Arkansas Series

[tigerbrotha12 2,362]

I realized I hadn't done a write up for this series as I've started to like to do, so here goes a quick one:

 

These seem to be two almost identical teams in terms of performance. Both teams started the season 17-2, before hitting a 5-5 stretch over their next 10 games to move to 22-7 overall. Both teams are 6-3 in the SEC, and both teams even began their SEC seasons with a sweep of the opposing team (Auburn swept Tennessee while Arkansas swept Missouri). The difference in this one? Not much. But Auburn is at home, which should give the Tigers a boost. Auburn has also had to face two nationally ranked SEC teams whereas Arkansas has had to do that only once: a series in which they were beat 2 out of 3 by #21 Ole Miss in Fayettville. 

The Hogs are obviously a good team, coming off a National Championship appearance, but they've lost some good pitching from that team, and have under-performed a bit this season. The same, however, could be said for the Auburn. Auburn sits at #15 in the country with the #4 overall RPI. Arkansas is #9 in the country with the #13 overall RPI. Both of these teams could be Omaha contenders as long as they are playing well come tournament time.

 

PITCHING MATCHUPS:

GAME 1:  RS-Jr. RHP Isaiah Campbell (6-0, 2.03 ERA,  44.1 IP,  56 Ks,  7 BBs)     vs     Fr. LHP Brooks Fuller (1-1, 2.08 ERA,  21.2 IP,  14 Ks,  16 BBs) 

Game 2:  Fr. RHP  Connor Noland (0-1, 4.40 ERA, 28.2 IP,   20 Ks,    9 BBs)     vs    SO. RHP Tanner Burns ( 4-0,  1.40 ERA,   45.0 IP,    59 Ks,   10 BBs)

Game 3:  TBA vs. TBA

Likely, Game 3 starters will be :   RS-Jr. RHP Cody Scroggins ( 2-0,   3.21 ERA,    28.0 IP,    38 Ks,   15 BBs)   vs     Fr. LHP Carson Skipper ( 3-1,    6.38 ERA,    24.0 IP,    27 Ks,    10 BBs)

Auburn is still waiting on Davis Daniel and Jack Owen to return to the mound. It's been a difficult road to hoe, as the Tigers still haven't found any consistent starters behind Tanner Burns. One guy that might be able to turn the tide on that is Brooks Fuller. The Auburn native had some control issues in Columbia, SC in his first collegiate start last Saturday, but he only gave up one earned run in a little over 5 innings pitched. Auburn would love for that outing again today, as they'll be going up against one of the SEC's best in Isaiah Campbell. Campbell is 3-0 in SEC play and has a 0.86 ERA through 21 innings. Essentially, he's, on average, going 7 innings and allowing maybe 1 earned run. The moral of the story? Auburn needs to help themselves, and Brooks Fuller, out in today's game 1 on defense. If Fuller can stem the Hogs' offense though, Auburn is probably one of the better offenses Arkansas has seen this season, (or at least the offense with the most potential for a big game) and the Tigers could get hot fast if things are clicking. 

Game 2 will be dependent on Burns. If he's on, it's difficult to beat Auburn. If he's not.... it's still pretty tough to beat him. Just relax and do what you've been doing, and Auburn should compete in this one just fine.

Game 3 is a mystery to me. I'm still not positive Auburn won't have Jack Owen available to throw out of the bullpen. I think Skipper will get the start, but it will be, primarily, a bullpen heavy Saturday for the Tigers. For the Hogs, Scroggins really hasn't been great in non-conference play, but in SEC play, he's performed pretty well. He's gotten the start all three weekends and sports a 1.93 conference ERA.  If Auburn does have Owen available, and he can give them a few innings, Auburn could be in good shape to play well in this one too, but the Tigers will definitely need to break out the bats this weekend, as Arkansas has 10 total pitchers that have thrown 12+ innings on the season and not one of them has an ERA over 4.50. Tigers need to be aggressive in this series, because I don't know if wearing down the bullpen for Arkansas will work very well. The Razorbacks do give up some runs, as they come in with an overall 3.65 ERA, so I think the Tigers need to really be ready to hit. Auburn's team ERA is only 0.10 lower, at 3.55, so this really is a very evenly matched pitching and defensive squad. 

 

 

BATTERS TO WATCH FOR

The Razorbacks are pretty good offensively. They hit 0.294 and get on base at a 0.393 clip. Auburn, on the other hand ranks a bit lower. The Tigers hit just .270 and have an OBP of 0.366. Arkansas doesn't hit near the home run numbers Carolina does, but they still do leave the yard (30 on the season). 

Need to keep an eye on Heston Kjerstad, the freshman phenom of last year, who is hitting 0.319/0.400/0.496,  Dominic Fletcher (0.318/0.400/0.555), and Jack Kenley (0.319/0.446/0.574). Kenley looks to be the big one to stay away from, slugging 0.574 with 6 home runs, 24 RBIs, 2 doubles, and 2 triples. He's an on-base machine too at 0.446. I'd also keep an eye on Casey Martin, who doesn't hit particularly outstanding at 0.262, but has slugged 0.500 this season with 6 homers and 24 RBIs himself. They'll be pretty good offensivley, so the bullpen will have to be ready to go for us, and our bats will need some fire in them. 

OVERALL

Arkansas has the numbers to be better than their record says they are. I think their pitching is what lets them down, as their offense seems to have a ton of fire power. Campbell is good as their ace, but after that, they drop off a little. I think that's where the Tigers need to take advantage. Should be a competitive game 1, but if the Tigers only get two in this series, I'd put money on it being Games 2 and 3 that they do it in. Hopefully we'll get a good outing from Brooks Fuller today, and hopefully guys like Will Holland, Steven Willams, and Edouard Julien really step up to the level they were hitting at last season. 

 

Prediction: Auburn takes 2 of 3. The Tigers still haven't lost an SEC game at home this season. Granted, they haven't played many games in that situation, but they looked like a pretty well-oiled machine against Tennessee a few weeks ago, and I think they'll get it done this weekend, especially if the bats have a little more fire in them than the previous few games. My bold prediction is that this will be Will Holland's breakout series. He got his first home run of the season in Columbia last weekend, and has made some incredible defensive plays this season. He struck out three times against GT this week, but did have a hit in the game. Something tells me it's gonna click for him this weekend. Hope I'm right!

 

War Eagle!

 

[Tigerbelle 5,299]

Thanks for the preview tb12!

[tigerbrotha12 2,362]

1 hour ago, tigerbrotha12 said:

I realized I hadn't done a write up for this series as I've started to like to do, so here goes a quick one:

 

These seem to be two almost identical teams in terms of performance. Both teams started the season 17-2, before hitting a 5-5 stretch over their next 10 games to move to 22-7 overall. Both teams are 6-3 in the SEC, and both teams even began their SEC seasons with a sweep of the opposing team (Auburn swept Tennessee while Arkansas swept Missouri). The difference in this one? Not much. But Auburn is at home, which should give the Tigers a boost. Auburn has also had to face two nationally ranked SEC teams whereas Arkansas has had to do that only once: a series in which they were beat 2 out of 3 by #21 Ole Miss in Fayettville. 

The Hogs are obviously a good team, coming off a National Championship appearance, but they've lost some good pitching from that team, and have under-performed a bit this season. The same, however, could be said for the Auburn. Auburn sits at #15 in the country with the #4 overall RPI. Arkansas is #9 in the country with the #13 overall RPI. Both of these teams could be Omaha contenders as long as they are playing well come tournament time.

 

PITCHING MATCHUPS:

GAME 1:  RS-Jr. RHP Isaiah Campbell (6-0, 2.03 ERA,  44.1 IP,  56 Ks,  7 BBs)     vs     Fr. LHP Brooks Fuller (1-1, 2.08 ERA,  21.2 IP,  14 Ks,  16 BBs) 

Game 2:  Fr. RHP  Connor Noland (0-1, 4.40 ERA, 28.2 IP,   20 Ks,    9 BBs)     vs    SO. RHP Tanner Burns ( 4-0,  1.40 ERA,   45.0 IP,    59 Ks,   10 BBs)

Game 3:  TBA vs. TBA

Likely, Game 3 starters will be :   RS-Jr. RHP Cody Scroggins ( 2-0,   3.21 ERA,    28.0 IP,    38 Ks,   15 BBs)   vs     Fr. LHP Carson Skipper ( 3-1,    6.38 ERA,    24.0 IP,    27 Ks,    10 BBs)

Auburn is still waiting on Davis Daniel and Jack Owen to return to the mound. It's been a difficult road to hoe, as the Tigers still haven't found any consistent starters behind Tanner Burns. One guy that might be able to turn the tide on that is Brooks Fuller. The Auburn native had some control issues in Columbia, SC in his first collegiate start last Saturday, but he only gave up one earned run in a little over 5 innings pitched. Auburn would love for that outing again today, as they'll be going up against one of the SEC's best in Isaiah Campbell. Campbell is 3-0 in SEC play and has a 0.86 ERA through 21 innings. Essentially, he's, on average, going 7 innings and allowing maybe 1 earned run. The moral of the story? Auburn needs to help themselves, and Brooks Fuller, out in today's game 1 on defense. If Fuller can stem the Hogs' offense though, Auburn is probably one of the better offenses Arkansas has seen this season, (or at least the offense with the most potential for a big game) and the Tigers could get hot fast if things are clicking. 

Game 2 will be dependent on Burns. If he's on, it's difficult to beat Auburn. If he's not.... it's still pretty tough to beat him. Just relax and do what you've been doing, and Auburn should compete in this one just fine.

Game 3 is a mystery to me. I'm still not positive Auburn won't have Jack Owen available to throw out of the bullpen. I think Skipper will get the start, but it will be, primarily, a bullpen heavy Saturday for the Tigers. For the Hogs, Scroggins really hasn't been great in non-conference play, but in SEC play, he's performed pretty well. He's gotten the start all three weekends and sports a 1.93 conference ERA.  If Auburn does have Owen available, and he can give them a few innings, Auburn could be in good shape to play well in this one too, but the Tigers will definitely need to break out the bats this weekend, as Arkansas has 10 total pitchers that have thrown 12+ innings on the season and not one of them has an ERA over 4.50. Tigers need to be aggressive in this series, because I don't know if wearing down the bullpen for Arkansas will work very well. The Razorbacks do give up some runs, as they come in with an overall 3.65 ERA, so I think the Tigers need to really be ready to hit. Auburn's team ERA is only 0.10 lower, at 3.55, so this really is a very evenly matched pitching and defensive squad. 

 

 

BATTERS TO WATCH FOR

The Razorbacks are pretty good offensively. They hit 0.294 and get on base at a 0.393 clip. Auburn, on the other hand ranks a bit lower. The Tigers hit just .270 and have an OBP of 0.366. Arkansas doesn't hit near the home run numbers Carolina does, but they still do leave the yard (30 on the season). 

Need to keep an eye on Heston Kjerstad, the freshman phenom of last year, who is hitting 0.319/0.400/0.496,  Dominic Fletcher (0.318/0.400/0.555), and Jack Kenley (0.319/0.446/0.574). Kenley looks to be the big one to stay away from, slugging 0.574 with 6 home runs, 24 RBIs, 2 doubles, and 2 triples. He's an on-base machine too at 0.446. I'd also keep an eye on Casey Martin, who doesn't hit particularly outstanding at 0.262, but has slugged 0.500 this season with 6 homers and 24 RBIs himself. They'll be pretty good offensivley, so the bullpen will have to be ready to go for us, and our bats will need some fire in them. 

OVERALL

Arkansas has the numbers to be better than their record says they are. I think their pitching is what lets them down, as their offense seems to have a ton of fire power. Campbell is good as their ace, but after that, they drop off a little. I think that's where the Tigers need to take advantage. Should be a competitive game 1, but if the Tigers only get two in this series, I'd put money on it being Games 2 and 3 that they do it in. Hopefully we'll get a good outing from Brooks Fuller today, and hopefully guys like Will Holland, Steven Willams, and Edouard Julien really step up to the level they were hitting at last season. 

 

Prediction: Auburn takes 2 of 3. The Tigers still haven't lost an SEC game at home this season. Granted, they haven't played many games in that situation, but they looked like a pretty well-oiled machine against Tennessee a few weeks ago, and I think they'll get it done this weekend, especially if the bats have a little more fire in them than the previous few games. My bold prediction is that this will be Will Holland's breakout series. He got his first home run of the season in Columbia last weekend, and has made some incredible defensive plays this season. He struck out three times against GT this week, but did have a hit in the game. Something tells me it's gonna click for him this weekend. Hope I'm right!

 

War Eagle!

 

Well, the matchup has changed! Burns will go Game 1 for Auburn now, so we're going to have quite the matchup starting here in about 30 minutes between two of the SEC's best starting pitchers. Let's get it!!