By Nate Allen
Special to the News-Times
FAYETTEVILLE - With last season’s ending 13-game losing streak as an indelible lesson learned from momentum lost, the Arkansas Razorbacks aim to lose nothing tonight against the University of New Orleans Privateers from last weekend’s three -game SEC sweep over Mississippi State before their next SEC series this Friday through Sunday at Missouri.
At 6 tonight at Baum Stadium, coach Dave Van Horn’s Razorbacks (17-4) finish an 11-game homestand hosting the hard-hitting Privateers (13-7) of the Southland Conference.
“It’s big to carry it over the weekend and get after UNO,” Arkansas senior left fielder Luke Bonfield said before the Razorbacks practiced Tuesday. “Right now we are just focused on UNO and after that game then we will start focusing on Missouri and what they have got.”
It seems a cinch that UNO will get after them. For the Privateers sure got after LSU, the only SEC team they have played this season.
LSU was ranked No. 2 nationally when UNO beat the Tigers 11-8 on Feb. 21 in New Orleans and ranked sixth nationally when the Privateers prevailed 7-4 in 15 innings March 15 at the Tigers’ lair in Baton Rouge.
“They beat LSU twice so it’s going to be a challenge, a good RPI game for us,” Bonfield said.
The Privateers’ 18 runs in two games against LSU defines what they do best.
“They’re hitting .308 as a team, which is pretty impressive because they have played some good people,” Van Horn said.
Five Privateers from John Cable to Samuel Capielano wield batting averages from .329 to .395 with Tristan Clarke, .342, swatting a team-leading five home runs, while Owen Magee, .342, leads UNO with 24 RBI.
And they won’t face Arkansas’ weekend best with victorious over Mississippi State state starters Blaine Knight, Trevor Stephan and Josh Alberius, and Dominic Taccolini, finishing the final four innings of Alberius’ Sunday success, saved for the SEC series against Mizzou in Columbia, Mo.
Closer Cannon Chadwick, successive saves Friday and Saturday against Mississippi State, at the most would pitch an inning tonight and preferably not at all, Van Horn said.
“We would like to have him awfully fresh for Friday and the whole weekend,” Van Horn said.
In fact, he doesn’t want to extend anyone tonight beyond being help in relief Saturday and Sunday.
So plenty of pitchers will work tonight, Van Horn said, starting with sophomore lefty Kacey Murphy of Rogers, who retired the one batter he faced against Mississippi State.
Presumably freshman lefty Evan Lee of Bryant and freshman right-hander Kevin Copps, combining to pitch Friday’s scoreless eighth against Mississippi State after Bryant native Knight’s impressive three-hitter with 11 strikeouts and no walks through seven, also will pitch some tonight.
Arkansas, hitting a solid .281 as a team with an SEC-leading 30 home runs, tonight welcomes a bat that hasn’t swung this season.
Junior college transfer third baseman-first baseman Jared Gates, the Hogs’ hottest hitter in the preseason scrimmages until breaking his hand, Van Horn said, has sufficiently healed to debut tonight at third.
“I’m planning on starting Gates,” Van Horn said. “He’s down there swinging it pretty good. I’m excited to get out there. He’s one of the more popular guys on the team. I think the players want to see him play as much as the coaches do.”
Junior college transfer third baseman Hunter Wilson still limps from a severe bone bruise from last week’s foul ball off his shin. Wilson won’t play tonight, but presently is on the 27-man travel squad this weekend to Columbia, Van Horn said Tuesday.