Arkansas baseball just can't get reliable pitching from anyone right now.
The Arkansas baseball season is going in the wrong direction. It's not just the collection of losses -- that's bad enough -- but the way the Hogs are losing games. It's a situation in which no one can get an out, meaningful or otherwise. Up and down the rotation and throughout the bullpen, no Arkansas pitcher can finish the job or provide necessary stability and reliability for this team.
On Tuesday, Arkansas lost its fourth straight game. That is a headache in and of itself for coach Dave Van Horn and his staff. What's far worse, though, is that Arkansas scored 14 runs and still couldn't make that hold up. The Razorbacks overcame an early 6-1 deficit and were able to take a 14-12 lead into the bottom of the ninth at Missouri State. However, the Bears were able to hit a two-run home run to tie the game and then walk it off in the bottom of the tenth for a 15-14 win which dealt the Razorbacks their latest gut punch.
This detail from On3 Sports is especially discouraging:
"Arkansas starting pitching continued to struggle. For the sixth straight game, Arkansas’ starter failed to work into the fifth inning. Steele Eaves recorded just three outs in his first career start and gave up a home run in his fourth straight appearance as part of a 6-run second inning after the Hogs opened the scoring with a single run in the first."
Remember: Arkansas' home sweep loss to Florida involved three losses in which the Razorbacks allowed at least seven runs. Arkansas simply can't go into any baseball game thinking it has to score at least seven if not nine or 10 runs to win. That just can't happen. It's not remotely reasonable or sustainable.
When a baseball team loses a 1-0 game, it at least gets great pitching and therefore preserves the bullpen for the next game. There is real value even in a low-scoring loss for that very reason. A 15-14 loss, however, is a true worst-case scenario. The hitters did their job and performed as well as one realistically could have, and it still didn't matter, with an overextended pitching staff getting shredded at every turn. It's a brutal turn of events for Arkansas and Van Horn, who are currently scrambling to find answers midway through the season with no apparent relief in sight.
It is very hard for Arkansas to be confident going to Auburn for the coming weekend SEC series, but the Hogs have to find a way to grind out some wins. The problem is that if UA isn't scoring bunches of runs, it will face a steep uphill battle against the Tigers.