Louisiana Tech (9-3) will travel to Fayetteville this weekend to square off with the 15th-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks (10-1) in the final tune-up before Conference USA play begins next weekend.
Series Info:
Game Times: Friday 6p.m., Saturday 1 p.m., & Sunday 1 p.m.
Where: Baum-Walker Stadium at George Cole Field
TV: SECN+
Radio: KNBB 97.7FM
Tech’s Starting Pitchers:
Friday: Matt Miller (1-0, 5.68 ERA, 12.2 IP, 14 hits allowed, 4 BB, and 17 K)
Saturday: Logan Robbins (0-0, 8.03 ERA, 12.1 IP, 13 hits allowed, 8 BB, and 11 K)
Sunday: Logan Bailey (1-1, 9.42 ERA, 14.1 IP, 27 hits allowed, 5 BB, and 18 K)
Logan Thriving:
After pitching to a 5.25 ERA in 2018, Quinton Logan was not expected to be a key cog in the Tech bullpen, but the left-hander is proving his doubters wrong. Logan has pitched to a 1.08 ERA in 8.1 innings pitched over five appearances this season. Opponents are hitting only .241 against the senior. With Tyler Follis and Braxton Smith questionable for this weekend, Logan will be relied on to get some big outs out of the Tech bullpen against the Razorbacks.
Wells Ready to Break Out:
Hunter Wells hit .357 and set a single-season program record with 91 hits last season. However, the switch-hitting second baseman is off to a slow start in 2019 hitting only .259. In his last seven games, Wells is only 6/33 (.182). Wells getting back into a rhythm at the plate will go a long way in Tech finding success against a very good Arkansas pitching staff.
Scouting the Hogs:
Pitching Probables:
Friday: Isaiah Campbell (3-0, 3.12 ERA, 17.1 IP, 14 hits allowed, 3 BB, and 23 K)
Saturday: Connor Noland (0-0, 3.86 ERA, 11.2 IP, 13 hits allowed, 4 BB, and 10 K)
Sunday: Cody Scroggins (0-0, 7.88 ERA, 8 IP, 8 hits allowed, 4 BB, and 15 K)
Key Relievers:
Matt Cronin (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 5 IP, 3 hits allowed, 2 BB, and 9 K)
Kole Ramage (3-0, 0.00 ERA, 10.1 IP, 8 hits allowed, 3 BB, and 11 K)
Zebulon Vermillion (2-0, 1.59 ERA, 5.2 IP, 4 hits allowed, 1 BB, and 4 K)
Terrific Trio:
The trio of Casey Martin, Heston Kjerstad, and Dominic Fletcher are what makes the Razorbacks go offensively. Martin and Kjerstad are two of the top MLB Draft prospects in 2020 and Fletcher is the 8th ranked prospect for the upcoming 2019 draft according to D1Baseball.com. Through 11 games, the trio has combined to hit .266 with four home runs and 24 RBI.
Ezell Shining Early:
Trevor Ezell has been the perfect addition to Dave Van Horn’s lineup so far in 2019. The SEMO transfer is hitting .425 with three home runs and 11 RBI in his first 11 games. Keeping Ezell off the base paths will be a priority for the Tech pitching staff as he also has seven stolen bases.
Statistical Comparison (Tech l Arkansas):
Batting Average: .297 l .297
Slugging Percentage: .453 l .478
On-Base Percentage: .390 l .399
Home Runs: 12 l 12
Runs per Game: 7.8 l 8.1
ERA: 5.14 l 3.34
WHIP: 1.41 l 1.18
Strikeout to Walk Ratio: 2.78 l 3.43
Fielding Percentage: .973 l .971
SB per Game: 1.4 l 2.4
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