Arkansas Razorback Baseball: Hogs Sweep Zips, Ready for Bama

The No. 5 Arkansas Razorbacks improved to 16-2 on the season after sweeping a two-game series from Gonzaga Wednesday night. The Hogs shutout the Zips 1-0 in game one and followed that victory with a 5-3 win to close out the mid-week matchup.

The Razorbacks have a day off before hosting Alabama to start their SEC schedule.

Alabama comes to Fayetteville in the middle of a down year. The Tide has posted an 8-9 record (7-5 at home, 1-3 away, and 0-1 on a neutral field) with three wins coming against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Bama was swept in their season opener against Florida Atlantic and lost a three-game series to Tulane. They lost single-game series to Oral Roberts, East Carolina, Southern Mississippi, and Auburn (non SEC scheduled game).

Alabama head coach Mitch Gaspard needs a series win against a top team like Arkansas to help turn the season around for the Tide.

Gaspard will turn to his top offensive leaders (Taylor Dugas, Ben Moore, and Jared Reaves) to help take on the Hogs pitching attack.

Senior outfielder Taylor Dugas leads Bama’s offense with a .350 average, seven extra base hits, walks (11), total hits (21), and total bases (29).

Senior outfielder Jared Reaves, a JC transfer from Southern Union, is second on the team with 20 hits and his among the team leaders in RBI (9), batting average (.303), and total bases (27).

Freshman catcher/outfielder Ben Moore (Cullman, Ala.) has been a blessing for Gaspard. Moore is second on the team in batting average (.321), tops in runs scored (13), and second in total bases (28).

Brett Booth (.241) and Kenny Roberts (.227) have been the primary source of run production for Bama. Respectively they have driven in 12 and 10 runs to pace the Tide.

Bama’s pitching has not been a bright spot for the team to date. The team has a 4.59 ERA over 17 games.

To finish reading the Arkansas vs. Alabama SEC baseball preview go to Razorbackers.com! 

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