2008 Woodie Awards
Pitching giving Hogs hope
Razorback Road
Matt Jones
Issue date: 4/21/08 Section: Sports
With a weekend series win over Tennessee, Arkansas has won its last two series in Southeastern Conference play after losing the first four.
The Razorbacks entered Sunday in sole possession of second place in the SEC West and if the SEC Tournament were to start then, Arkansas would be the last team in.
That's not necessarily a bad thing for a team that has struggled to find its identity throughout the first month of the SEC season. It's been well-documented the losses Arkansas suffered in its pitching rotation from last year with the departures of Nick Schmidt, Jess Todd and Duke Welker to the big leagues.
Arkansas pitchers have been much maligned throughout the season and the bullpen has been unable to close out large leads at times.
But with sporadic bats providing only minimal runs, the Razorback pitching staff has become the saving grace of the club.
Dallas Keuchel and Stephen Richards have proved to be a tough tag team in back-to-back Friday night nail-biters - both Arkansas wins. Keuchel pitched a gem last weekend at Florida and Richards struck out six batters and worked out of a bases-loaded jam with one out to record the save Friday night against the Vols.
And then there's the recent addition of a surging Justin Wells to the weekend rotation. In his Saturday outing against Tennessee, Wells pitched a full nine innings, giving up just four runs on eight hits and striking out nine batters in a no-decision.
Wells said he believes the team is beginning to hit its stride.
"I've always said we have a lot of talent," Wells said. "But we've got to prove it. We've got to show it. I think we've been playing pretty well lately…and stuff is finally starting to fall for us. We have a good team that can play with the best of them."
And against two of the better teams in the SEC, Florida and Tennessee, Keuchel and Wells were a combined 3-0.
Keuchel is now 4-1 on the season with an ERA slightly above 3.0. Razorback pitching coach Dave Jorn credits a Saturday win at LSU for Keuchel's second half success.
The Razorbacks entered Sunday in sole possession of second place in the SEC West and if the SEC Tournament were to start then, Arkansas would be the last team in.
That's not necessarily a bad thing for a team that has struggled to find its identity throughout the first month of the SEC season. It's been well-documented the losses Arkansas suffered in its pitching rotation from last year with the departures of Nick Schmidt, Jess Todd and Duke Welker to the big leagues.
Arkansas pitchers have been much maligned throughout the season and the bullpen has been unable to close out large leads at times.
But with sporadic bats providing only minimal runs, the Razorback pitching staff has become the saving grace of the club.
Dallas Keuchel and Stephen Richards have proved to be a tough tag team in back-to-back Friday night nail-biters - both Arkansas wins. Keuchel pitched a gem last weekend at Florida and Richards struck out six batters and worked out of a bases-loaded jam with one out to record the save Friday night against the Vols.
And then there's the recent addition of a surging Justin Wells to the weekend rotation. In his Saturday outing against Tennessee, Wells pitched a full nine innings, giving up just four runs on eight hits and striking out nine batters in a no-decision.
Wells said he believes the team is beginning to hit its stride.
"I've always said we have a lot of talent," Wells said. "But we've got to prove it. We've got to show it. I think we've been playing pretty well lately…and stuff is finally starting to fall for us. We have a good team that can play with the best of them."
And against two of the better teams in the SEC, Florida and Tennessee, Keuchel and Wells were a combined 3-0.
Keuchel is now 4-1 on the season with an ERA slightly above 3.0. Razorback pitching coach Dave Jorn credits a Saturday win at LSU for Keuchel's second half success.
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