FAYETTEVILLE — Logan Maxwell was in and out of the Diamond Hogs’ lineup throughout the season, but now that he’s healthy, his spark in the postseason has pushed Arkansas to the promised land.
Maxwell, a TCU transfer, is fully recovered from a hamstring injury that hampered him off-and-on for most of the season. But in the postseason, he’s been on a tear. In the five games the Hogs have played between the Regional and Super Regional rounds, he’s gone a blistering 9-for-20 with three home runs.
Neither of the other first two home runs was more important than his last one, though. In Game 2 of the Super Regional against Tennessee, the Hogs were gift-wrapped a bases-loaded opportunity in the fourth inning.
Maxwell came up to bat after back-to-back singles by second baseman Cam Kozeal and first baseman Reese Robinett. The Volunteers elected to intentionally walk left fielder Charles Davalan — who hit a two-run home run the inning prior — and shortstop Wehiwa Aloy was hit by a pitch.
Down 0-2 in the count, Maxwell fought back and slapped his first career grand slam just barely over the left field wall and into the visitor’s bullpen.
“I knew he had a good heater, a lot of carry, kind of plays up, and I swung through the first two fastballs,” Maxwell said after the game. “Then he went off speed, so I kinda figured he was going to go back to it. He made a good pitch, and I just put the bat on the ball and competed.”
Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said he wasn’t entirely sure if Maxwell’s hit was going to clear the field. The ball traveled 330 feet and had an exit velocity of 90 mph.
“When he first hit it, I thought it was going,” Van Horn said. “Then about halfway, I didn’t think it was going to go. Then I just have to watch their outfielder, and I thought he was going to catch it right at the fence. When it got out …instead of a three-run lead, all of a sudden (we’re up six). Obviously it was huge.”
Van Horn went on to say Maxwell has worked hard all season to get to this point, and when the game went final and the last out had been recorded, he wanted his right fielder to be on the field.
“He’s a tough out,” Van Horn said. “He fouls off pitches, he can bunt, he’s just kind of that guy. He can hit, and he can hit left-handed pitchers. You don’t have to move him because left-on-left situations down the order.
“To have him fight through it, he really wanted to play. This is his last season, he wanted to get healthy. He rehabbed hard, and he’d be up front with me if it was bothering him…I mean, I could have put in another outfielder for defense that may be a little faster than him, but I just felt like I wanted him to be on the field when we won. I wanted him to celebrate.”
Now, the Diamond Hogs will need Maxwell to continue that stretch of strong play if they hope to dogpile in Omaha at the end of the season. Arkansas will play in the College World Series this coming weekend.
The first opponent will be conference foe LSU, which took down West Virginia in the Super Regional round on Sunday night. Date, time and broadcast information will be available later. Stay tuned to HawgBeat for more coverage of Arkansas baseball.