Arkansas switching up starting rotation for Florida series
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn announced Thursday that the No. 2 Razorbacks will switch up their starting rotation for this weekend's series against Florida at Baum-Walker Stadium.
It's no surprise that junior left-handed ace Hagen Smith (8-0, 1.53 ERA) will still start Friday night, but an ankle injury to Texas Tech transfer lefty Mason Molina (3-1, 3.47 ERA) has shifted right-hander Brady Tygart (4-1, 2.64 ERA) up as the Game 2 starter. Van Horn did not announce a starter for Game 3 yet.
"(Molina) twisted his ankle doing some drill work, Coach (Matt) Hobbs and him and a few other pitchers," Van Horn said. "We’re going to give him this week off to let that heal. We could probably put him on the roster.
"We could probably pitch him. He’s probably 90%. But we want to make sure that next week and going forward he’s at 100%.”
Van Horn said he believes it's Molina's landing (right) foot/ankle that he rolled while doing "some dry work." As for who the Game 3 starter might be, the Hogs have plenty of options.
"We know that we’ve got some guys that have pitched in some big games and big situations, leverage situations and that they throw strikes," Van Horn said. "We’ve done so well in midweek games this year, honestly, because our midweek guys throw it over the plate.
"Teams have hit it, but we haven’t been giving them runs as far as walks, and hit by pitches and stuff like that. So at least we have some guys with experience that we know they’re going to come in there and make them earn it."
Names to keep in mind should be sophomore Ben Bybee, freshman Colin Fisher and veteran Will McEntire.
Through eight games on the mound, Molina has accumulated a 3.38 ERA in 37.1 IP with 59 strikeouts and 21 walks. His last four weekend appearances have been rough, as the junior has averaged a 5.00 ERA against LSU, Ole Miss, Alabama and South Carolina, respectively.
Inclement weather may prevent a third game from even being played between the Hogs and Gators. Sunday's forecast is shrouded with high rain possibilities, so getting three games in this weekend will be a tall task.
"So I’m thinking tomorrow on Friday as of now we have a window to play 7 to 10 or 5 to 10 or whatever it looks like where it’s not quite such a big percentage," Van Horn said. "Now that could change obviously tomorrow and then closer to game time. You know if the percentages go up and storms are going to roll in we won’t start that game. But we’re planning on playing tomorrow at 7. I think it’s a TV game. That’s why we’re playing at 7.
"And then Sunday does not look good at all. It looks like it’s anywhere from 80 to 90% all day. So it looks like there’s a window on Saturday most of the day where we could probably play two. So basically looking to try to play tomorrow and then we will try to figure this out today if we’re going to move the Sunday game to Saturday. Because I know there’s a lot of fans coming."
The Razorbacks and Gators are scheduled to open the series Friday at 7 p.m. CT at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville. The game will be televised nationally on SEC Network.