FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas – Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn was quick and to the point when asked how his starter, Gage Wood, would fare in an elimination game against Southeast Missouri State.
“I hope he goes out and chases it or I wouldn’t open it,” Van Horn said.
For the second consecutive start, Wood will be tasked with applying additional pressure because the Razorbacks failed to get a win in a Hagen Smith outing. In his only conference start, the Batesville native was tasked with holding down a potent Texas A&M lineup and avoiding a winner-take-all game to clinch the SEC West. Wood did his job, limiting one of the nation’s top offenses to just three runs in five solid innings.
Now, Wood has been called upon to clean up another mess left by his fellow pitchers. Smith walked four batters and allowed his first home run in more than two months in a 7-6 loss to Kansas State. With the best arm in Arkansas’ bullpen, Gabe Gaeckle, whose availability is in doubt for the rest of the regional after throwing a career-high 63 pitches on Thursday, the consequences of failing to deliver will mean the last for this team. Arkansas together.
It’s a big change in the pecking order for a pitcher who didn’t seem to have a key role on this team. Forced into a bullpen role as a rookie due to a slew of injuries in his first year, Wood seemed lost in the shuffle earlier this year with seemingly endless depth on the pitching staff. It wasn’t until a two-inning save against Ole Miss on April 5 in which he struck out five that really got his sophomore campaign going.
“It’s good to always have a little success,” Wood said after the Ole Miss appearance. “That’s just one way out. I just have to move on.”
In the 25 1/3 innings he pitched since the Ole Miss series, he had a 4.97 ERA, which is higher than his season ERA of 3.86, but half of his 14 earned runs came in two appearances, both against Kentucky .
Now, with pitching depth eroded due to injury and Van Horn’s star card gone, it’s Wood’s turn to take the mound and bail out the Hogs once again, only this time there’s no safety net.
Wood and the rest of the Razorbacks will take the field against SEMO at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The game will be broadcast on KeynoteUSA+. If Arkansas wins against SEMO, they will need to beat Kansas State twice in the regional final to advance to the super regionals.
FEED FOR PIGS:
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