COMMENTARY: Led by Wilkins, Hogs' bats prove dangerous

FAYETTEVILLE — Andy Wilkins is good.

Really good.

In fact, Arkansas hitting coach Todd Butler doesn’t hide his feelings or hold back the superlatives when talking about the Razorbacks’ leading hitter.

Wilkins is one of the better hitters in the country, the coach says, and the Razorbacks “were fortunate to get him” out of high school.

What is most impressive about Wilkins, who drove in four runs in Arkansas’ 15-3 dominating victory against Kansas on Tuesday? Is it those times when he gets in a groove and he’s nearly unstoppable? Is it his clutch hits, which were there again Tuesday with two RBI doubles down the first-base line?

“It’s nothing I don’t anticipate from him, to be honest,” Butler said. “I think he’s really that type of player.”

Wilkins was 2 for 3 with two doubles and 4 RBIs against Kansas. He’s compiled 11 RBIs since Friday — a four-game stretch — and sits with an impressive .957 slugging percentage.

“He's real comfortable right now,” Coach Dave Van Horn said.

Jarrod McKinney also stepped up in the leadoff spot Tuesday. He drove in four runs and crossed the plate four times himself, capped by a three-run homer in the fifth inning.

Wilkins' first double came on a fast ball. The second was a slider. “I’m just looking for something out over the plate,” Wilkins said.

He adjusted well in both at-bats as Kansas attempted to piece some semblance of a pitching staff. The Jayhawks sent six pitchers to the mound and walked 14 batters.

"We did score 15 runs, but at the same time some of the innings were a little frustrated with," Wilkins said. "Not taking advantage of a couple opportunities, but getting a win and scoring 15 runs is never a bad thing."

The leadoff spot isn’t necessarily where you want the home runs coming from, but the Razorbacks will certainly take it with McKinney.

“Coach Van Horn does not want him to hit home runs,” Butler laughed. “He wants him to hit line drives, so we're going to tell Van Horn it was a double in the (score)book. He's doing a good job.”

Newcomer Monk Kreder also added his first home run as a Razorback, and continued his onslaught of hits at designated hitter in the four-hole.

The season high in runs (15) Tuesday came at a good time for the Hogs, who travel to California for a three-game series this weekend. The Bears (6-1) have scored 73 runs in seven games, and four of their six wins were shutouts.

“Runs are going to be a commodity out there,” Wilkins said.

And the pitching has been impressive for the Bears, Van Horn said.

It will be interesting to see if Cal, like many teams early this season, pitch inside the plate to the Razorbacks. Arkansas has been hit by 18 pitches as a result and has taken advantage with runners on base.

“That's a compliment to our team because we’ve done a good job going the other way,” Van Horn said.

Arkansas hits .308 as a team. The only player in the lineup struggling is Matt Reynolds, who recorded just his second hit and first RBI of the season Tuesday.

Van Horn is hopeful Reynolds gained some confidence with his hit against the Jayhawks.

Get him going, and a few more hits along the way, and Arkansas could battle any topsy-turvy pitching out of the bullpen.

“There's some guys that are feeling their way along, but like we've said, if you can get three or four guys rolling in your lineup and other guys just contribute, you're going to win a lot of games,” Van Horn said. “Hopefully here in the next few weeks we can get five or six, seven guys going when it really counts.”

Brandon Marcello is the online sports editor for Northwest Arkansas Newspapers and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He updates The Slophouse, a blog covering the Razorbacks on WholeHogSports.com.