Arkansas Baseball Notebook - May 5

Arkansas Baseball Notebook

May 5, 2008

Week: 2-2

Overall Record: 28-20

Wednesday, April 30: Arkansas 14, Missouri State 6

Friday, May 2: Alabama 11, Arkansas 7

Saturday, May 3: Alabama 11, Arkansas 6

Sunday, May 4: Arkansas 5, Alabama 4

Noting the Razorbacks

Arkansas went 2-2 on the week, beating Missouri State on Wednesday night, 14-6, and taking one of three from Alabama on Sunday afternoon, 5-4 … The Razorback victories give the Hogs 28 wins on the year as they prepare for final exams and have no midweek games this week … Casey Coon was a beast at the plate going 9-14 (.636) and scoring three runs and driving in four … Coon had a game-winning home run against Missouri State and started Arkansas’ eighth inning rally against Alabama with a double off the left-center field wall … Ben Tschepikow also had a great week as he extended his season long hitting streak to nine games, batting .389 for the week including a triple and his first home run of the season … The Razorbacks starting pitching faltered slightly from what Arkansas has become accustomed as they only got 16 innings from its weekend starters … The Arkansas bullpen though stepped up with Mike Bolsinger pitching 7.1 innings including 3.2 hitless and scoreless baseball in Arkansas’ Sunday afternoon victory … James Mahler also saw the mound two times over the weekend allowing just one hit and striking out two in 2.2 innings of work … Chase Leavitt has quietly produced outstanding numbers for the Razorbacks in the leadoff spot while reaching base safely in each of his last 14 games … Leavitt is hitting .465 over that stretch with 20 hits in 43 at bats and has earned 13 walks … Leavitt is leading the club in four offensive categories this season batting average (.351), walks (32), hit by pitch (10) and on-base percentage (.506) … Despite its struggles over the weekend with the Crimson Tide, the Razorbacks are just ½ game out of the Southeastern Conference Tournament picture … With six games to play, Arkansas is currently chasing Kentucky and Tennessee for one of the final spots in this year’s tournament.

Hitter of the Week Nominee

Casey Coon * Junior

Las Vegas, Nev. / Silverado / CC of Southern Nevada

· Batted .643 for the week with nine hits in 14 at bats.

· Walked three times for a .722 on-base percentage.

· Scored three runs and drove in four with two doubles and a home run.

· Led off Arkansas’ eighth inning with a double in the Razorbacks’ Sunday victory.

· Hit a game-winning home run in Arkansas’ win over Missouri State, a two-run blast.

· Raised his batting average 48 points to .301 with the week’s effort.

· Hit .583 in the Alabama series going 7-12 with two doubles, two runs scored and one RBI.

· Has Arkansas’ second longest, currently alive, hitting streak at four games.

· Has six multi-hit games in his last eight games played.

Freshman of the Week Nominee

James Mahler * Freshman

Sandy, Utah / Jordan

· Made two appearances out of the bullpen, tossing 2.2 innings and allowed no runs on just one hit.

· Faced nine batters and struck out two.

· He tossed 1.1 innings in the Razorbacks mid-week victory, allowing one hit and striking out one.

· Was perfect in 1.1 innings against Alabama with a strikeout.

· Allowed just one of three inherited runners to cross the plate.

Next Week

For the first time since the season started, the Razorbacks play no mid week games as the players take final exams. The time away from the field sets Arkansas up for a pivotal weekend series with the South Carolina Gamecocks at Baum Stadium beginning on Friday night at 6:35 p.m. The series continues Saturday and Sunday with first pitch scheduled for 2:05 p.m. and 12:05 p.m., respectively.

Friday, May 9: South Carolina at Arkansas, 6:35 p.m.

Saturday, May 10: South Carolina at Arkansas, 2:05 p.m.

Sunday, May 11: South Carolina at Arkansas, 12:05 p.m.