Bohrofen set to return from injury, how it impacts Arkansas' lineup
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FAYETTEVILLE — Jace Bohrofen is expected to be available to play this weekend after missing the last three weeks because of an injury.
The outfielder will be part of Arkansas’ 27-man roster for the upcoming home series against Mississippi State, head coach Dave Van Horn announced Thursday, but his exact role is still up in the air.
Van Horn said whether he starts or comes off the bench against the Bulldogs would depend on how he looks at Thursday’s practice.
“He hit live yesterday, took batting practice on the field on Tuesday, looked pretty good,” Van Horn said. “Swinging he’s fine (and) obviously throwing he’s fine because it’s his non-throwing shoulder. He hasn’t slid or dove or had any collisions. So I think he’s on his way back.”
Getting Bohrofen back in the mix would give the Razorbacks yet another option in the outfield.
Despite being hitless in his first 17 at bats in an Arkansas uniform, the Oklahoma transfer started seven of the first 10 games of the season in left field. He turned it around at the plate against Southeastern Louisiana, going 6 for 12 with two doubles, a triple and five RBIs.
Bohrofen was slated to start the first game of the Illinois-Chicago series, but was a late scratch after crashing into the wall during pregame warmups.
Since he’s been out, the Razorbacks have seen Braydon Webb turn things around offensively, as well. Already the Razorbacks’ top defensive option for center field, he started the year 0 for 23 with 10 strikeouts.
Webb has hit safely in nine of 10 games and is 13 for 31 (.419) with 14 RBIs since finally picking up his first hit of the year. Five of those hits have been home runs, moving him ahead of Michael Turner and Cayden Wallace for the team lead.
The two corner outfielders in Bohrofen’s absence have primarily been Chris Lanzilli and Zack Gregory. They own the team’s top two on-base percentages at .480 and .461, respectively. Lanzilli is also hitting .358, while Gregory is hitting .281.
“You just kind of go with the guy who’s swinging it the best really,” Van Horn said. “It’s not a problem for me at all. I don’t see it as a problem. I see it as a good thing and it’s nice to have some options out there.”
Another guy who has started several games in the outfield is Brady Slavens, but the senior slugger is in the midst of a major slump. He is hitless in 17 at bats in SEC play, dropping his season batting average to .187. That led to him not playing in the final game at Missouri or the midweek game against Little Rock.
Slavens — whose 25 strikeouts lead the team — likely could have been drafted last summer, but opted to return to Arkansas for another season. Van Horn said he’s seen him putting pressure on himself because of that and has had conversations with him about it.
“He’s gotten in a lot of extra work this week,” Van Horn said. “He’s fighting it. Whether he starts tomorrow or not, we need him. … For us to get back to where we need to be lineup wise, we need him to hit.”
When Bohrofen was healthy earlier in the season, the common thought was that Arkansas had four spots for its five outfielders because one of them could slot in at designated hitter.
That may not necessarily be the case now, though, thanks to the emergence of Kendall Diggs. Van Horn has praised the true freshman’s left-handed swing since the fall and he has started to produce in limited opportunities that have become more frequent during Slavens’ slump.
For the season, Diggs is just 4 for 21 (.190), but he has more walks (9) than strikeouts (6) and just hit his first collegiate home run Tuesday against Little Rock.
“I want him to be a little bit more aggressive,” Van Horn said. “I told him that after his at bat before he hit the home run. … I just tried to get his attention a little bit, so to speak, and he went up there and attacked a high pitch and clubbed it the other way.
“He does deserve to swing the bat more, because he hits the ball well in batting practice, scrimmages. So he’s another really good option for us.”