Leadoff batting
The one stat from last weekend that should frustrate all Hog fans is leadoff batting. If a leadoff man can reach base, the batting team has a 56 percent chance to score. Getting on base early and often is instrumental to winning ball games.
The Diamond Hogs weren't great in games one and two. They managed to reach in two innings of the first match and four in the third, scoring only once in each game. Regardless, Arkansas won both despite the Gamecocks out-performing or tying them in the stat.
However, in Arkansas' loss to South Carolina, the Hogs had the upper hand, reaching in five innings comparied to the Gamecocks' three. Arkansas' three scores came from leadoff baserunners, but the offense fizzled out directly afterward. In the final match of the series, Arkansas scored in two innings where the leadoff man reached. Unlike in game two, the Razorbacks took advantage of the situation in the fifth and scored five runs.
Situations like this where the leadoff baserunner scores on a wild pitch to kick the huge inning off:
Hogs runnin' wild! 💨 pic.twitter.com/BDgk4m2KX7
— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) April 20, 2024
It doesn't have to be five runs every time, but making the best of the leadoff baserunners includes a few more crooked number innings. Game two against the Gamecocks proved that.