FAYETTEVILLE — With conference games a week away, the Diamond Hogs are gearing up for the start of a grueling 30-game slate with arguably their toughest non-conference opponent to date.
The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs are reimbursing Arkansas for a three-game 2021 game in Ruston, La., including one at Baum-Walker Stadium, according to Razorback head coach Dave Van Horn.
The Bulldogs, who started 8-4, are coming off a sweep on a winless Northwestern, which featured an 11-inning victory sandwiched by a pair of blowouts. They didn’t play a match midweek.
Arkansas isn’t the SEC’s first challenger to Louisiana Tech’s program. The Bulldogs played a pair at Ole Miss earlier in the year, winning the first and losing the second after their 5-4 lead was snuffed out during a lightning delay.
“We’re really suspicious of them because they’re older and they played at an SEC school down the road, and we’re a little thin on the mound,” the head coach said Monday. of Arkansas, Dave Van Horn.
Louisiana Tech’s starting rotation consists of redshirt senior left-hander Jonathan Fincher, second-year right-hander Rawley Hector and junior right-hander Reed Smith. All three have recorded three starts each, and they started in that order last weekend.
Fincher has the best individual stats of the trio with the most innings pitched – 19. With a 2.84 ERA and 1.00 WHIP, the southpaw knocked out eight Wildcats in seven innings last weekend, dropping two earned runs on five hits for his second victory. He whipped up 19 batters during the year and walked just three, and his opponents are batting just .225 against him.
Hector’s numbers three weeks into the season indicate he’s not quite the ace Fincher is. In 14 1/3 innings, he had a 4.40 ERA, 1.88 WHIP and .317 BAA, and his strikeout ratio is much closer to 1 than his left-handed teammate. Northwestern scored it for a pair of earned runs last weekend, chasing it before the game was four innings.
The only question mark is Smith, who left Sunday’s game after 1/3 inning with a swollen finger, Louisiana Tech head coach Lane Burroughs said at a news conference Tuesday. He’s expected to be ready for his outing against Arkansas, though, and he’ll carry a 6.75 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and .256 BAA.
Other pitching names to know are senior right-hander Landon Tomkins, who has allowed just one earned run in 12 2/3 innings, and former Razorback Ethan Bates, who is also closest and third goal. The right-hander is yet to allow an earned run and leads the Bulldogs with two saves.
“We talked to him about pitching, because he pitched in high school,” Van Horn said. “He wasn’t ready to pitch here yet. He wanted to try hitting, thought he was more of a pro prospect as a hitter. I’m just glad to see he’s found a home that’s not too far from home and he begins to enjoy a college career.”
Bates also had success in the batting box during the young season, hitting better than .300 with a more slugging on-base percentage north of 1.000. The only other Bulldog to share those accolades is designated hitter Walker Burchfield, who leads the team in both departments at .360 and 1.115, respectively.
Two other skilled hitters enter Fayetteville with averages above .300: outfielder Adarius Myers at .353 and infielder Dalton Davis at .319. Neither is over .500, but both hit base in at least 40% of their plate appearances.
Senior Philip Matulia provided the bulk of Louisiana Tech’s power, having hit six homers and led in 16 runs – the two best team marks. His 1.101 OPS trails only Burchfield.
“It’s a regional type team, playing in a really good conference,” Van Horn said Tuesday after the Hogs’ win over Army. “They’re still at the top – one, two or three – and they’ve been close to reaching the super regionals.”
The series is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. on Friday, continue at 2 p.m. on Saturday and end with a first pitch at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The opener won’t air on TV, but the other two will air live on SEC Network Plus, accessible through the ESPN app.
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