s. It looked like a sure double, but he managed to stretch it into a triple. The throw to third was inaccurate and he got there standing up. Grimes followed with a walk that put runners on the corners.
Arkansas dialed up a squeeze bunt and Rowland laid it down the first base line. The ball looked like it was going to roll foul, but the pitcher for some reason picked it up. Not only did the run score easily, but Rowland reached because the first baseman wasn’t covering the bag, so it goes down as an RBI bunt single. Bolton was also asked to bunt and he laid down the sacrifice with two strikes, moving the runners to second and third.
Diggs followed with a sharp grounder down the line that the first baseman fielded and would have gotten a run in regardless, but Moss made it worse by tossing it to the pitcher coming over to cover the bag instead of taking it himself and Diggs beat him there to make it an infield single. With runners on the corners, Stovall flied out to left for his team-leading sixth sacrifice fly.
A single through the right side by Bohrofen put runners on first and second. The hardest-hit ball of the inning was a deep fly ball hit 105 mph by Cali, but the center fielder had plenty of room to go get it.
T-5th: Arkansas 5, Texas A&M 2
Playing in shallow right because of the shift, Stovall made a tremendous sliding stop on a sharp grounder by Targac and fired to first. Slavens barely kept his toe on the bag when stretching for the catch, completing the web gem. It was reviewed, but stood as called. Thompson flied out to center before Kaufer crushed a 1-1 pitch right down middle for a solo home run – his first extra-base hit of the season. McEntire bounced back to get Haas looking. He’s thrown 67 pitches through four innings of work.
B-5th: Arkansas 6, Texas A&M 2
The new pitcher for Texas A&M is right-hander Josh Stewart. He promptly gave up a double to McLaughlin, who poked a ball the other way. Slavens moved him to third on a ground out up the middle. Grimes followed with a fly out to right, but it wasn’t deep enough for the slow-footed McLaughlin to score on. Instead, he raced home on a wild pitch a few pitches before Rowland struck out to end the inning.
T-6th: Arkansas 6, Texas A&M 2
Moss popped out to shallow left to start the sixth, with Bolton catching it. Werner struck out on three pitches. Minnich lined out to center. It was an 8-pitch inning for McEntire, who is up to 75 through five innings of work.
B-6th: Arkansas 6, Texas A&M 2
Bolton put together a nice at bat to start the home half, working the count full and fouling off five pitches, but he looked at a pitch right down the middle for strike three. Diggs followed with a strikeout of his own, as he couldn’t check his swing. Stovall lined out to left to cap the first 1-2-3 inning of the night by Arkansas batters.
T-7th: Arkansas 6, Texas A&M 4
It looked like Bost had his third walk of the game and he even started walking toward first after McEntire’s low 3-2 pitch, but he was rung up by the umpire. He and Schlossnagle didn’t like the call and they probably had a point – it was low, according to TrackMan. LaViolette went down swinging for the second out. Targac drew a four-pitch walk and that’s it for McEntire. He receives a well-deserved standing ovation as he leaves the field.
The new pitcher for Arkansas is freshman right-hander Christian Foutch. He promptly gave up a two-run homer to Thompson, who crushed the 0-1 pitch right down the middle. That cuts the Hogs’ lead in half. Foutch quickly fell behind 2-0 against Kaufer, prompting a mound visit by Matt Hobbs. He ended up walking him anyways, which brings up the top of the order. He also walked Haas and that’s it for him.
Now pitching for the Razorbacks is freshman right-hander Gage Wood. His second pitch hit Moss to load the bases. He responded by striking out Werner on three pitches to leave them loaded.
B-7th: Arkansas 8, Texas A&M 4
After Bohrofen went down looking, Cali ripped a single into left to extend his hitting streak to 12 games and McLaughlin followed with a two-run home run to right, giving Arkansas some much-needed insurance runs. Slavens and Grimes struck out after that to end the inning.
T-8th: Arkansas 8, Texas A&M 4
Wood opened the eighth with back-to-back strikeouts of Minnich and Bost, the latter of which prompted more arguing from Schlossnagle. LaViolette hit a scorcher to first, but Slavens handled the 102 mph grounder and tossed to Wood covering the bag to end the inning.
B-8th: Arkansas 10, Texas A&M 4
Rowland drew a four-pitch walk to start the eighth and then moved to second on Bolton’s second sacrifice bunt of the game. With a runner in scoring position, Diggs hit a chopper that got over the pitcher and the charging shortstop fielded it and fired wide to first. It went into the dugout. It’s ruled an infield single, with the error allowing the run to score and Diggs to move to second. That’s it for Stewart.
The new pitcher is left-hander Shane Sdao. He got Stovall to fly out to left, but Bohrofen ripped a 107 mph line drive right up the middle that still made it into center for an RBI single despite hitting the pitcher. Cali worked the count full and drew a walk. However, the Razorbacks stranded runners on first and second when McLaughlin flied out to left.
T-9th: Arkansas 10, Texas A&M 4
Targac looked at strike three right down the middle for the first out. Thompson drew a full-count walk and moved to second on defensive indifference. Kaufer went down swinging for the second out. Haas was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second. Moss singled through the left side to load the bases, prompting a mound visit from Hobbs. Wood responded by getting Werner to ground into a fielder’s choice, with Cali fielding it and taking it to third for the force.
FINAL: Arkansas 10, Texas A&M 4
Starting Lineups – Arkansas vs Texas A&M (Game 2)
| Texas A&M Baseball | Arkansas Baseball |
|---|---|
| 1. Hunter Haas – SS | 1. Kendall Diggs – RF |
| 2. Jack Moss – 1B | 2. Peyton Stovall – 2B |
| 3. Trevor Werner – 3B | 3. Jace Bohrofen – CF |
| 4. Brett Minnich – RF | 4. Caleb Cali – 3B |
| 5. Austin Bost – 2B | 5. Ben McLaughlin – DH |
| 6. Jace LaViolette – LF | 6. Brady Slavens – 1B |
| 7. Ryan Targac – DH | 7. Mason Neville – LF |
| 8. Jordan Thompson – CF | 8. Parker Rowland – C |
| 9. Max Kaufer – C | 9. John Bolton – SS |
| Pitching: Jr. RHP Nathan Dettmer | Pitching: So. RHP Brady Tygart |
Pregame Tidbits (Game 1)
Texas A&M starter Troy Wansing, a sophomore left-hander, has a 5.91 ERA in 32 innings across nine starts this season. Although he has 49 strikeouts in those 32 innings, opponents are hitting .299 against him. He threw 79 pitches in six innings — giving up five earned runs on nine hits — last Saturday against Kentucky.
After starting in left field against Missouri State on Tuesday, Brady Slavens is back at first base for Game 1 and Hunter Grimes is starting in left.
As expected, Parker Rowland is back in the starting lineup after for the first time since the Tennessee series. He caught the final two innings Tuesday in his first action since tweaking his back.
T-1st: Texas A&M 0, Arkansas 0
The game started with an excellent battle between Hollan and Haas, with the latter fouling off three 3-2 pitches before taking strike three. He thought it was ball four, but it was on the inside edge of the zone, per TrackMan. Moss then popped out to shortstop, with Bolton going out to shallow left to catch it, and Werner grounded out to end the inning. It was hit 109 mph off the bat, but Cali handled it nicely. It was an 18-pitch inning for Hollan.
B-1st: Texas A&M 0, Arkansas 0
Diggs opened the home half of the first with a soft liner to second. Stovall took strike three before a two-out, four-pitch walk by Cali. He was stranded there, though, as Bohrofen hit another soft liner caught by the third baseman, who was playing up the middle in the shift. It was an 18-pitch inning for Wansing, too.
T-2nd: Texas A&M 0, Arkansas 0
After a ground out to second by Minnich, Bost hit a grounder up the middle for the game’s first hit. He then moved to second on a ground out by Laviolette – it was the right side and Stovall had no play to get the lead runner. With two outs and a runner on second, Targac hit a rounder up the middle that Bolton got to, bobbled and recovered in time to still get the out at first. Hollan threw 13 pitches, giving him 31 in the game.
B-2nd: Arkansas 5, Texas A&M 0
McLaughlin started the inning with a ground out to second, but then Wansing ran into trouble. Grimes managed to check his swing in a full count for a walk, Slavens also walked in a full count and then Rowland walked on four pitches. With the bases loaded, Bolton hit a grounder to the right side that the first baseman fielded, but had no play anywhere. It goes down as an RBI infield single.
After Diggs was called out on strikes for the second out, Stovall thought he had a bases-loaded walk, but it was called a strike to make the count full. He ended up hitting a home run on top of the Hunt Center for a grand slam to make it 5-0. Cali and Bohrofen followed with hard-hit singles and moved to second and third on a wild pitch, but they were stranded there when McLaughlin looked at strike three.
Wansing was on the mound for all of it. He threw 44 pitches, bringing his total to 62 through two innings.
T-3rd: Arkansas 5, Texas A&M 0
Thompson laid down a perfect bunt to start the third. Hollan did a good job of fielding it and making an accurate throw to first, but Thompson beat it out for a single. Kaufer followed with a hard line drive to left and Haas flied out to center. With two outs, Thompson advanced to second on a wild pitch and then back-to-back walks by Moss and Werner loaded the bases. That prompted a mound visit from Matt Hobbs. Hollan responded by getting Minnich to fly out to left, but Grimes nearly botched it by running in before realizing he needed to go backwards instead. He made the catch, though, stranding the bases loaded. Hollan is at 53 pitches through three innings.
B-3rd: Arkansas 5, Texas A&M 0
Grimes led off the bottom of inning with a full-count walk and Slavens nearly followed with a single, but his line drive the other way was caught by a diving LaViolette in left. Rowland reached on an infield single to short, but Bolton grounded into a double play to end the inning. Wansing threw just 13 pitches that inning and is up to 75 for the game.
T-4th: Arkansas 5, Texas A&M 4
Bost hit a sharp grounder to third and Cali handled it for the first out. LaViolette followed with a little blooper that found grass in right for a single. Targac also singled, but his was solidly hit into left. In an 0-2 count, Hollan threw a pitch right down the middle and Thompson made him pay by depositing it into the Hog Pen for a three-run home run. Kaufer hit a pop up to shallow right and Stovall made a tough over the shoulder grab. With two outs, Haas went down and smacked a 1-2 pitch into the left field bullpen for a solo home run. Moss also hit the ball hard, but his 101 mph line drive was caught by Diggs in right.
Hollan – whose velocity seems to be down a little bit – has thrown 83 pitches today.
B-4th: Arkansas 5, Texas A&M 4
Wansing walked Diggs on four pitches, with at least three of them not coming anywhere close to the zone, and that’s it for him. The new pitcher for Texas A&M is right-hander Carson Lambert. He struck out Stovall and Cali before a two-out battle with Bohrofen. He hit a 407-foot foul ball and ended up drawing a full-count walk. The runners were stranded on first and second, though, as McLaughlin struck out to end the inning.
T-5th: Arkansas 5, Texas A&M 5
Now pitching for Arkansas: right-hander Dylan Carter. He promptly gave up back-to-back hard-hit singles to Werner and Minnich, putting runners on the corners. Bost followed with a deep fly ball to center that Bohrofen track down, but it easily scored Werner, making it a game-tying sacrifice fly. LaViolette popped out to short and Targac grounded out to second to end what was a 24-pitch inning for Carter.
B-5th: Arkansas 5, Texas A&M 5
Grimes struck out on three pitches and Slavens flied out to deep right. With two outs, Rowland hit a 103 mph line drive into right for a single – his second hit of the game. Bolton followed with a walk, prompting another pitching change. The new pitcher is left-hander Matt Dillard. He struck out Diggs to end the threat.
T-6th: Arkansas 5, Texas A&M 5
Despite the game being tied, Arkansas turned to left-hander Hagen Smith. He got Thompson to ground out to third, but then gave up a single to Kaufer – his fourth hit of the season. Smith bounced back by striking out Haas and getting Moss to fly out to left. He threw 16 pitches.
B-6th: Arkansas 5, Texas A&M 5
Stovall grounded out to second to start the inning, but then Cali battled Dillard for a full-count, eight-pitch walk. Bohrofen followed with a double into the right field corner. That put runners on second and third with one out and prompted a pitching change. The new pitcher is left-hander Brandyn Garcia. He got McLaughlin to ground out back to the pitcher and then Grimes took strike three to strand the runners.
T-7th: Arkansas 5, Texas A&M 5
In a 1-2 count, Werner hit a leadoff double to left-center. He then stole third. With the infield playing up on the grass, Smith struck out Minnich and got Bost to fly out to shallow right. After that at bat, Texas A&M baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle came out and argued with the umpire about something. Smith then struck out LaViolette and celebrated as he left the mound. He’s thrown 33 pitches.
B-7th: Arkansas 5, Texas A&M 5
Slavens struck out to start the seventh and then Rowland looked at strike three for a three-pitch strikeout. Bolton drew a two-out walk – his second of the game – and then stole second. Diggs also walking, bringing up Stovall. He grounded out to second to end the inning. Arkansas is now 2 for 10 with runners in scoring position tonight.
T-8th: Arkansas 5, Texas A&M 5
After a first-pitch strike, Smith threw four straight balls to Targac for a leadoff walk. He got a mound visit from Hobbs after falling behind 2-0 to the next batter, but still ended up walking Thompson on five pitches. Travis Chestnut pinch hit for Kaufer and laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners to second and third with the top of the lineup coming to the plate.
Haas worked the count full before hitting a line drive to left. Grimes ran over, caught it and fired a strike to the plate, nailing Targac trying to score on the sac fly. It was an absolutely perfect throw to end the inning.
B-8th: Arkansas 7, Texas A&M 5
Cali worked the count full and drew a leadoff walk and that’s it for Garcia. Left-hander Will Johnston is now pitching for the Aggies. He promptly gave up a two-run homer to Bohrofen, who hit it off the Hunt Center in right. McLaughlin walked and was replaced by Peyton Holt as a pinch runner. Grimes struck out looking before an infield single by Slavens. Rowland hit it hard, but his line drive was tracked down by the center fielder. Then, after Arkansas pulled off a double steal to put runners on second and third, Texas A&M made another pitching change. Right-hander Robert Hogan inherited a 2-2 count on Bolton and walked him to load the bases. Diggs struck out on thee pitches to leave them loaded, though.
T-9th: Arkansas 7, Texas A&M 5
Moss grounded out to second. In a full count, Werner went down swinging. Minnich fouled off a couple of 2-2 pitches before popping out to third to end it.
FINAL: Arkansas 7, Texas A&M 5
BOX SCORE – Arkansas vs Texas A&M
Starting Lineups – Arkansas vs Texas A&M
| Texas A&M Baseball | Arkansas Baseball |
|---|---|
| 1. Hunter Haas – SS | 1. Kendall Diggs – RF |
| 2. Jack Moss – 1B | 2. Peyton Stovall – 2B |
| 3. Trevor Werner – 3B | 3. Caleb Cali – 3B |
| 4. Brett Minnich – RF | 4. Jace Bohrofen – CF |
| 5. Austin Bost – 2B | 5. Ben McLaughlin – DH |
| 6. Jace LaViolette – LF | 6. Hunter Grimes – LF |
| 7. Ryan Targac – DH | 7. Brady Slavens – 1B |
| 8. Jordan Thompson – CF | 8. Parker Rowland – C |
| 9. Max Kaufer – C | 9. John Bolton – SS |
| Pitching: So. LHP Troy Wansing | Pitching: Jr. LHP Hunter Hollan |
Baseball Schedule This Week
Tuesday — Missouri State 8, Arkansas 4
Thursday — vs. Texas A&M — 7 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
Friday — vs. Texas A&M — 6 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
Saturday — vs. Texas A&M — 11 a.m. CT (SEC Network)
Accountability Check — 2023 Arkansas Baseball Predictions
Best of Arkansas Sports managing editor Andrew Hutchinson published his week-by-week predictions for the 2023 season just before the Razorbacks opened the year at the College Baseball Showdown. Those predictions can be read in full here, but we’ll also be doing weekly “accountability checks” in this space.
Prediction: 1-0 in the midweek / 31-11 overall, 11-7 in SEC play
One of Arkansas’ top non-conference rivals, Missouri State has fallen on hard times of late, hovering around or below .500 since 2019. However, the Bears got hot down the stretch, won the MVC Tournament and came close to facing Arkansas in the Stillwater Regional final, but blew a 12-0 lead against Oklahoma State. They return several key players from that team, including three hitters with double-digit home runs. This could be a classic shootout, but Arkansas comes out on top.
Actual: 0-1 in the midweek / 30-11 overall, 11-7 in SEC play
We incorrectly picked Arkansas to beat Missouri State, but the loss puts the Razorbacks right on track with our overall prediction for the season, assuming they would have beaten Arkansas State in the game that got rained out.
Composite College Baseball Top 25
Unlike football and basketball, which have just the AP and Coaches Polls all year (with football adding the CFP rankings late in the season), college baseball has five major polls. (Collegiate Baseball used to be included, but it was dropped to due severe inconsistencies in its rankings.)
To get a better feel for how teams stack up, BoAS has combined those rankings into a single top 25 by using a points system in which a No. 1 ranking = 25 points, No. 2 = 24 points and all the way to No. 25 = 1 point. We will update this each week throughout the season…
| Team | Conference | Change | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. LSU | SEC | — | 125 |
| 2. Wake Forest | ACC | — | 118 |
| 3. South Carolina | SEC | +3 | 117 |
| 4. Florida | SEC | -1 | 110 |
| 5. Arkansas | SEC | — | 98 |
| t-6. Vanderbilt | SEC | -2 | 96 |
| t-6. Coastal Carolina | Sun Belt | +7 | 96 |
| t-8. Stanford | Pac-12 | +1 | 89 |
| t-8. Campbell | Big South | +4 | 89 |
| 10. Virginia | ACC | -3 | 66 |
| 11. Boston College | ACC | +9 | 65 |
| 12. East Carolina | AAC | -4 | 64 |
| 13. Texas Tech | Big 12 | +3 | 63 |
| 14. Kentucky | SEC | -3 | 62 |
| 15. UConn | Big East | +4 | 52 |
| 16. Dallas Baptist | CUSA | +8 | 49 |
| 17. Miami (Fla.) | ACC | — | 44 |
| 18. Arizona State | Pac-12 | — | 42 |
| 19. Tennessee | SEC | +4 | 38 |
| 20. Duke | ACC | N/A | 31 |
| 21. West Virginia | Big 12 | N/A | 30 |
| 22. Oregon | Pac-12 | -1 | 20 |
| 23. Louisville | ACC | -13 | 19 |
| 24. Indiana | Big Ten | +3 | 13 |
| 25. Oklahoma State | Big 12 | +7 | 9 |
MOVED IN: Duke (20), West Virginia (21), Indiana (24), Oklahoma State (25)
MOVED OUT: Texas (14), North Carolina (15), UCLA (22), Cal-State Fullerton (t-25), Oregon State (t-25)
Conference Breakdown
- SEC: 7
- ACC: 6
- Pac-12: 3
- Big 12: 3
- AAC: 1
- Big East: 1
- Big South: 1
- Big Ten: 1
- C-USA: 1
- Sun Belt: 1
***
More coverage of Arkansas baseball from BoAS…
