Arkansas pitching struggles in series opening loss to Florida, fans and media react

At some point soon, the No. 5 Arkansas Razorbacks (36-8; 13-6 SEC) need their starting pitchers to stop placing significant pressure on their offense to overcome deficits caused by their poor pitching. After being upset by the Florida Gators (29-15; 7-12 SEC) in the series opener in Gainesville, Dave Van Horn's baseball team is in danger of losing its third consecutive SEC series.

Given that Arkansas has not been playing well lately, it was difficult to characterize this game as an upset, though it is one by every traditional measure. Although the Razorbacks have an elite bullpen, their starting pitching has started to unravel as the Hogs have confronted increasingly more challenging SEC competition. Even though the bullpen struggled somewhat against Texas A&M in last weekend's series loss, it is still elite. Since Hogs' central pitching strength is its bullpen, the present writer has argued that Van Horn should employ a pitching-by-committee strategy.   

Admittedly, such a strategy is not conventional. However, it would not expose the Hogs to the deficits their starting pitchers generate, considering Van Horn would use the bullpen immediately when they experience trouble. This strategy would have been quite helpful in mitigating the harm Arkansas starting pitcher Zach Root caused in the opening game against Florida.

According to ESPN, in 4.1 innings, Root surrendered six hits and five runs. No SEC team, including Arkansas, can afford such poor pitching, especially not in conference play. Unfortunately, for some unjustifiable reason, Van Horn allowed him to remain in the game when he faced trouble. He keeps letting his starting pitchers stay in the game when they do not exhibit quality pitching.

Consequently, the Hogs lost to the Gators 6-4. After another disappointing SEC loss for the No. 5 Arkansas Razorbacks, fans and media expressed mixed reactions on social media to the Hogs' loss to the Florida Gators.

Arkansas vs. Florida: Game 1 Social Media Reactions

Daniel Shi, an Arkansas Razorbacks beat writer at Sports Illustrated, stated, "Bad news: Arkansas is now 4 games behind Texas and at risk of dropping as low as 4th."

Kevin Bohannon, a Razorback beat writer for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, noted that Florida "stormed back to win 6-4."

Zach Abolverdi, a Florida Gators beat writer at Gators Online, was impressed with the pitching performance of Florida's starting pitcher Liam Peterson, who delivered a career-high 13 strikeouts.

Peter Flaherty III, national college baseball journalist at Baseball America, was also impressed with Florida upsetting Arkansas.

Hogtrough, an Arkansas Razorbacks fan, is disappointed with Arkansas's starting pitching.

William H. Snead III, a Hog fan, stated, "This has been such a frustrating way to finish the season, and I fear it's far from over."

John Nabors, Owner of Inside Arkansas, wrote, "Going to just start having the same vibes with this baseball team that I did with the basketball team. Get to post season and let's see what happens."

MaryEllen Brown, an Arkansas fan, was thrilled with Wehiwa Aloy's homer.

Austin Farmer, Site Expert at FanSided's Razorbackers, was also thrilled with Wehiwa Aloy's homer.

Arkansas Baseball celebrated Justin Thomas Jr.'s two-run home run.