Razorbacks Rebound Behind Dietz's Domination, Three-Run Homers

They'll be Omahogs by consistently repeating Saturday's performance

Fundamentals, strong pitching and excellent defense were all on display Saturday. The Hogs' defense didn't commit an error, the pitchers surrendeered just two hits and two walks whle whiffing 11, and the offense banged out a dozen hits to go with three walks and a hit batter.

Traffic on the bases for the Razorbacks and quick innings by Hog hurlers is a recipe for momentum and an active, excited crowd.

Dietz, a hard-throwing 6-foot-6, 235-pound southpaw, showed the Mavericks his best stuff. That's not unexpected from the third-year sophomore from Clearwater, Fla., who was ranked by Perfect Game as the No. 51 overall prospect and the No. 5 left-handed pitcher in the class of 2023.

Van Horn expected a good performance from Dietz, even though he'd suffered two innefective relief outings. In two innings against TCU and four against Xavier, Dietz had been touched for eight hits, four walks and six earned runs.

Dominant Dietz could be one of Hogs' weekend starters

But he showed signs of dominance by striking out 14 in those six frames. Van Horn and Hogs pitching coach Matt Hobbs knew they were sending a guy to the hill who just needs work to be ready to help. Dietz looked like a weekend SEC starter against UTA.

"He's healthy, he's ready to go," Van Horn said. "Time for him to give us a quality outing where he goes 5 or 6 innings today. He went 7."

Freshman right-hander Mark Brissey, a Fayetteville High product, blanked the Mavericks for the final two frames, giving up a lone walk and striking out three.

Hogs' hitters come to life but Van Horn wants more

After being blanked for eight innings in Friday's opener of the three-game weekend, Van Horn was pleased with his hitters. But he wants to see it consistently.

"I feel a lot better about it than I did yesterday but I'm not all giddy about it, believe me," Van Horn said. "Tomorrow's a new day. Let's see if we can do it again."

The Hogs took a two-run lead in the second on RBI singles by third baseman Nolan Souza, the eight-hole hitter, and leadoff hitter Damian Ruiz, the left fielder.

Arkansas made it a comfortable 6-0 lead in the third frame as Nui's three-run blast to left followed right fielder Zack Stewart's sacrifice fly.

Four Hogs -- Kozeal, Nui, Ruiz and Reese Robinett -- had two hits while Souza, catcher Ryder Helfrick, DH Kuhio Aloy and shortstop Carson Brumbaugh all singled.

"People contributed all the way, 1 through 9," Van Horn said. "We had a lot of singles, we had two home runs. I think we got three hits in a row; that's hard to do in the four-run inning. Sac fly and a homer."

Kozeal's blast to right field in the eighth totally broke the game open and plated Ruiz and Brumbaugh, the 6-3, 215-pound freshman shortstop from Edmond, Okla.

Arkansas (8-3) and UTA (3-7) conclude their three-game set with a 1 p.m. Sunday game at Baum-Walker. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the game will stream on SEC Network+.

Fans can also listen to the game on Razorback Sports Network on ESPN Arkansas 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home. The game will also be available in broadcast markets online at HitThatLine.com

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