BY DUDLEY E. DAWSON
Arkansas’ pair of Missouri baseball transfer outfielders have used the Diamond Hogs’ first two fall five-inning scrimmages to announce their arrivals.
Ty Wilmsmeyer hit a solo homer as the Grey squad topped his Red one 2-1 on Friday while fellow former Tiger Ross Lovich was 2 for 3 with a pair of RBIs on Sunday as the Grey won again 7-2.
The pair of seniors are two of the 24 new faces on the Razorback roster, which is allowed 45 days of practice/scrimmages in the fall.
“It is kind of weird and you kind of feel like a freshman, but it is not going to take me too long to adjust,” Lovich said. “I am really liking the guys and the coaching staff has been awesome and they make this transition really easy for transfers like me.
“You have got to establish that chemistry early and the guys have come in and been great and the team-bonding has already started and I am getting really excited to play with these guys later on this spring.”
Lovich’s younger brother Eli (6-4, 180), a senior lefty outfielder/pitcher from Blue Valley West High School in Overland Park, Kan., flipped his commitment from Notre Dame to Arkansas on Aug. 1.
Jackson Lovich the middle of the three brothers, started 11 of 19 games played and batted .217 with 2 doubles and 1 home run for Missouri as a freshman this year.
“My middle brother is at Mizzou, Jackson, a middle infielder,” Lovich said. “It was good to play with him last year.”
Lovich, who started 27 of the 28 games he played for Arkansas last season around an injury while batting .306 with 30 hits, 4 homers and 20 RBI for the Tigers, is thrilled with the opportunity to be in an elite winning program that develops players.
“With Arkansas, really the main thing is how many pros these guys put out,” Lovich said. “The coaching staff just always produces and wins. That is something that I really haven’t done in my career.”
Lovitch, whose Missouri team did not play in Fayetteville during his three years there, is excited about playing in front of big crowds at Baum Walker-Stadium next spring.
He has been good friends with former Arkansas outfielder Tavian Josenberger.
“I would say there would probably be like 200 to a 1,000 (at Missouri games), anywhere in there, but when when we played KU we would get like 2,500, somewhere right in there, but not near as many as here,” Lovich said.
“And I have talked to guys like Tavian, who said they loved it and is the most fun they have had playing baseball. I kind of wanted to follow in his footsteps. He has been one of my good buddies for a long time and I trust him.”
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The Grey team’s pitchers combined to fan 8, walk one and allow just one hit, catcher Hudson Polk’s two-run homer that gave his Red team a 2-1 lead on the third.
Grey starter Ben Bybee and Hunter Deitz fanned the first six batters they faced before Tucker Holland walked Ty Waid and Polk connected on his blast.
Austin Ledbetter fanned two in this on inning go work while Cooper Dossett finished up wi the final out being a liber off his foot that third baseman Peyton Holt fielded and threw out Waid.
The Grey team had 8 hits with Lovich having a single and a double, Jack Wagner two singles, freshman catcher Ryder Helfrick and Ben McLaughlin hitting solo homers, Rowland doubling and Will Edmunson singling.
Parker Coil started for the Red and pitched a clean and was followed to the mound by Collin Fisher, Tate McGwire and Jaewood Cho – who all allowed a run and Jonah Conradt, who gave up two.
The 10 pitchers combined to walk three.
Photo by John D. James
