The 2020 Arkansas Razorbacks baseball team represented the University of Arkansas in the 2020 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Razorbacks were coached by Dave Van Horn, in his 18th season with the Razorbacks, and played their home games at Baum–Walker Stadium.
On March 17, 2020, the season was officially declared over due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Razorbacks had a record of 11–5 when the season was cancelled.
Preseason The Razorbacks played a two-game fall exhibition schedule; the Razorbacks opened on September 20 against Oklahoma at home, falling 3–4 in 14 innings. On October 12, the Hogs traveled to Allie P. Reynolds Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma to take on Oklahoma State, to whom they lost 2–7 in 14 innings.
Preseason All-American teams 1st team Heston Kjerstad - Outfielder (Perfect Game) Casey Martin - Shortstop (Perfect Game) Heston Kjerstad - Outfielder (Collegiate Baseball) Heston Kjerstad - Outfielder (Baseball America) Casey Martin - Shortstop (Baseball America) 2nd team Casey Martin - Shortstop (Collegiate Baseball) 3rd team Casey Opitz - Catcher (Baseball America)
Personnel Roster 2020 Arkansas Razorbacks roster Pitchers 13 Connor Noland - Sophomore 20 Elijah Trest - Sophomore 21 Jacob Burton - Sophomore 26 Travis Hester - Freshman 27 Blake Adams - Freshman (OF) 28 Kole Ramage - Junior 29 Marshall Denton - Junior 31 Caleb Bolden - Sophomore 32 Zack Morris - Freshman 33 Patrick Wicklander - Sophomore 34 Kevin Heinrich - Freshman 36 Peyton Pallette - Freshman 37 Caden Monke - Sophomore 38 Mark Adamiak - Freshman 39 Evan Taylor - Sophomore 40 Corey Spain - Freshman 41 Will McEntire - Freshman 43 Miller Pleimann - Sophomore 44 Collin Taylor - Junior 45 Kevin Kopps - Junior 46 Carter Sells - Sophomore 49 Liam Henry - Sophomore 51 Hunter Milligan - Sophomore 57 Nathan Rintz - Freshman 58 Evan Gray - Freshman 88 Zebulon Vermillion - Junior Catchers 7 Dominic Tamez - Freshman (OF) 11 Cason Tollett - Freshman (1B) 12 Casey Opitz - Junior Infielders 1 Robert Moore - Freshman 3 Zack Gregory - Freshman 4 Cullen Smith - Junior 5 Jacob Nesbit - Sophomore 8 Braydon Webb - Junior (OF) 10 Matt Goodheart - Junior (OF) 15 Casey Martin - Junior 16 Cole Austin - Senior 17 Jesse Pierce - Freshman (OF) Outfielders 18 Heston Kjerstad - Junior 19 Trey Harris - Sophomore 22 Curtis Washington Jr. - Sophomore (INF) 24 Bryce Matthews - Freshman 25 Christian Franklin - Sophomore
Coaching staff Arkansas Razorbacks coaches Dave Van Horn Head coach 18th Nate Thompson Assistant coach/recruiting coordinator 3rd Matt Hobbs Pitching coach 2nd Taylor Smart Volunteer assistant 2nd Clay Goodwin Director of baseball operations 13thReference:
Schedule and results The full schedule, including all games that were scheduled but not played, is listed below. Legend Arkansas win Arkansas loss PostponementBoldArkansas team member
2020 Arkansas Razorbacks baseball game log Regular season (11–5) February (7–2) Date Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Record SECFeb. 14 * No. 7 Baum–Walker StadiumFayetteville, Arkansas W 5–1 C. Noland (1–0) W. Klein (0–1) SECN+ 9,188 1–0 Feb. 15 Eastern Illinois* No. 7 Baum–Walker Stadium W 10–1 P. Wicklander (1–0) T. Nicholson (0–1) SECN+ 10,814 2–0 Feb. 16 Eastern Illinois* No. 7 Baum–Walker Stadium W 12–3 K. Ramage (1–0) F. Anshutz (0–1) SECN+ 9,116 3–0 Feb. 20 * No. 7 Baum–Walker Stadium W 7–5 C. Monke (1–0) J. Rutherford (0–1) Z. Vermillion (1) SECN+ 7,754 4–0 Feb. 21 Gonzaga* No. 7 Baum–Walker Stadium W 9–3 C. Noland (2–0) M. Lardner (0–1) SECN+ 8,645 5–0 Feb. 22 Gonzaga* No. 7 Baum–Walker Stadium W 5–0 P. Wicklander (2–0) A. Jacob (0–1) SECN+ 10,536 6–0 Feb. 23 Gonzaga* No. 7 Baum–Walker Stadium W 9–5 M. Denton (1–0) N. Troglic-Iverson (0–2) SECN+ 7,615 7–0 Feb. 28 vs. No. 22 Oklahoma* No. 6 Minute Maid ParkHouston, Texas L 3–6 W. Olds (3–0) K. Kopps (0–1) J. Ruffcorn (4) 7–1 Feb. 29 vs. Texas* No. 6 Minute Maid Park L 7–8 T. Madden (3–1) P. Wicklander (2–1) A. Duplantier (2) 15,972 7–2 March (4–3) Date Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Record SECMar. 1 vs. * No. 6 Minute Maid Park L 2–3 H. Kettler (2–1) K. Ramage (1–1) L. Boyd (5) 11,528 7–3 Mar. 3 * No. 13 Baum–Walker Stadium L 7–8 C. Peplow (1–0) C. Monke (1–1) C. Johnson (1) SECN+ 7,874 7–4 Mar. 6 South Alabama* No. 13 Baum–Walker Stadium L 6–13 D. Nightengale (1–0) P. Wicklander (2–2) J. Dalton (2) SECN+ 8,629 7–5 Mar. 7 South Alabama* No. 13 Baum–Walker Stadium W 15–2 C. Bolden (1–0) M. Smith (0–2) SECN+ 12,006 8–5 Mar. 8 South Alabama* No. 13 Baum–Walker Stadium W 5–3 Z. Vermillion (1–0) N. Michael (0–1) SECN+ 8,463 9–5 Mar. 10 * No. 14 Baum–Walker Stadium W 6–1 W. McEntire (1–0) C. Lambert (0–1) C. Monke (1) SECN+ 7,871 10–5 Mar. 11 Grand Canyon* No. 14 Baum–Walker Stadium W 10–9 Z. Morris (1–0) Z. Barnes (2–1) P. Pallette (1) SECN+ 7,876 11–5 Mar. 13 at Mississippi State Dudy Noble FieldStarkville, Mississippi SECN+ Mar. 14 at Mississippi State Dudy Noble Field SECN Mar. 15 at Mississippi State Dudy Noble Field Mar. 17 vs. Oklahoma* Chickasaw Bricktown BallparkOklahoma City, Oklahoma SECN+ Mar. 20 Alabama Baum–Walker Stadium SECN+ Mar. 21 Alabama Baum–Walker Stadium SECN+ Mar. 22 Alabama Baum–Walker Stadium SECN+ Mar. 24 at Troy* Riddle–Pace FieldTroy, Alabama Mar. 25 at Troy* Riddle–Pace Field Mar. 27 at Ole Miss Swayze FieldOxford, Mississippi ESPNU Mar. 28 at Ole Miss Swayze Field SECN Mar. 29 at Ole Miss Swayze Field SECN Mar. 31 * Baum–Walker Stadium SECN+ April (0–0) Date Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Record SECApr. 2 Florida Baum–Walker Stadium ESPNU Apr. 3 Florida Baum–Walker Stadium SECN+ Apr. 4 Florida Baum–Walker Stadium SECN+ Apr. 7 Little Rock* Baum–Walker Stadium SECN+ Apr. 9 Texas A&M Baum–Walker Stadium SECN Apr. 10 Texas A&M Baum–Walker Stadium SECN Apr. 11 Texas A&M Baum–Walker Stadium SECN+ Apr. 14 * Baum–Walker Stadium SECN+ Apr. 17 at LSU Alex Box StadiumBaton Rouge, Louisiana SECN+ Apr. 18 at LSU Alex Box Stadium ESPNU Apr. 19 at LSU Alex Box Stadium SECN+ Apr. 21 at * John H. Kobs FieldEast Lansing, Michigan Apr. 22 at Michigan State* John F. Kobs Field Apr. 24 Auburn Baum–Walker Stadium SECN+ Apr. 25 Auburn Baum–Walker Stadium SECN+ Apr. 26 Auburn Baum–Walker Stadium SECN+ Apr. 28 * Baum–Walker Stadium SECN+ Apr. 29 Arkansas–Pine Bluff* Dickey–Stephens ParkNorth Little Rock, Arkansas May (0–0) Date Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Record SECMay 1 at South Carolina Founders ParkColumbia, South Carolina SECN+ May 2 at South Carolina Founders Park SECN May 3 at South Carolina Founders Park SECN May 8 Georgia Baum–Walker Stadium SECN+ May 9 Georgia Baum–Walker Stadium SECN+ May 10 Georgia Baum–Walker Stadium ESPN2 May 14 at Tennessee Lindsey Nelson StadiumKnoxville, Tennessee SECN+ May 15 at Tennessee Lindsey Nelson Stadium SECN+ May 16 at Tennessee Lindsey Nelson Stadium SECN+ *Denotes non–conference game • Schedule source • Rankings based on the teams' current ranking in the D1Baseball poll
February Eastern Illinois weekend series Gm 1Gm 2Gm 3 Eastern Illinois1 1 3Arkansas5 10 12Baum–Walker Stadium • Fayetteville, AR Arkansas wins series, 3–0 The Razorbacks opened their 2020 season with a weekend series at home against the Eastern Illinois Panthers, starting Friday, February 14. Arkansas received preseason rankings of #7 by D1Baseball, #9 by Collegiate Baseball, and #11 by Baseball America. First pitch on opening day was at 3:00 p.m. CST, followed by 2:00 p.m. on Saturday and 1:00 p.m. on Sunday.
Connor Noland started the season on the mound for the Hogs; after allowing a leadoff single, he retired the next two batters on strikes and the third out came by way of a pickoff. In the bottom of the first, preseason All-American Heston Kjerstad drove in an RBI with a single to left field, giving the Razorbacks an early lead. The next three innings were scoreless for both teams, but the Arkansas offense came back to life in the fifth. Christian Franklin, with two outs, launched a two-run home run deep, scoring himself and Braydon Webb and giving the Hogs a 3–0 lead. Kjerstad added to the lead five pitches later with a home run of his own, extending the lead to four runs. EIU found the scoreboard in the top of the seventh on a fielding error, but Kjerstad made up for it with another solo home run, his second of the contest. From there, the Razorbacks were able to hold the score at 5–1 for an opening day win. For his innings of work, Noland received the win; he threw 86 pitches. Marshall Denton ( innings) and Kevin Kopps (1 inning) also spend time on the mound for the Hogs. Will Klein was the losing pitcher; he was in the game for innings and was relieved by Blayke Cutts for the last innings of the contest.
Gonzaga weekend series Gm 1Gm 2Gm 3Gm 4 Gonzaga5 3 0 5Arkansas7 9 5 9Baum–Walker Stadium • Fayetteville, AR Arkansas wins series, 4–0 The Razorbacks' second weekend series of the year will be at home against the Gonzaga Bulldogs, with the first game on Thursday, February 20. Thursday and Friday's games will begin at 3:00 p.m., Saturday's at 2:00 p.m., and Sunday's at 1:00 p.m.
Shriners College Classic, games 1–2 Gm 1Oklahoma Arkansas Minute Maid Park • Houston, TX The Razorbacks will close out February with an appearance in the Shriners College Classic, held in Houston. They will open tournament play against the Oklahoma Sooners on Friday, February 28; first pitch will be at 3:00 p.m.
Gm 2Texas Arkansas Minute Maid Park • Houston, TX The Razorbacks' second tournament matchup will be on Saturday, February 29 against the Texas Longhorns, with first pitch at 7:00 p.m.
March Shriners College Classic, game 3 Gm 3 Baylor Arkansas Minute Maid Park • Houston, TX The Razorbacks will close tournament play on Sunday, March 1, when they take on Baylor at 7:00 p.m.
Illinois State midweek game Gm 1 Illinois State Arkansas Baum–Walker Stadium • Fayetteville, AR The Razorbacks will return home to play a midweek game on Tuesday, March 3, when they take on Illinois State at 3:00 p.m.
Rankings
2020 MLB draft
Player Position Round Overall MLB team Heston Kjerstad OF 1 2 Baltimore Orioles Casey Martin SS 3 87 Philadelphia Phillies
References