The first inning is over and already we have some controversy.

  Tennessee jumped out to a 3-0 lead when first baseman Cody Hawn crushed a 3-2 pitch that was called fair, though it was hard to tell. Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn was clearly not pleased with the call, bolting out of the dugout to argue the call.

  Van Horn looked heated, but the arguing didn’t work and the three-run homer stood. From my seat in the press box, it was hard to tell whether the ball sailed just fair or went on the other side of the foul poll. 

  After walking Tennessee’s Cody Brown, Arkansas starting pitcher Drew Smyly was pulled and replaced by right-hander Sam Murphy. Smyly gave up a single, two walks and one controversial home run in 2/3 of an inning.

 

So, I hate to use the term “must-win” to describe any baseball game, considering the length of a season. But that’s exactly what Arkansas faces today. The Razorbacks try to avenge their 3-2 Tuesday night loss to the University of Louisiana at Monroe this afternoon in about a half-hour.

And Arkansas needs a W. The Hogs are riding a three-game losing streak, their longest since late-March of last season, and face a trip to No. 8 Georgia this weekend. So needless to say, the 11th-ranked Razorbacks could use a positive outcome today.

It surely won’t be easy against the hot-hitting Warhawks, who won Tuesday night on Boomer Blanchard’s eighth-inning home run. ULM sends righty Josh Miller to the mound this afternoon, which has turned out absolutely lovely weather-wise, by the way. The Razorbacks will start lefty Drew Smyly.

Here are today’s starting lineups:

University of Louisiana at Monroe (22-12)

1. Boomer Blanchard, 2B (.340)

2. Jon Prevost, LF (.353)

3. Ben Soignier, SS (.367)

4. Matt Collins, 1B (.326)

5. Matt Laird, CF (.338)

6. Jordy Poche, DH (.361)

7. Nick Wade, 3B (.317)

8. Ryan McMillan, C (.286)

9. Perry Smith, RF (.373)

on the mound — right-hander Josh Miller (1-1, 4.08)

Arkansas (24-9)

1. Chase Leavitt, CF (.350)

2. Scott Lyons, SS (.322)

3. Andy Wilkins, 1B (.336)

4. Travis Sample, DH (.227)

5. Zack Cox, 3B (.244)

6. Andrew Darr, RF (.239)

7. Bo Bigham, 2B (.250)

8. James McCann, C (.244)

9. Collin Kuhn, LF (.325)

on the mound — left-hander Drew Smyly (2-1, 4.55)