Cody Adcock shines in first start for Diamond Hogs
The No. 7 Arkansas Razorbacks may have found another key piece of the puzzle when right-hander Cody Adcock turned a scoreless six-inning one-hit jewel in the Diamond Hogs’ 5-0 win over Auburn on Sunday.
Arkansas started the weekend with a different starting rotation than at the start of the year. Head coach Dave Van Horn opted to make usual Friday starter Hagen Smith a “wild card,” and he threw left Hunter Hollan on Friday, right Will McEntire on Saturday, and left Sunday as a TBA.
After choosing Adcock as his starter, who enters Sunday’s contest, Van Horn said on the pregame radio show that he hopes for four innings from the Crowder College transfer. Adcock went six innings in his first Division I start since May 29, 2021, when he pitched for Ole Miss against Arkansas in the SEC tournament.
“I felt like he didn’t miss nearly as many,” said Van Horn. “He had a lot of tight pitches. Maybe he hung up a pitch in the first inning or second inning when he was ahead on the count. Otherwise he got it together and he pitched like he was in command.”
Adcock threw with confidence and didn’t have the errors he’s threw this season. The Texarkana, Arkansas native went into the game with a 7.82 ERA, but his efforts on Sunday helped bring that down to 5.30.
“Yes, I felt good today,” said Adcock. “I just wanted to come out and give our team a chance to win. It really just comes down to throwing pitches, so I did that, just trying to take one pitch at a time, and I got the results I did.”
The right-hander batted six and walked just one while facing just one more than the minimum through the six innings. He issued a one-out walk in the top of the second, but he rebounded, initiating a fly-out and knocking out the nearest batter to get out of trouble.
“Yeah, in my second inning, I didn’t think I was pitching like I should have,” Adcock said. “I don’t know what it was, maybe after I came to warm up for third place. I don’t know what it was, but something clicked and I was like, ‘OK, it’s time.'”
Adcock’s start was not only impressive, but proved that Van Horn and pitching coach Matt Hobbs may have made the right decision in making Smith a “wild card” for entry into the series. All three Arkansas starters played exactly six innings and the Hogs needed just seven pitchers to sweep the Tigers and allow for just five runs overall over the weekend.
Next weekend will be the real challenge when the Diamond Hogs travel to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to take on the No. 1 LSU Tigers. The first pitch Friday is set for 7 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
