FAYETTEVILLE — The No. 10 Arkansas Razorbacks held Western Illinois to one hit en route to an 8-0 victory Tuesday night at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Lefthanded starter Patrick Wicklander threw for five innings with eight strikeouts in his second straight midweek start. The hit came during his time on the mound. Nonetheless, over the freshman’s last 12 innings, he has struck out 21 and given up just three hits. Wicklander is part of a starting crew that has fanned 63 batters and walked 10 over the last three weeks.
“I thought it was a great job by our pitching staff, obviously,” said Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn. “Patrick Wicklander got us off to a good start, we had him on a pitch limit of about 70 to 75, so we can still have him available for Sunday if we need him. He just pounded the zone, had a few counts of 3-2, and I think he walked just one hitter, but for the most part, just threw a lot of strikes. A lot of fastballs and started mixing up a few changeups which were good to see I think in about the third.”
The relief of Kole Ramage, Jacob Kostyshock, Kevin Kopps, and Matt Cronin fanned two and walking just two with each pitcher going one inning. The Hogs’ pitching staff has struck out 10 or more in eight of their last nine games.
The Razorbacks scored at least a run in six different innings and got home runs from Heston Kjerstad and Casey Martin. Martin went 2-of-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Kjerstad went 4-of-4 at bat and missed a double to go for the cycle.
The Hogs finished up the midweek series with Western Illinois Wednesday at 3:00 p.m.