re: Preview: Arkansas vs LSU – Fri 7 (CST) | Sat 12 (ESPN2) | Sun 1 (CST)

Relief Pitching:
As mentioned above, a couple of the key bullpen contributors from 2013 are now starting pitchers on this squad, making the younger guys that much more depended on. Colby Suggs was the anchor of the bullpen last season setting the Arkansas single season saves record with 13. Suggs was drafted in the 2nd comp round of the MLB draft and is yet another guy who needed to be replaced in the pen. The person taking over those closing duties is southpaw Michael Gunn, and he is doing it quite well. The junior Gunn’s career numbers are absolutely sick having allowed just 25 hits in 61 innings of relief striking out 71 batters and notching a 1.18 ERA. His career WHIP to date is a ridiculous 0.79 in 45 appearances. The batting average against Gunn in 2014 is just .104 over 17.1 innings. He is actually a two-way player but has seen limited action in his career outside of the dirt bump. He’s got an upper 80’s fastball from the left side and a curve in the mid-70’s. I’ve raved about Gunn enough but there are several other quality arms out of the pen. I will just list their stats below.
Top Bullpen Arms:
LHP Michael Gunn (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 17.1 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 17 K)
RHP Jacob Stone (3-0, 0.66 ERA, 13.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 13 K)
RHP Zack Jackson (2-1, 2.42 ERA, 22.1 IP, 15 H, 8 R, 6 ER, 13 BB, 23 K)
LHP Colin Poché (2-0, 1.93 ERA, 23.1 IP, 13 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 16 BB, 17 K)
RHP Jackson Lowery (0-1, 3.32 ERA, 21.2 IP, 18 H, 10 R, 8 ER, 6 BB, 22 K)

Arkansas Offense: (LSU numbers in parentheses)
Team BA: .259 (.275)
Team OBP: .360 (.365)
Team SLG: .346 (.387)

Offensively, the Razorback return the top 3 hitters from a team that hit just .260 as a team last season. The biggest threat last year is once again the main man in All-American Brian Anderson. Named to the Golden Spikes mid-season Watch List this week (along with Nola and Scivicque from LSU), Anderson picked up right where he left off last year by hitting .336 so far this season. He leads the team in hits (42), doubles (9), homeruns (3), RBIs (29), and slugging percentage (.429). Anderson, the second sacker, enters the series this weekend riding a 10 game hitting streak. Outfielder Joe Serrano is having another great season, and he too is hitting for a .336 average this year. Serrano is a junior that has seen a lot of playing time each season and racked up a .315 career batting average entering the weekend. Arkansas isn’t very aggressive on the bases with just 30 stolen base attempts on the season. They are successful when they try, however, swiping 24 of those bags.


Arkansas Projected Lineup:
1) CF Tyler Spoon (.280 avg, 7 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 28 RBI, 24 R, 9 BB, 12 K, 3-3 SB)
2) RF Andrew Benintendi (.263 avg, 5 2B, HR, 16 RBI, 28 R, 17 BB, 10 K, 4-6 SB)
3) LF Joe Serrano (.336 avg, 6 2B, 17 RBI, 16 R, 14 BB, 12 K, 3-3 SB)
4) 2B Brian Anderson (.336 avg, 9 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 29 RBI, 21 R, 11 BB, 22 K, 3-4 SB)
5) 1B Eric Fisher (.233 avg, 7 2B, 2 HR, 17 RBI, 12 R, 8 BB, 23 K, 3-4 SB)
6) OF Clark Eagan (.264 avg, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, 10 R, 6 BB, 9 K, 2-2 SB)
7) 3B Bobby Wernes (.241 avg, 2B, 7 RBI, 8 R, 13 BB, 19 K, 1-2 SB)
8) C Jake Wise (.136 avg, 2B, HR, 7 RBI, 14 R, 17 BB, 22 K, 3-4 SB)
9) SS Michael Bernal (.250 avg, 2B, 3B, HR, 9 RBI, 20 R, 6 BB, 16 K, 0-0 SB)

Other guys we will see:
OF/C Krisjon Wilkerson (.244 avg, 2 2B, 3B, HR, 9 RBI, 12 R, 7 BB, 26 K, 1-1 SB)
C/1B Blake Baxendale (.176 avg, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 4 BB, 7 K, 0-0 SB) – injured hand, making trip, could be available Sat.
INF Brett McAfee (.277 avg, 4 2B, 9 RBI, 3 R, 4 BB, 7 K, 0-0 SB)

Defense:
Much was made over how bad the Razorback defense was last year with 31% of the team’s allowed runs being unearned. This season has seen a slight improvement and the team fielding percentage is up to .970, which is good for about 80th in the nation and 9th in the SEC. LSU’s defense is 20th in the country at .978 fld%, 2nd in the SEC. The everyday middle infielders for Arkansas have committed 15 errors. Their main catcher Jake Wise has thrown out 36% of attempting base stealers, while the backup, Baxendale, has caught just 1 base stealer of 12. LSU’s 3 catchers also have combined for a 36% CSB rate.


Season Stats
Roster
Schedule (via Warren Nolan)

Media Coverage:
TV: Friday – CST; Saturday – ESPN2; Sunday – CST
Online: ESPN3.com – Friday, Saturday, & Sunday; GeauxZone Video – all 3 games
Radio: 98.1 FM (check your local listings) all 3 games; audio always available through the GeauxZone


PREDICTION: Another big series that could determine how the West is won. LSU really needs to build on the offensive performance last Sunday, but facing this Razorback staff is no small task. I think this will be 3 very low scoring games on both sides. If LSU can get to the Bullpen early in the series, it will go a long way by Sunday afternoon. Arkansas has a few key arms, but we really want to get down to their 4th and 5th reliever because of a lack of true depth. That is where LSU will have success offensively. Playing this series at home is crucial. Nola will take care of business game 1, but the other 2 games are really a toss up. With great weather and a winning streak in tact, LSU takes care of business in front of a large weekend crowd.
Fri: Arky 0, LSU 2
Sat: Arky 2, LSU 3
Sun: Arky 2, LSU 4