Norwood perplexed by streaks
UALR is heading into a three-game series with Florida Atlantic and coming off a string of victories.
The challenge for the Trojans this weekend in Boca Raton, Fla., is making sure they take advantage of their good fortune instead of letting it slip away.
UALR (22-22, 8-13 Sun Belt Conference) swept then-No. 10-ranked Oklahoma in an April 16 doubleheader, then was swept by Troy in a conference series that started three days later. It was viewed as a missed opportunity by Coach Scott Norwood, whose team is still fighting for the eighth and final spot in the Sun Belt Conference tournament which begins May 22 in Lafayette, La.
The Trojans have another opportunity to keep a positive streak going this weekend, coming off a home sweep last week against Western Kentucky and a Tuesday victory over Stephen F. Austin.
“I don’t think there’s a formula for it,” Norwood said. “I think it’s what every team is striving for. It’s getting back to consistency and maturity, and handling the situation when you’re playing well. I think at times, people get big-headed. I’m not saying we’ve been that way, it’s just the thing you try to avoid.”
Keeping positive streaks going has been the most confusing puzzle for Norwood this year. Four times this season UALR has won three consecutive games or more. The last two times, those streaks were followed immediately by three consecutive losses.
The fourth such streak can be continued with a victory over Florida Atlantic (27-17, 12-9) today.
The Trojans in March won five consecutive games, highlighted by a sweep of Louisiana-Monroe and a victory over Middle Tennessee in the first game of the next series before losing three consecutive.
Their two victories over Oklahoma gave them three victories in four games, but then promptly lost four consecutive games, including the sweep at Troy.
“Consistency, that’s our main thing,” Norwood said.
“If we can do that, we’ve got a great chance to finish this thing off strong.”
ARKANSAS STATE Another chance
Arkansas State entered last weekend’s series with Middle Tennessee not knowing that Cody Woodhouse would make his debut in the weekend rotation. The oddity of the weekend dictated the course.
Even though the Red Wolves lost that game - 2-1 in 13 innings in the second game of a Sunday doubleheader - the junior’s performance earned him another shot among ASU’s weekend starters.
Woodhouse, in his first start against a Sun Belt team this season, gave up 1 run on 2 hits in 7 innings before ASU lost in extra innings.
ASU Coach Tommy Raffo said Woodhouse’s start was made out of necessity in a weekend where one game was played over two days because of rain and then a Sunday doubleheader.
He’s listed as this Sunday’s starter, too, against Louisiana-Lafayette (31-15, 12-9). He has yet to factor into a decision in 12 appearances, but he has a 2.55 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 35 1/3 innings and, perhaps most importantly, he’s walked just six batters.
Raffo said before he announced the weekend starters that Woodhouse’s performance could factor into him getting another chance in that spot.
“I think it helped,” Raffo said. “He didn’t give any free passes, so that was a positive. … That’s really what you’ve got to do.”
Raffo wasn’t ready to admit Thursday, though, that it’s Woodhouse’s job to keep through ASU’s three remaining Sun Belt series.
Daniel Wright and Bradley Wallace are entrenched in the weekend rotation, but the third starter could depend on match ups and the flow of the series. The strategy worked last week - even if Raffo said pitchers were aided in what he called a series that was “physically and mentally fatiguing.”
“I think we’ve got 11 guys on the roster, pitching wise, [and] we’re going to figure it out by the time Sunday gets here,” Raffo said. “I think you see some [pitching match ups] TBAs [to be announced] around the league. … Sometimes it’s not about the match up, it’s about going with your guy, and this is the right guy for now.”
CENTRAL ARKANSAS Staying alive
Winning five consecutive Southland Conference series has kept Central Arkansas in the league race.
UCA (31-11, 10-8) was swept in its first conference series March 22-24 at Oral Roberts, but has won 2 out of 3 in five consecutive series against Lamar, Northwestern (La.) State, Nicholls State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and McNeese State.
The Bears return home today to face Southeastern Louisiana (28-17, 11-7) in the first game of a three-game series at Bear Stadium in Conway. Southland Conference pitcher of the week Caleb McClanahan, a right-hander, is on the mound for UCA today and left-hander Jeffery Enloe and right-hander Bryce Biggerstaff round out the Bears’ rotation this weekend, respectively.
UCA is one game behind the Lions and two behind Lamar and Sam Houston State in the Southland standings, so for Coach Allen Gum, it’s another big series for the Bears as they look to advance to their second consecutive Southland Tournament (May 22-25 in Sugar Land, Texas). In fact, only two games separate first and seventh place in the league standings.
“Every weekend and this weekend, it [the standings] can shift quite a bit,” said Gum, who is in his third year at UCA. “You can jump two or three notches or drop two or three notches.”
For Gum, whose team has beaten Kansas, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, Southern Miss and Wichita State this season, the Southland schedule has been a grind.
“Every game, every week is tough for us,” Gum said.
“It’s been that way every year I’ve been here.”
Sports, Pages 25 on 05/03/2013