For the second straight game, Arkansas won in walk-off fashion as Kyle Robinson drove in Bo Bigham on a sacrifice fly to center field to lift the Razorbacks to a 5-4 win over No. 17 LSU and complete a three-game sweep of the Tigers on Sunday afternoon at Baum Stadium.

Also:

• ArkansasRazorbacks.com: Game Stats, Game Highlights (Video)
• Matt Jones: Another Hog Rally Sweeps LSU
• WholeHogSports.com (Video): Dave Van Horn
• Scott Faldon: Razorbacks Complete LSU Sweep
• Chris Bahn: Razorbacks Show Real Fight In Finishing Off Series Sweep Against Tigers
• Razorback Nation (Video): Kyle Robinson, Tim Carver

Arkansas’ Bo Bigham drove home the game-winning run with a single in the bottom of the eighth inning and DJ Baxendale threw 3.1 shutout innings in relief to lead the Razorbacks to a 3-2 win over Utah on an overcast and chilly Friday afternoon at Baum Stadium.

Also:

• ArkansasRazorbacks.com: Game Stats (PDF)
• Matt Jones: Hogs Stage 3-2 Comeback Win, Young Team Grows Up with Win
• WholeHogSports.com (Video): Dave Van Horn
• Clint Mitchell: Arkansas 3, Utah 2
• Razorback Nation (Video): Ryne Stanek, Kyle Robinson, Bo Bigham

This is the first of a two part series previewing the 2011 Razorback Baseball squad.

After two seasons of deep runs into the post season, Dave Van Horn’s 2011 Diamond Hogs don’t seem to be rebuilding, even after losing four key players to the MLB draft.

Andy Wilkins, Zach Cox, Drew Smyly and Brett Eibner had great careers and will be missed, but a pretty good nucleus of players with experience remain.  The Hogs may be reloading instead of rebuilding this season.

Much has been made of the switch to a ‘less lively’ bat this season.  Of the Razorback returnees in 2011, none of them really relied on the home run anyway as a big part of their game.  Even though Collin Kuhn hit 16 HRs last year, the closest is probably catcher James McCann (9 HRs in 2010).

This year’s version of the Hogs will rely more on speed – a new, important equalizer for some teams given the new bats.

So, without further ado, here’s a position-by-position look at 2011 Diamond Hogs starting with the infield:

Catcher

Not much of a question mark here.  James McCann (.286, 9HRs, 34 RBIs in 2010) is one of the best catchers in the SEC.  The two year starter is again one of the Hogs captains.  Great defensively, with a great arm, McCann made strides at the plate last year, raising his average some 44 points.  Freshman Jake Wise (6-0, 200, Houston, TX) will likely back up James and get some mid-week work.

“He’s the guy we can’t afford to lose,” Van Horn said of McCann.  “He’s such a great leader.  He’s great at handling our young pitchers.  I’ll let him catch all 56 games if he can do it.” 

Middle Infielders

One of the returning strengths, second baseman Bo Bigham and shortstop Tim Carver will be one of the best defensive tandems in the league.  Bigham (.316, 3HRs, 30 RBIs) is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, but has looked good in pre-season practices.  Bo is tremendous in the field and has great speed on the bases (14 steals in 2010).  He, most likely, will hit second behind Kuhn.

At short, Carver (.267, 4 HRs, 36 RBIs) has always been a good glove, but showed surprising pop at the plate last year.  He is versatile, and can play second and third as well if needed.

The new ‘franchise player’ fans will get to know quickly though is Dominic Ficociello.  Dominic is a 6’4” shortstop from Fullerton, California who, in pre-season practices, looks advanced with the glove.  He is a switch hitter, and if he can hit, will play somewhere…possibly at first base.  He has been working at third, short and first since arriving on campus.  Keep an eye on number 20.

Corner Infielders

With Cox and Wilkins gone, the Hogs are starting over at these two spots.  Matt Reynolds will be moving from shortstop over the third this season.  Reynolds (.203, HR, 5 RBIs), a hot prospect last year out of Tulsa, struggled through a injury plagued freshman year.  A stress reaction in his shin held Reynolds out of SEC action, as he only managed four extra base hits all season. 

You can tell, Matt has bulked up this year, and looks like he is ready to make strides.  Van Horn noted that Reynolds will play third and hit third.

First base is the big question mark, as it appears the Hogs are still searching here, and may very well use the early non-conference games as a “tryout” of sorts.  Ficociello looks to be the lead candidate, even though he’d be playing out of position.  Returning senior Kyle Robinson (.353, 5 RBIs in 2010) could figure in at first, designated hitter or in the outfield.

In part 2 of our series, we’ll take a look at the outfield and pitching prospects.  Stay tuned.

ArkansasRazorbacks.com: Razorbacks fall in opener to Arizona St.

Bo Bigham had four hits to lead the No. 15 Arkansas Razorback baseball team, but after 11-plus innings, the Razorbacks would fall to No. 1 Arizona State in the first game of the Tempe Super Regional at Jim Brock Ballpark, 7-6.

Also:

• ArkansasRazorbacks.com: Game Stats, Game Highlights, Post-game Comments (Video)
• Robbie Neiswanger: Arizona State Edges Arkansas in 12 Innings, Cox Sets School’s Single-Season Hit Record in Loss
• Matt Jones: Arizona State 7, Arkansas 6
• ESPN.com: Hogs close, but fall short to Sun Devils

Andy Wilkins tied a season high with four RBI while Bo Bigham had three hits and scored a career-high three runs as the No. 10 University of Arkansas baseball team defeated Centenary, 18-2, Tuesday night at Baum Stadium.

Also:

• ArkansasRazorbacks.com: Game Stats
• Razorback Nation (Video): Razorbacks down Centenary, 18-2

In part one of this series, we took a quick look back at 2009 and examined the lofty preseason expectations of this year’s team.

Now here’s a position-by-position look at the 2010 Diamond Hogs.

Catcher

Like a lot of good teams, success on the field starts with the guy behind the plate.  It was no surprise that James McCann was voted by his teammates as one of the three Razorback captains for 2010.  As a freshman, McCann (.242, 1 HR, 11 RBIs) took over full-time catching duties midway through last season, and became one of the catalysts that spurred the Hogs to Omaha.

Hog fans may not recognize the 6-3 McCann right away, since he’s gained 25-30 pounds of muscle since last season, and is now up to 225.  His arm is strong and accurate — definitely a weapon that will throw to any base at any time.  Van Horn and pitching coach Dave Jorn have indicated they may let McCann call pitches at times throughout the year…something they have not done in recent years.

Backing up McCann will be junior college transfer Monk Kreder.  Originally signed by Texas Tech, by way of Howard Community College, Kreder (6-1, 230) has impressed with his bat in the early going and, according to Van Horn, is a power hitter.  He will get a chance to play at DH when not behind the plate.  Senior catcher Tom Hauskey (.308 avg in 2009) has shown to be a good pinch hitter, and will likely fill that role again in 2010.

Infield

Not too hard to fill out a lineup card when your corner infielders are All-Americans.  Andy Wilkins (.319, 19 HRs, 58 RBIs) and Zack Cox (.266, 13 HRs, 39 RBIs) lead this group and are looking to improve on their stellar 2009 campaigns.  Cox set the freshman record for home runs in a season (13) last year.  6-5 freshman Derrick Bleeker from Longmont, Colorado will back up both.

Second base has been nailed down by last year’s late season star Bo Bigham.  Bigham (.280, 1 HR, 6 RBIs) subbed late in the year after injuries to the starters, and showed speed, athletic ability, great fielding and clutch hitting.  Bigham is likely to leadoff for the Hogs.

The real battle is at shortstop where freshman Matt Reynolds and sophomore Tim Carver are vying.  “Carver was our best offensive player in the fall,” Van Horn recently said.  Reynolds, the highly recruited Tulsa Bishop Kelley star, has good power and a great arm from the hole.  Both should see action.

Outfield

For the third straight season, Brett Eibner will man the center field spot when he’s not on the mound blowing hitters away.  Eibner, who hit one of the most memorable home runs in Razorback history against Virginia in the CWS, also joins Wilkins and Cox on the Baseball America All-American team.

Hitting below .200 for most of the 2009 season, Brett finally found his stroke down the stretch and finished at .231, with 12 HRs, 34 RBIs.  He’s a better hitter than that and, when he’s not pitching (5-5, 5.00 ERA, 72 IP, 67 Ks), must improve at the plate for the Hogs to reach their ultimate goal.

Collin Kuhn in left and Jarrod McKinney in right look to get most of the playing time to start the season, but freshman Matt Vinson is raising some eyebrows early on.  Van Horn recently said Vinson, the multi-sport star from Alma, “may be the best athlete on our team.”

Kuhn (.256, 2 HRs, 11 SB) has great speed, and will man center when Eibner pitches.  McKinney (.197 avg in 2009), who showed flashes as a freshman, looks like a football player.  And, in fact, had a chance to play that sport for Texas Tech before signing to play baseball with the Hogs.  He has to improve at the plate to remain in the Hogs outfield rotation.

Designated Hitter

According to Van Horn, look for backup catcher Monk Kreder to get a lot of at bats in this slot.  Junior outfielder Travis Sample (.263, 2 HRs, 16 RBIs) could figure here as well.

In our final preview installment later this week, we’ll take a look at the pitchers and make a few predictions for 2010.

Bo Bigham hit his first career home run in the second inning but that was all the offense that the No. 5 University of Arkansas baseball team could come up with as they lost their first one-run game of the season, 3-2, to the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks at Baum Stadium on Tuesday night.

Also:

• ArkansasRazorbacks.com: Box Score
• Vernon Tarver: Arkansas Victim Of Another Pitching Gem, Inside Pitch
• Lane Kramer: Arkansas’ skid up to 3 games
• Nate Allen: Warhawks upend Hogs to extend UA losing streak

Updated 4/15/09 7:40 a.m.

Freshman Bo Bigham got the Arkansas baseball team started at the plate and redshirt freshman Drew Smyly was dominating on the mound to lead the No. 21 Arkansas baseball team to a 7-3 victory over Valparaiso at Baum Stadium on Tuesday afternoon.

Also:

• ArkansasRazorbacks.com: Box Score (PDF)
• Vernon Tarver: Newcomers Shine In Arkansas Win, Pitching Pair Makes Debut
• Rick Fires: Arkansas freshman adds pop
• Nate Allen: Braving the cold

Updated 3/4/09 9:30 a.m.