By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas suffered though one of the most frustrating stretches of the season last week, losing two of three games to Auburn at Baum Stadium.
There was no hiding the disappointment from players and coaches, either, as they remained huddled on the field 45 minutes after Saturday’s 12-5 loss. But Arkansas third baseman Matt Reynolds insisted the Razorbacks won’t let their frustration linger.
“It’s disappointing,” Reynolds said. “You’re expected to win at home. Especially when we have this kind of advantage with Baum stadium. It didn’t happen. But we’re not going to hang our heads.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Arkansas (35-17, 13-14 in Southeastern Conference) begins a new week — the final four games of the regular season — when it plays Louisiana Tech (23-23) in North Little Rock’s Dickey-Stephens Park tonight.
The Razorbacks are hoping a trip to Central Arkansas will help them slip out of a funk that has hung around for several weeks. Arkansas, after opening 5-1 in SEC play, has lost four of its past five series and travels to play at Tennessee on Thursday night.
Arkansas knows it is running out of time to prepare for the postseason. So second baseman Bo Bigham said the Razorbacks must snap back beginning tonight.
“We’ve got to start over,” Bigham said last Saturday. “And just get ready to play Louisiana Tech (tonight) and get after Tennessee (this) weekend.”
Arkansas enters tonight’s game 22-3 in nonconference play this season. But its recent struggles in conference games knocked the Razorbacks out of this week’s Baseball America Top 25 poll. It’s the first time the Razorbacks, who crawled as high as No. 3 in the poll, have not been ranked this season.
The Razorbacks also issued some more bad news Monday, announcing that center fielder Jacob Morris was out for the rest of the season after suffering a broken right index finger. Morris, who started 49 games, was batting .236 with 23 RBIs and had been an important part of the Hogs’ defensive efforts. Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said the mounting problems are nothing new for his team. He pointed to the 2009 season, when the Razorbacks struggled late before picking up steam in the postseason. He hopes it happens again with the SEC Tournament beginning in Hoover, Ala., next Tuesday.
“We have been there before,” Van Horn said. “We lost eight of nine one year and ended up finishing pretty good. We’ll see how it goes with week.”
Arkansas will be playing in North Little Rock for the third straight season and anticipates a big crowd in the ballpark once again tonight. The Razorbacks beat Louisiana Tech 5-4 in 10 innings in North Little Rock on May 11, 2010. Arkansas also beat Memphis 7-2 in Dickey-Stephens Park last March.
Bigham said Arkansas can count on a “great crowd, great enthusiasm” tonight. He said the Razorbacks are determined to play with plenty of intensity as well.
“We’re ready to get back on the field,” Bigham said last week. “We’d play another game on the field right now because we do have a bad taste in our mouth.
“We’re just ready to get after Louisiana Tech and start back over, get going on the right track.”