Arkansas Baseball Notebook
May 20, 2006
Week: 3-0
Overall Record: 38-17, 18-12 SEC
Thursday, May 18: #15 Arkansas 6, Auburn 3
Friday, May 19: #15 Arkansas 10, Auburn 5
Saturday, May 20: #15 Arkansas 11, Auburn 2
Noting the Razorbacks
No. 15 Arkansas took care of business this weekend with a sweep of Auburn at Baum Stadium … the sweep of the Tigers was the first ever for the Hogs over Auburn and left Arkansas in second place in the SEC West and tied for third in the overall SEC standings with Georgia … the Hogs finished the regular season with a 38-17 record … UA will be the No. 4 seed at SEC Tournament where the Razorbacks will take on Ole Miss in the first round on Wednesday, May 24, at 8 p.m. in Hoover, Ala. … UA has won six straight games at Baum Stadium … LHP Nick Schmidt fanned a career-high 15 on Thursday to helped the Razorbacks knock off Auburn 6-3 … Schmidt allowed three runs and walked just one in eight innings to improve to 9-2 … Catcher Brian Walker crushed two home runs and drove in four runs in the win … Devin Collis pitched the ninth inning for his ninth save of the season … on Friday night, freshman second baseman James Ewing set a career high with four hits, including two doubles and two RBI as Arkansas won the series with a 10-5 victory … Daryl Maday earned the win on the mound, allowing three runs – two earned – on five hits over five innings … in the series finale on Saturday, Shaun Seibert pitched five innings to improve to 4-0 on the year while allowing just one run on five hits … he also tied his career high with seven strikeouts … Walker hit his third home run of the weekend in the second inning and Danny Hamblin and David Hum went back-to-back in the third inning as the Hogs cruised to a 11-2 win and the sweep … it was Hamblin’s team-high 16th home run of the season … the Hogs’ offense hit .349 for the series and averaged nine runs per game … Walker led the way, hitting.500 with three home runs and seven RBI … he also threw out both runners that attempted to steal and picked off a runner … Schmidt’s 15 Ks on Thursday moved him into second place on Arkansas’ single-season strikeout list with 130 … he is 25 strikeouts shy of David Walling’s school record of 155 set in 1999 … he also tied Charlie Isaacson for seventh place on the career strikeout list with 219 … Collis’ ninth save of the season tied him with Jason Stephens (1996) for the fifth most in a single season in school history … Jake Dugger continued his outstanding season, hitting .455 for the weekend and driving in eight runs, including a career-high five on Saturday … he is now hitting a career-best .326 with 42 RBI and 12 home runs … SS Matt Willard raised his average to .296 with four hits against Auburn and posted a .583 on-base percentage … Blake Parker broke out of an 0-for-13 slump by hitting .429 against the Tigers … Arkansas got at least five innings out of all three starters this weekend and is now 28-7 when its starting pitcher throws at least five innings … Chris Hollensworth missed his sixth straight start with back spasms this weekend, but he did pinch hit on Saturday … Schmidt accepted an invitation to the 2006 USA Baseball Team Trials on Tuesday … Arkansas is now 34-2 when leading after seven innings and 32-1 when leading after eight innings … the Hogs now have 62 home runs as a team and 40 in SEC play, which is second to Kentucky … Seibert (2.77) and Schmidt (2.81) rank second and third in the SEC in ERA.
Pitcher of the Week Nominee
Nick Schmidt
Sophomore
St. Louis, Mo./Vianney High School
· Schmidt pitched eight innings to improve to 9-2 on the season
· The lefty struck out a career-high 15 Tigers and walked just one
· It was for his seventh double-digit strikeout performance of the season
· He allowed three runs on seven hits
· Set a new career high in innings pitched with 102.2
· He leads the league in strikeouts in SEC games with 98
· Schmidt is second in the conference with 130 strikeouts in all games
· His 130 Ks rank as the second most in a single season in school history
· His 219 career strikeouts in just under two seasons are tied for seventh all time at Arkansas
· Boasts the No. 2 opponent batting in the SEC at .199
· It was the ninth time Schmidt had worked at least seven innings this season
Hitter of the Week Nominee
Brian Walker
Sophomore
Tulsa, Okla./Tulsa Union High School
· Brian Walker continued his red-hot hitting with a .500 batting average (5 for 10) against Auburn
· Blasted three home runs in the series, including two on Thursday night in support of his battery made Nick Schmidt
· Drove in seven runs while slugging 1.400 and posting a .583 on-base percentage
· Had the game-winning RBI on Thursday and Saturday to help the Hogs sweep the Tigers
· Drew two walks and scored five runs
· Went 2 for 4 with a three-run home run off the top of the 39-foot scoreboard in right-center field and a solo shot on Thursday night
· Singled twice and drove in a run on Friday night
· He went 1 for 3 on Saturday with his career-best eighth home run and two RBI while also setting a new career high with three runs scored
· Walker threw out both base runners that attempted to steal and picked off one base runner at first
· The sophomore his hitting .483 with five home runs, two doubles, 15 RBI, a 1.069 slugging percentage and a .571 slugging percentage over his last nine games
· Walker his finding his swing at the plate in the second half of the season once again in 2006. He is batting .313 with seven home runs and 20 RBI in the second half of the season in 2006 after hitting .318 in the second half last season
Next Week
Arkansas will be making its fifth straight appearance in the SEC Tournament, beginning Wednesday, May 24, in Hoover, Ala. The Razorbacks are seeded fourth in the tournament after tying Georgia for third in the overall SEC race. The Bulldogs won two-of-three games from the Hogs back in March. The Hogs will play the No. 5-seed Ole Miss at 8 p.m.
