New Scrimmage Provides Details on the Razorbacks’ Opening Day Schedule
Arkansas’s FAYETTEVILLE Less than two weeks remain until opening day, so the fun and games are almost over. On the White Team during the most recent Arkansas scrimmage, head coach Dave Van Horn assembled a possible starting nine. Second Base Player Peyton Stovall Catcher Hudson White Diggs, Kendall, right field Aloy Wehiwa, Shortstop First Base: Ben McLaughlin The Designated Hitter, Jack Wagner Holt Peyton, third base
Left Field by Jayson Jones Field: Ty Wilmsmeyer, Center Although there is still time to make adjustments before the season begins against James Madison, it wouldn’t be shocking if this is Dave Van Horn’s starting lineup for the first game of his 22nd season.
Hudson White’s placement in position two indicates two things. Van Horn’s determination to use a left-right-left-right lineup through his first six positions. White, a transfer from Texas Tech, is coming off a season in which he slashed.296/.397/.550 with 10 doubles and 11 home runs, which further illustrates how highly he regards the player.
He could play other positions athletically, according to Van Horn. In terms of simply barreling up the ball, hitting it all over the field, toughing out, taking walks, and fouling off pitches, he was our best hitter in the fall. It will be difficult to beat him out because you know he will be in the lineup.” With Diggs and Aloy, expect a ton of home runs from the middle of the field. Throughout the fall and spring preseason scrimmages, Aloy hit his seventh home run, which led the team. The only player from the 2023 squad to return with more than ten home runs (12) is Diggs.
Wilmsmeyer will probably play the role of the archetypal “second leadoff hitter,” a concept that has emerged in the last ten or so years in which the speedy No. 9 hitter sets the table for the top of the lineup. For Missouri, Wilmsmeyer had 21 steals in 24 attempts, which would have led the Razorbacks in both steals and success rate (87.5%, minimum of 10 attempts) in the previous season. CASINO CONTENT Bonus Code for BetMGM: MCBET Profit from $158 in Bonus Bets on February 2, 2024 at 7:33 p.m. The Best New York Sports Betting Apps: NY Betting Apps (February 2024) 31 JAN 2024 AT 11:05 P.M. $1000 First Bet Offer with Caesars Sportsbook Promo Code MCBET1000 2024 JANUARY 22 AT 7:31 P.M.
Stovall takes the leadoff position once more in a throwback moment. Van Horn is hoping that this time around things work out better. Stovall hit leadoff in seven of the first eight games of the 2021 season, having hit leadoff in the first seven games of his collegiate career at first base. He finished the season just 5-for-30 with three walks and seven strikeouts. It is noteworthy that despite Diggs’ first-inning home run giving the starting team a 4-0 lead, the White team was held back by a five-run fifth-inning from the Cardinal team. According to Van Horn, Jared Sprague-Lott will be the team’s utility infielder and first backup at multiple positions. He finished the day with two hits, including a single to start the
Will Edmunson, who is probably the team’s fourth outfielder, blasted a pitch 407 feet to left field to end the big inning with two runners on and two runs already home. After an Aloy single, McLaughlin responded in the bottom of the inning with a 357-foot home run down the right field line, and the starting team managed to hold on for a 7-5 victory in the seven-inning scrimmage.
