After sputtering in their last two SEC series, the Diamond Hogs used some impressive performances this weekend en route to a hard-fought 2-1 series win against Ole Miss in Oxford. The series win gives the Hogs (16-8, 37-11) a one game lead in the West over the Rebels and the Auburn Tigers with six games to play.
Friday nights are getting to be pretty routine with Drew Smyly (8-0, 2.26 ERA). Smyly has become as solid of a Friday starter as we’ve seen. His steady performance last Friday almost seemed to surprise the ESPNU announcers, who had all but anointed stud Ole Miss starting pitcher Drew Pomeranz (6-1) as the best left-handed pitcher in America. No doubt Pomeranz is very good…but Smyly was better last Friday night.
Clutch home runs on Friday by Brett Eibner, Tim Carver and Travis Sample (grand slam) highlighted the explosion that saw the Hogs score 10 runs in the final three innings.
Saturday’s 3-2 loss was disappointing, but some good things came out of the game. While the Hogs could do little with Ole Miss starter Aaron Barrett (8 IP, 6 H, 6 Ks), strong performances by pitchers T.J. Forrest and Geoffrey Davenport out of the bullpen kept the game within reach. Forrest and Davenport combined for 6 1/3 innings of shutout relief.
One of the things that has been a bit shaky during the last couple of weeks was getting that quality relief outing when we needed it. Against Ole Miss, the Hogs bullpen did the job, including a nice job by Jordan Pratt who recorded his first save on Friday night. The junior right-hander from Harrison went 1 2/3 innings and recorded four of the five outs on strikeouts.
Sunday was all Mike Bolsinger, who delivered perhaps the best performance of his Razorback career. Striking out a career-high 11, Bolsinger (5-2) held the Rebels to just two hits in eight innings in the 7-0 win. After struggling in recent weeks to the point where he was sent back to the bullpen, Mike came through in a big way when the Hogs needed it on Sunday.
While Ole Miss and LSU have been chasing the Hogs for the last four or five weeks, it looks now like Auburn may be the main challenger down the stretch. Auburn has one of the best SEC hitting teams we’ve seen in a while and they’re hot — sweeping Mississippi State this past weekend to pull to within a game of first. The Tigers also have the tie-breaker with the Hogs, having won two of three in Fayetteville.
A good series win like this one over Ole Miss could spark the Razorbacks down the stretch. The Hogs host South Carolina (17-7, 36-11) this weekend, but first comes the much-anticipated trip to Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock to host Louisiana Tech on Tuesday night.