NCAAT GAME 2 THREAD: #2 Arkansas (36-22, 1-0 NCAAT) vs #1 Oklahoma State (38-18, 1-0 NCAAT)

[A_R_K_A_N_S_A_S]

                   

                    NCAA TOURNAMENT - SECOND ROUND   
        #2 ARKANSAS vs #1 OKLAHOMA STATE
                          At Allie P Reynolds Stadium, Stillwater, Ok

[A_R_K_A_N_S_A_S]

First pitch on SATURDAY is set for 6:05pm. This game WILL NOT BE  TELEVISED. This game will be broadcast live online on ESPN3 and WatchESPN App. This is a second round NCAA Tournament game and is double elimination regional.

LINK TO WATCH ESPN:
http://espn.go.com/watchespn/index/_/id/2584812/NCAA-Baseball-Regionals-(Site-3-/-Game-4)

Stillwater Regional Bracket with start times and TV coverage:
http://www.arkansasrazorbacks.com/pdf/baseball/2015/Stillwater_Bracket.pdf

Weather Watch for Stillwater, Ok.:
Link to Hourly Forecast: 
http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/stillwater-ok/74074/hourly-weather-forecast/330129?hour=57

Allie P. Reynolds Stadium
http://www.stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/allie-p.-reynolds-stadium-s1224?utm_content=buffer20875&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

:razorback: :razorback: :razorback: :razorback: :razorback: :razorback: :razorback: :razorback: :razorback: :razorback: :razorback: :razorback: :razorback: :razorback: :razorback: :razorback: :razorback: :razorback: :razorback: :razorback: :razorback:

ARKANSAS PREVIEW:
http://www.arkansasrazorbacks.com/hogs-and-cowboys-to-battle-in-stillwater-regional/

ARKANSAS GAME NOTES:
http://www.arkansasrazorbacks.com/pdf/baseball/2015/Ark_Notes0530.pdf


                            TEAM COMPARISONS:

                                                                                        Nat'l    Runs     Runs
        SEED |     W/L    |  RPI |  NPI |  SOS  |  Conference  |  Rank | Scored | Allowed |
OSU      1   |   38-18   |  11   | 15  |   11    | Big 12 2nd    |    11  |  6.7     |    3.4    |
ARK      2   |   36-22   |   32  |  43 |   18    |   SECW 3rd    |   20  |   6.0     |   4.8     |


PITCHING:
           era   games  cg   sho   sv    ip        h      r     er     bb    so   2b   3b   hr   b/avg
ARK    4.19     58     2    5/4   12  508.2   490  278  237  249  435  72    6   30    .259 
OSU    2.81     56     4    5/5    8  509.0   444  190  159   178  442  53    9   24   .235

HITTING:
          avg   games     r       h     2b   3b   hr   rbi    slg%   bb   hbp    so    ob%   sb-att
ARK    .291    58      348   562    99   18  49  308  .437    246   53   374   .382    49-72
OSU    .281    56      374   540   93   17   40  334  .409    271   61   460   .382   84-102


FIELDING:
            po      a       e      fld%
ARK    1526   656   54    .976 
OSU   1527   660    55    .975

                     SATURDAY'S PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS:
               ARK - Keaton McKinney (6-1)            OSU - Michael Freeman (10-2)
                era    w-l   app-gs   cg  sho   sv    ip      h    r    er   bb   so  2b 3b  hr  b/avg
McKinney 3.14    6-1  18-15     2  1/2    0   77.1   62  30  27   32   42   8   0   5   .221 
Freeman  1.05  10-2  14  14    4   0/2   0  102.2   67  20  12   25   92   6   1   1   .183



ARK SEASON STATS:
http://www.arkansasrazorbacks.com/stats/baseball/2015/teamcume.htm

OSU SEASON STATS:
http://www.okstate.com/sports/m-basebl/stats/2014-2015/teamcume.html

OSU BASEBALL WEBSITE:
http://www.okstate.com/sports/m-basebl/okst-m-basebl-body.html

OSU MEDIA GUIDE:
http://www.okstate.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/media-guide.html

UP NEXT:
The winner of this game will move to Sundays 6:05pm finals, while the loser will play an elimination game at noon on Sunday with a chance to advance to the 6:05pm finals.




For many years, Hogville members who love Razorback Baseball have come together to produce these game threads with play-by-play narrative for those that depend on it as their only source and for those that just simply enjoy it. These threads have been a foundation for great Hogville discussions and that tradition continues today as this is NOT a read only thread (all Hogville posting rules apply).

Veteran play-by-play man, PoconoHog plans to provide play-by-play narrative for this game. If everything goes as planned, jacobp, onebadrubi and Razorbacks#1 will be in the bullpen at some point and prepared to step in when needed. Razorbacks #1 and I look forward to assisting as needed for this game and hope that the many others will continue to bring quality input to the game threads. GHG!  :razorback:

[A_R_K_A_N_S_A_S]

PoconoHog is set to provide play-by-play narrative for this game and he may have a full bullpen to call on in jacobp, onebadrubi and Razorbacks#1 if needed. 

[Kevin]

Just win baby.

[Kevin]

Bunt defense is going to be huge.

[ses]

My Watch ESPN app says UF vs Fla A&M on the SEC Network and the Hogs online only.

[Snoutmaster]

SEC Now this morning showed our game being on ESPNU, my Directv guide shows Teams TBA on both SEC Network and ESPNU

[ricepig]

My ESPNU shows aTm/Cal, I think we're relegated to ESPN3.

[Snoutmaster]

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/page/15baseballsked/2015-ncaa-baseball-tournament-schedule-results#OSU

You all were correct ESPN3, that blows

[YtownHog]

If those stats are correct, Freeman's WHIP is less than 1.00.  I can't recall seeing that except for a few of the stud pro pitchers.  Hopefully we can wreck that number today!

[GatorHog]

Bunt defense is going to be huge.

We got the Wurnuss

[SPAL]

My Watch ESPN app says UF vs Fla A&M on the SEC Network and the Hogs online only.

It is showing on my watchespn app

[ricepig]

It is showing on my watchespn app

Well, you appear to be the only one, haha.

[SPAL]

Guess I'm just special, Rice

[YtownHog]

It is showing on my watchespn app

Same here, I'll be running it through my Xbox so it'll still be "on TV" for me!

[ricepig]

Guess I'm just special, Rice

We've all known that for a while.......hopefully it's on.

[Birminghog]

My ESPN app shows us on ESPN3, A&M on ESPNU, and Florida v. Florida A&M at 5:00 on SEC network. ESPN is softball world series, ESPN lists "Bases Loaded". Smh. Is the Florida v. Florida A&M a replay?

[ricepig]

@RazorbackBSB:Tonight's 6:05 p.m. CT first pitch against Oklahoma State will only be available on @ESPN3 and the WatchESPN App.

#BeatOKState  #OmaHogs

[Dr. Starcs]

How confident is everyone feeling about tonight?

I'm a little apprehensive....

[LSPRazorbac]

How confident is everyone feeling about tonight?

I'm a little apprehensive....

A little worried.

Freeman looks like a beast.

[tennesseehogwild]

He was 5-2 in conference play...so he is beatable.

[ricepig]

He was 5-2 in conference play...so he is beatable.

A 6'8" sidearm lefty is tough no matter who he is.

[dacskc]

http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2015/may/27/mckinney-intends-to-start-saturday-2015/


This makes me feel a little better. Looks like McKinney has been battling this for awhile and has been able to work through it. It appears he was only affected negatively by the tightness when on short rest, so here's to hoping that's the case tonight!

[Iwastherein1969]

A 6'8" sidearm lefty is tough no matter who he is.

if he pitches like Puk...well, its turn out the lights we'll see the winner of the loser's bracket game on Sunday...if he can't run it up past 95mph, we'll have a chance, if he's consistently at 96 and above, well, Bernal is the only guy who will be able to hit him...I wish DVH would put Bernal in the #2 spot...he's got enough speed, and is the best cheese hitter on the team, well, the best against a lefty who throws cheese...matter of fact, I'd lead off with Nomura....but that's me, I have some crazy ideas

[BroyledNutts]

He's gonna be tough, but he's no worse than anyone else we've had to face in SEC play...

Need to be aggressive early against him - make him work. He typically goes 7 1/3, about 120 pitches. Need to get his pitch count up early. Foul off as many as possible. No watching strike three for 4 innings. He does not walk very many, which tells me he is consistently around the strike zone.
His delivery seems to take a little longer than others - if we can get on we need to see if we can steal a couple bases on him. He has not had to pitch very often out of the stretch, and I would guess he does not like to very much.

[bulldog04]

A 6'8" sidearm lefty is tough no matter who he is.

I think Gassaway needs to be in lineup against this guy

[Iwastherein1969]

best thing that could happen....play 4 scoreless innings and then comes a deluge for about 45 minutes to an hour....their 'Baby Huey' will have been burned and we start off even with 5 innings to play....could we be that lucky ? On a side note, I'm glad our semi-submarine pitcher has been used...that HR he gave up yesterday was the fattest pitch in the history of collegiate playoff baseball and it was hit a ton...Spoon and BennyBaseball barely moved when the ball rocketed off the bat

[ucahogfan]

if he pitches like Puk...well, its turn out the lights we'll see the winner of the loser's bracket game on Sunday...if he can't run it up past 95mph, we'll have a chance, if he's consistently at 96 and above, well, Bernal is the only guy who will be able to hit him...I wish DVH would put Bernal in the #2 spot...he's got enough speed, and is the best cheese hitter on the team, well, the best against a lefty who throws cheese...matter of fact, I'd lead off with Nomura....but that's me, I have some crazy ideas

Except he doesn't pitch like Puk.  Only a couple LHPs in the world can sustain that velo he did for 100 pitches.

From what I understand, he is a crafty LHP with an upper 80s sinking fastball and good offspeed.

[ricepig]

Except he doesn't pitch like Puk.  Only a couple LHPs in the world can sustain that velo he did for 100 pitches.

From what I understand, he is a crafty LHP with an upper 80s sinking fastball and good offspeed.

Yeah, but what will make him different from most crafty lefties, is the height and arm angle. He only pitch 14 innings last year, but dropped down to the side and found something. I'm more concerned with our pitching and defense, if we get production out of those, I like our chances.

[ucahogfan]

Yeah, but what will make him different from most crafty lefties, is the height and arm angle. He only pitch 14 innings last year, but dropped down to the side and found something. I'm more concerned with our pitching and defense, if we get production out of those, I like our chances.

Yep, but then again, we hit Roth hard at South Carolina and he had a lower arm slot for a crafty LHP.  Maybe that works in our favor.  It does say something to have a 1.05 ERA entering the postseason.  Runs won't come easy tonight especially if McKinney is what he showed us the 2nd half of the year.  Our defense has been excellent all year except for tourney play in Alabama.

[ricepig]

Yep, but then again, we hit Roth hard at South Carolina and he had a lower arm slot for a crafty LHP.  Maybe that works in our favor.  It does say something to have a 1.05 ERA entering the postseason.  Runs won't come easy tonight especially if McKinney is what he showed us the 2nd half of the year.  Our defense has been excellent all year except for tourney play in Alabama.

How many of our guys still around hit against Roth?

[LJHOG]

Well if he pitches as well as his numbers say he can then we're playing tomorrow. 

[hoglady]

There's absolutely no reason this game isn't on one of the SEC Alternate Channels.
They had no problem putting LSU on one of the alternate channels after their rain delay screwed up programming.
Don't really understand why the SEC/ESPN aren't using them.
Irritated.

[GatorHog]

I'd like to see our hitters some out patient to see if Freeman is willing to help us out.  Sometimes crafty means off the plate.  Generally, I think we do a good job of that.

[flippinhogmana]

I think we take okie state today

[ucahogfan]

Well if he pitches as well as his numbers say he can then we're playing tomorrow.

Yep, but the late game in the Regional Finals.

[BroyledNutts]

Yep, but the late game in the Regional Finals.

I like your thinking.

[ucahogfan]

I'd like to see our hitters some out patient to see if Freeman is willing to help us out.  Sometimes crafty means off the plate.  Generally, I think we do a good job of that.

Yeah, it all depends on the strike zone.  Like you said, a lot of crafty LHPs want to work the black and a little off, but a tight zone can ruin that strategy.  The ump yesterday wasn't giving anything off the black and hopefully it is the same way tonight.

[ucahogfan]

How many of our guys still around hit against Roth?

Was his last year 2012 or 2013?  At least Serrano and maybe McAfee and Spoon.

[ricepig]

Was his last year 2012 or 2013?  At least Serrano and maybe McAfee and Spoon.

I believe it was 2012.

[trippigs]

Free the spoon!!!!

[ucahogfan]

I believe it was 2012.

That sounds right.  So it would only be Serrano if he happened to be in the lineup then.  Maybe he can give the guys a few pointers.  I think we should go with an up the middle/opposite field mindset with a soft tossing LHP.  He is probably going to throw a lot of offspeed to go with his mid 80s fastball.  We are going to need to put a string of hits together to score like we did against Roth.

[JHicks3636]

Just to show how important this game is. Last year 13 of the 16 winner's bracket winners went on to win its regional. Just takes too much to come back through the loser's bracket for most pitching staffs. Two SEC teams, LSU and Mississippi State, along with Indiana, were the 3 teams to lose coming out of the winner's bracket. Also, 13 out of 16 teams who lost in the winner's bracket game won the next game to make it to the finals.

[A_R_K_A_N_S_A_S]

Lots of Hog fans lining up for tickets. They have about 200 left.

[AirForceHog]

Ill be at a Carolina Mudcats game but I'll be checking in here to see how the Hogs are doing. So I want to say thanks to all that do the PBP and make these threads. Well awesome.

[pigture perfect]

I will have to read the thread later since I'm in South Africa for a while. Thanks for doing these threads.

[A_R_K_A_N_S_A_S]

2 hours to first pitch

[Hawgzinbowlz]

If McKinney is OK, I don't care who we face.
During the St. Johns vs. ORU game the guy sitting next to me said his brother was trying to bring the big spoon in and the Okies wouldn't let him.
Let's kick some Okie @$$.

" GO OMAHOGS "

[A_R_K_A_N_S_A_S]

[Razorback7281]

If McKinney is OK, I don't care who we face.
During the St. Johns vs. ORU game the guy sitting next to me said his brother was trying to bring the big spoon in and the Okies wouldn't let him.
Let's kick some Okie @$$.

" GO OMAHOGS "