It’s amazing how Arkansas pitching has gone from a strength to a weakness. The team seems to win despite its pitching staff, not because of it.
KK is really the lone bright spot on the staff.
When you lead the league in Defense, Walks, and Homeruns, then you can be a bit lite on pitching.
We defend well, get people on base and knock them home.
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Votan is spot on. Wick is the only pitcher that has proven himself to be reliable, to throw strikes, get people out with very few walks. (Although he did struggle yesterday).
Pallette can pitch, but as of late he isn’t even reliable to go more than 4, innings.
No real discernible or reliable 3rd starter.
We have some pitchers that can throw hard, with high velo, but inconsistent and unreliable.
Thankful we have Kopps!
Today we should have won! One of those things that happen sometimes.
Now Wiggins has experience not of a good sort but experience. Better road next time. Maybe we will get to see Toll tomorrow!
Pitching is going to struggle most places when the starters don’t go deep into games. Wicklander and Pallette combined for 18 outs. The bullpen has had to throw 11 innings in this series and into a 12th.
In an ideal world, that would be at the high end of innings the bullpen would throw in an entire weekend.
I think that calling Kopps the only bright spot overlooks how well Monke and Bolden have pitched of late.
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That’s fair, Matt. I was overly simplistic in my criticism.
I did expect more from our starters this year and I think that is where my discontent comes from.
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Really hard loss and it stings all the more knowing how much is riding on this series. HORRIBLE way to end a game.
Your closer being burned on Friday night stinks. Not having an experience closer today was costly.
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Matt’s right. Monke, Bolden, and Costieu have been solid. However, Wiggins hasn’t pitched in an SEC series in over a month. Tough spot for your first time back. We should’ve found a way to keep him in the mix each weekend.
I think we should have started Wiggins in those midweek games to let him work things out
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Yes for sure! Maybe Toll too! I hope DVH can come up with a fix to be able to use Kopps to close more games with less work in each game he pitches.
I said last night that when the starting pitching failed and Kopps had to throw 66 pitches, that the other two games were in real trouble. Starting pitching has been suspect all season. Wicklander has been pitching well, but didn’t yesterday. That put the whole series in question because he is it. There is no one else.
I have been saying all along that OMA is in real doubt doubt to the lack of consistent pitching. I don’t know why they are not better, but they are not. They have one very good long relief guy who could be a great closer, but there seems to be nobody to fill those middle innings CONSISTENTLY. That is not winning baseball against the teams they will see in OMA. Starter need to go at least 7 giving up no more than 2 runs each and every time out. Then your closer should only have to come in in the 9th and not give up anything. We do not seems to have that for whatever reason.
We are also comparing this year’s starters to about four years of having dynamite Friday and Sat starters. We are comparing good pitching to great pitching. Out pitching stacks up pretty good statistically to everyone else it just isn’t what we have experienced the last few years.
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Winning game one is more important than winning game two. That’s the rule.
I’m not sure there’s a team in college baseball that has that.
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I am a big fan, Daughter just graduated woo pig, live in DFW and go to as many games as possible, watch most on my phone or laptop. I went to Arlington games beginning of the year and my thoughts are same. We dont have dominate hitters or locked on hitters like Heston or Dominic Fletcher but we are deep and sometime streaky. My thoughts on Pitching. we miss a strong Friday night guy, our BP is random sometimes hoping you get 3 innings but not bad and 1 closer. I think we are really missing Connor Noland, i am hoping he come back in another week. I also see the come back kid thing as a weakness that is going to bite us. I am really impressed by Vols, they come out and attack, we come out looking for “the pitch” and many times that works to wear down pitchers but sooner or later it will catch up especially in Top 5 teams. I really hope we win the SEC and I know it doesnt matter but i am not so sold we are dominate to win CWS.
Just my $.02 I love the team and will be watching the game today.
I may drive up next weekend to move out Daughter and try for a ticket to Florida given my last week with Daughter in school 
Sorry for long post, i am worrying too much i dont want this to end up like last CWS
Woo Pig
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If you worry to much it’s not good. The CWS is hard to win with great pitching or great hitting. We have had one or the other in past years and went deep in the post season. Almost winning (well should have won 1 for sure).
This years team isn’t the best pitching staff we have seen but it’s certainly not the worst. Some nights it’s pretty dang good tho.
The hitting is pretty consistent even against good pitchers (we have seen some of the best). Main thing is anybody in this lineup is capable and proven to produce when needed.
What’s cost us lately is that rare untimely error that winds up producing runs. It’s happened in both games so far in this series. We are an excellent fielding team, but the best fielding teams aren’t perfect.
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I am having a hard time remembering ANY SEC series where our starting pitchers performed better than the other guys. We finally got to several starters who dominated us early while our starters struggled. I bet you could not use all of the fingers on one hand to list SEC teams we play who we would not be happy to trade our starters for theirs.
It is a testimony to how good our coaching, bullpen, defense, and hitting has been that we are number one without ANY dependable starters.
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I think we have very good hitting, deep line up and usually someone comes up with a key hit but just good pitching with a dominate closer.
I would feel much better about our chances winning CWS if Connor Noland came back strong.
Separate point, do we see any stud Freshman coming in next year players or pitchers? 
Cayden Wallace looks good, Charlie Welch looks good, Robert Moore still playing I think…looks thin compared to last 5 years but i dont know all the players like many others. Does Brady Slavens stay or drafted?
I also dont follow recruiting as easy as football, maybe have some studs coming as starters like Christian Franklin, Casey Martin, Heston Kierstad.
Again, i will take DVH he seems to have the magic touch, like Mussellman.
OK GAME ONE, Woo Pig, Lets Go!
I can see Wiggins maturing into a good SEC pitcher. Connor getting hurt cost us one SEC starter. We started out with a lot of good pitchers but none, so far, has developed into an SEC caliber starting pitcher. Maybe in time, Hobbs can get us one or two to step up to the next level.
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