Arkansas Heads to Texas

Brian Walker and the Hogs travel to Austin as the No. 2 seed UA Sports Information- Tuesday, May 31, 2005 --- NCAA Austin Regional Arkansas Razorbacks (37-20, 13-17 SEC) Radio: RBRN Game 59: #2 Arkansas vs. #3 Miami (Ohio) Friday, June 3, 12 p.m. - Disch-Falk Hogs Play RedHawks in First Round Arkansas is headed to Austin, Texas, for the second time in three years for the NCAA Baseball Tournament. The NCAA Austin Regional will open play on Friday, June 3, at 12 p.m. The second-seeded Razorbacks (37-20) will open play against No. 3-seed Miami University (Ohio) (44-16) at Disch-Falk Field. Arkansas is making its 18th NCAA postseason appearances overall, and its fourth straight. The Hogs have appeared in a regional in all three of Van Horn`s seasons in Fayetteville, including a trip to the 2004 College World Series. The Razorbacks went 1-2 in the 2003 Austin Regional, losing two one-run games to Lamar. The Hogs hold a 2-0 edge in the all-time series with Miami, winning both games against the RedHawks during the 2000 season. Miami is 3-1 against SEC opponents this season after taking two-of-three-games from Alabama and beating Kentucky once. The Razorbacks will send veteran right-hander Charley Boyce to the hill on Friday The RedHawks will counter with one of the best left-handed pitchers in the country in Keith Weiser (10-0, 2.61 ERA). Miami was both the regular season and conference champion in the Mid-American Conference. Texas (45-14) is the top seed in the regional and will play fourth-seeded Quinnipiac (26-22). The Longhorns are hosting an NCAA Regional for the 34th time in school history and making their 47th overall appearance. The Hogs last visit with Texas came in the first game of the 2004 College World Series. The winner of the Austin Regional will be matched up with the winner of the Oxford (Ole Miss) Regional for a chance to advance to the College World Series. A Brief Look at Razorback Postseason Baseball History Arkansas is making its 18th NCAA Regional appearance in school history. The Razorbacks are 28-24 in regional play and boast a 38-36 overall record in NCAA postseason action. The Hogs are 3-2 in Super Regional games and 7-10 at the College World Series. All 18 of Arkansas NCAA appearances have come since the 1973 season. The Razorbacks advanced to the College World Series in 1979, 1985, 1987, 1989 and 2004. This is the third straight NCAA appearance for Hogs skipper Dave Van Horn. He has advanced to seven straight NCAA postseasons dating back to his tenure at Nebraska. Scouting #1 Texas Texas is hosting its 34th regional in school history and making its 47th overall appearance in the NCAA postseason. The Longhorns have five national championships with the last coming in 2002. Head Coach Augie Garrido, in his ninth year with Texas, has led the Longhorns to a 45-14 record and a No. 5 national ranking this season. UT was not chosen as one of the eight national seeds after a third-place finish in the Big 12 this season. Seth Johnston leads the Longhorns offensive attack with a .402 batting average and 54 RBI. Carson Kainer is hitting .347 and Drew Stubbs .324 to help Texas hit .296 as a team. Stubbs leads the power numbers for Texas with 10 home runs and 17 doubles. He is also the biggest threat on the bases with 27 stolen bases to lead the Horns contingent that has swiped 92 this season. On the mound, Texas once again features one of the nations best pitching staffs with a 2.80 ERA with opponents hitting just .232. Kyle McCulloch has been the staff workhorse with 113.1 innings of work and a 2.70 ERA. The combination of J. Brent Cox (7-2) and Clayton Stewart (9-0) out of the bullpen have won 16 games and chewed up 121.1 innings. A quick look at the series ... Texas leads the all-time series with the Arkansas 52-26 with the former Southwest Conference foes meeting in last seasons College World Series. Texas won that game 13-2. The two teams had not met prior to the CWS since a 1991 conference showdown in Fayetteville. Scouting #3 Miami University (Ohio) Miami University (Ohio) is the No. 3 seed in the Austin Regional after winning both the regular season and tournament titles in the Mid-American conference this season. The RedHawks put together a 44-16 overall and a 17-4 mark in conference action. Tracy Smith is in his ninth year as the skipper of the RedHawks with a 316-218-1 career record. Miami is hitting .300 as a team with 45 home runs and 113 doubles. Brian Canada is the RedHawks leading hitter with a .361 average and a team-high 17 doubles. Paul Frietch provides the power with 14 home runs and 58 RBI to go along with his .344 average. The duo of LHP Keith Weiser (10-0, 2.61), who will start against Arkansas, and RHP John Ely (10-1, 2.53) are the driving force behind the Miami pitching staff that boasts a 3.09 ERA. Ely is the staff strikeout leader with 106 in 96 innings. A quick look at the series ... Miami University (Ohio) and Arkansas have met two other times in school history. Arkansas took both games from the RedHawks in the 2000 season. Scouting #4 Quinnipiac Quinnipiac is the No. 4 seed in the regional and will play Texas in the opening round at Disch-Falk Field. They are 26-22 overall and earned the automatic berth out of the NEC Conference. It will be Quinnipiacs first NCAA Regional appearance. The Bobcats are managed by Dan Gooley who is in his 13th year with Quinnipiac with a 281-219-5 record. Bryan Sabatella is the Bobcats leading hitter at .409. He has 11 home runs and a team-high 39 RBI. Tim Binkoski is also a threat with a .343 batting average and a team-best 17 doubles. Quinnipiac is hitting .299 as a team and scoring 5.9 runs per game. Pat Egan and Ari Kafka have been the Bobcats most reliable starters this season. Egan has a 7-4 record and six complete games, while Kafka is 4-6 on the year with a 4.39 ERA. Both have made 11 starts. Quinnipiac has a 4.65 team ERA. A quick look at the series ... Quinnipiac and Arkansas have never met. Looking back at the Week Wednesday, May 25: Florida 9, Arkansas 8 - Arkansas starter Nick Schmidt pitched seven strong innings and left with an 8-2 lead, but the Hogs bullpen couldnt hold the lead. Florida scored six runs in the eighth inning and one off Charley Boyce in the ninth to pull out the 9-8 win and send the Razorbacks to the losers bracket. Brian Walker and Craig Gentry both collected three hits for the Hogs. Thursday, May 26: Alabama 5, Arkansas 4 - Charley Boyce allowed only one hit in five innings of relief work, but that one hit cost him the game as Cale Iorg singled up the middle in the eighth inning. The Razorbacks threatened in the top of the ninth inning but it wasnt enough as the Crimson Tide escaped with a 5-4 win. Hogs Counting On Boyce and Schmidt Junior RHP Charley Boyce and freshman LHP Nick Schmidt are the only Razorback pitchers to record a win in SEC play since Daryl Maday picked up the win against Vanderbilt on April 10. During that time Boyce and Schmidt have accounted for seven of the Razorbacks wins and 97 innings (Boyce 52.1, Schmidt 44.2). Boyce is 4-5 during that time with a 2.41 ERA in 14 appearances. He threw 11.2 innings in two appearances at Alabama and 10 innings in two games against Ole Miss in back-to-back weekends. He threw 301 pitches in those four outings. Schmidt is 3-1 with a 2.62 ERA since Madays win over Vanderbilt. Boyce/Schmidt Win Back-to-Back SEC Pitcher of the Week Honors Charley Boyce and Nick Schmidt won back-to-back SEC Pitcher of the Week awards. Schmidt was honored on May 9 after his complete game win over Florida. He allowed only one run and struck out seven. Boyce earned both of Arkansas wins over then-No. 13 Alabama in Tuscaloosa, pitching 11.2 innings to earn the juniors first SEC Pitcher of the Week honor. Boyce allowed just three runs - two earned - on 155 pitches (53 on Friday and 102 on Sunday). He tossed 2.2 innings on Friday night for his ninth win and a complete game on Sunday for his 10th win. Boyce Climbing Arkansas Career Charts Charley Boyce is climbing up the Arkansas career record books each time he takes the field. The junior from Tulsa, Okla., is tied for fourth in games started (43), tied for second in career victories (26), fourth in career appearances (66) and second in all-time innings pitched (315.2). He is also tied for 10 in career strikeouts with 193. Injuries Take Toll on Razorbacks Arkansas has been devastated by injuries in 2005. An amazing 14 Razorbacks have missed time this season due to injuries. The roster has been paired to 22 available players after starting the year at 32. Right-handed pitchers Trey Holloway and Justin White are done for the season with arm injuries. RHP Shaun Seiberts season is in question after straining the ulnar nerve in his right elbow against Alabama. Second baseman Ben Tschepikow and John Henry Marquardt have combined to miss 15 starts due to injury since starting second baseman Scott Bridges was lost to suspension at the first of April. Casey Rowlett was also lost at that time due to suspension. Hamblin Gets Tryout for USA Baseball Arkansas first baseman Danny Hamblin was one of the first 13 players invited to participate in the 2005 USA Baseball National Team Trials on June 27-30 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Hamblin leads the Razorbacks in batting average (.338), home runs (10), RBI (46) and doubles (18). The 2005 USA Baseball National Team will be selected from a pool of 36 players and be managed by Baylor Head Coach Steve Smith. Arkansas Head Coach Dave Van Horn will be an assistant on the team along with John Cohen of Kentucky and Rob Walton of Oral Roberts. The 20-man team roster will be announced on July 1. Hogs Break SEC Series Attendance Record Arkansas broke the SEC series attendance record against LSU on April 22-24 with 26,007 tickets sold. The previous mark was held by Mississippi State with 25,868 against Georgia. Arkansas drew 25,091 in actual attendance. On Friday, 8,806 tickets were sold with 8,593 fans in attendance. Saturday was the Hogs first regular-season sellout (9,133) with 9,012 fans at the game. The Razorbacks broke the record on Sunday with 8,068 tickets sold and 7,486 fans in attendance. Fans Set New Records at Baum Stadium in 2005 Arkansas broke just about every attendance record on the books in 2005. A school-record 200,378 tickets (2nd most in the SEC) were sold and a record 146,902 (best in the SEC) fans actually passed through the gates. That averages out to 7,156 tickets sold per game and 5,247 fans in the seats per game. The previous record for tickets sold was 188,753 (4,840 per game), set last season (including regional and super regional). The previous actual attendance mark was also set last season at 146,007 (3,743 per game). The regular-season school record was also broken on May 20 against Ole Miss with 9,227 fans in attendance and 9,511 tickets sold. Year Tickets Sold Actual Attendance 2005 200,378 (7,156) 146,902 (5,247) 2004 (regular season) 134,525 (4,204) 91,779 (2,868) 2004 (w/postseason) 188,753 (4,840) 146,007 (3,743) 2003 100,372 (3,585) 60,510 (2,161) Boyce Regains Swagger in Bullpen A move to the bullpen was just what the doctor ordered for Arkansas junior right-hander Charley Boyce. Since making the move to the pen after his Saturday, April 2, start at Auburn, Boyce has a 1.96 ERA, a 6-5 record and three saves. He has made 17 appearances - and two starts - during that time, pitching 64.1 innings. He has allowed just 16 earned runs. Boyce has struck out 34 and walked just 14 during that time. SEBaseball.com Tabs Schmidt Newcomer of the Year Freshman left-handed pitcher Nick Schmidt was named the 2005 Newcomer of the Year in the Southeastern Conference on Sunday, May 22, by SEBaseball.com. Schmidt is 7-2 on the season with a 2.88 ERA in 90.2 innings. He also leads the team in strikeouts with 81. Hamblin Second-Team All-SEC by SEBaseball.com Junior Danny Hamblin and freshman Nick Schmidt were named to SEBaseball.coms Second-Team All-SEC squad. Hamblin, selected as a designated hitter, is hitting .338 with 10 home runs and 46 RBI this season. Schmidt and freshman outfielder Clint Arnold were named to the All-Freshman team. Arnold is hitting .318 with 23 RBI this season. Goodwin/Hode Say Goodbye to Baum Stadium Seniors Clay Goodwin and Scott Hode played their final regular-season games at Baum Stadium on Sunday. The duo that has ruled the left-side of the Razorbacks infield for the past four seasons have combined to play 404 games at Arkansas (198 for Goodwin and 206 for Hode). Hode has 202 career starts while Goodwin has started 189 games. Goodwin is a career .301 hitter while Hodes career average checks in a .284, but he is hitting a career-best .312 this season. Hogs Snap Streak in Tuscaloosa Arkansas finally snapped a losing streak in Tuscaloosa against Alabama that had spanned 12 games and 10 years. The Razorbacks had not won a game in Tuscaloosa since Saturday, May 6, 1995, before beating the Tide 5-4 on Friday night. The Razorbacks would go on to also win their first series in Tuscaloosa since the 1995 season. Speed Kills for the Razorbacks Again in 2005 Arkansas led the SEC with 111 stolen bases last season and they are doing it again in 2005. The Razorbacks have swiped a league-best 105 bases, including 11 on Sunday, March 13, against Eastern Illinois. Scott Bridges tied the school record earlier this season with four stolen bases against Louisiana Tech on Feb. 20, a game where the Razorbacks stole 10 bases as a team. Brian Walker Starting to Produce at the Plate Catcher Brian Walker is finally discovering how productive he can be at the plate. The redshirt freshman led the Hogs in hitting throughout the fall, but struggled through the first half of the season and never seemed to catch a break. After letting the average dip as low as .177, the catcher with a strong arm and excellent defensive instincts, has begun to display the power he is capable of. He is hitting .292 with three home runs and nine RBI since the final game of the Tennessee series - a stretch of 20 games. He hit two home runs and drove in a career-best five RBI at SMS on April 19. Walker has raised his average to .232 on the season. He also paced the Razorback bats at Alabama with a .340 batting average. Schmidt Listed on Baseball Americas Midseason Report Freshman Nick Schmidt was listed as a freshman All-America in Baseball Americas midseason college baseball report that was released in the middle of April. Schmidt has established himself as the Hogs Friday night starter with a 7-2 record and a 2.90 ERA. He is second on the team with 90.2 innings pitched and leads the team with an opponent batting average of .232. The High Ridge, Mo., native has made 16 starts this season and two appearances out of the bullpen. Gentry Sets New School Record Craig Gentry collected 10 straight hits last week to break the school record of nine set by Brett Harrison in 1983. Gentry picked up hits in his final three at bats versus SMS on April 13 and then went 4-for-4 on April 15. He broke the record on Saturday with hits in his first three at bats. He also hit his first home run as a Razorback on April 16 at Tennessee. During that stretch he hit .591 with three doubles and six RBI. Home Run Record Falls at ORU Arkansas connected for a team-record eight home runs at Oral Roberts on Tuesday, April 12, at J.L. Johnson Stadium. The eight home runs bested the previous record of seven set on May 23, 1985, in the NCAA South II Regional in Tallahassee, Fla., against Eastern Kentucky. Danny Hamblin led the way by tying a school record of three home runs in a game. Blake Parker went deep twice with John Henry Marquardt and Ben Tschepikow also connecting for home runs. Hogs Feature Deep Bench After playing virtually the same lineup all of last season, Head Coach Dave Van Horn has been forced to play a lot of people this season due to injuries and suspensions. Arkansas has 16 position players that have made starts this season with 12 of those making at least 21 starts. Three more players have started at least 12 games. Arkansas Catchers Gunning Them Down One of the biggest questions of the off season was who was going to replace Brady Toops behind the plate for the Hogs. That question was answered rather quickly with the emergence of freshman Brain Walker. He has thrown out 40 (20-50) percent of runners that have tried to steal on him. Blake Parker and Clint Arnold have also seen time behind the plate and have combined with Walker to throw out 44 percent of base stealers. Arnold has thrown out 50 percent (5-10) and Parker 67 percent (4-6). Game-Winning Hits Danny Hamblin leads the Hogs with five game-winning hits this season. Clay Goodwin is close behind with three. Ben Tschepikow has the Hogs only walk-off it this season. Van Horn Gets 100th Win at Arkansas Arkansas Head Coach Dave Van Horn won his 100th game as the skipper of the Razorbacks on Wednesday, March 23 at Centenary. He became the quickest coach in school history to 100 wins, accomplishing the feat in just 148 games. Van Horn has 437 career Division-I wins and 702 in his head coaching career. He took over the Razorback program in 2003 and led them to 35 wins and followed that with 45 wins and a trip to the College World Series in 2004. Van Horn has led his Hogs to 37 wins this season. SEASON NOTES Razorbacks Get Preseason Attention Coming off the SEC Championship and a trip to the College World Series last season, Arkansas has the college baseball world`s attention heading into the 2005 season. The Razorbacks were ranked 24th by the Preseason Sports Weekly/ESPN Coaches Poll and 26th in Baseball America`s preseason rankings. Collegiate Baseball also ranked the Hogs at 33rd. Arkansas is currently ranked 25th in the coaches` poll and 29th in the NCBWA poll. SEC Coaches Pick the Razorbacks 3rd in the Western Division The Southeastern Conference coaches picked Arkansas third in the SEC`s Western division in their annual preseason poll. The Razorbacks were picked last in the SEC West prior to the 2004 campaign and proved the critics wrong by winning the SEC title. Arkansas garnered 46 points in the 2005 poll`s Western Division behind LSU`s 66 points and 11 first-place votes and Ole Miss` 51 points and one first-place vote. Van Horn Named USA Baseball Assistant for Summer of 2005 USA Baseball and 2005 National Team Head Coach Steve Smith of Baylor picked Arkansas Head Coach Dave Van Horn to serve as an assistant coach on the 2005 USA Baseball National Team. The team will represent the United States this summer internationally. Joining Van Horn as assistants will be Kentucky Head Coach John Cohen and Oral Roberts Head Coach Rob Walton. Steve Smith of Baylor will serve as Team USA`s head coach this summer. In June, USA Baseball will invite 36 of the nation`s top freshman and sophomore collegiate players to the USA Baseball National Team Trials in Raleigh. Hamblin, Boyce Second-Team All-SEC Picks SEBaseball.com First baseman Danny Hamblin and starting right-handed pitcher Charley Boyce were picked to SEBaseball.com`s second-team preseason All-Conference team, while shortstop Scott Hode was a third-team selection. SEBaseball.com also picked the Razorbacks to finish third in the SEC Western Division this season, behind LSU and Ole Miss. Transfers to Play Important Role for Arkansas Division-I transfers Josh Smith (Arizona State) and Lee Land (Wake Forest) will play an important role on the mound for the Hogs this season. Catcher Brian Walker, another ASU transfer, will get the start behind the plate. Both Smith and Land are coming off arm injuries last season, but are ready to go for the 2005 season. Razorbacks Pick Captains for 2005 The Razorbacks selected their 2005 captains by a vote of the team prior to the start of the season. Senior outfielder Casey Rowlett, senior shortstop Scott Hode and junior pitcher Charley Boyce were chosen to represent the Razorbacks this season. Holloway Lost for Season Trey Holloway underwent surgery on Friday, April 8 to place a screw in his left elbow after suffering a stress fracture his elbow against Centenary on March 23. Holloway will not return this season, but he should eligible for a medical redshirt and could return next season for the Hogs.