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FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas’ search for consistency on the mound might have yielded some results Saturday afternoon, as Caleb Bolden continued to impress with a quality start.

Entering the game with no earned run in 10 innings, the right-hander gave up a pair in the Razorbacks’ 15-2 win over South Alabama, but struck out six and allowed only four hits.

Despite not being able to throw his breaking ball well, Bolden had a “decent” changeup, head coach Dave Van Horn said, and where he really excelled was spotting his fastball - which touched 91 and 92 miles per hour, but hovered around 90 mph all game.

“He threw a lot of strikes and worked ahead in the count a lot,” Van Horn said. “He got them to swing and they like to swing and he got some quick outs. ... I’d say more than anything he just kind of pounded the strike zone mostly with fastballs.”

The first two hitters Bolden faced actually singled, with one coming around to score on Reid Powers’ RBI groundout, but those would be South Alabama’s only hits in the first five innings. The redshirt sophomore settled in and shut down the Jaguars after that.

“Overall, I’d say my outing was good,” Bolden said. “The first inning was a little rocky, but it didn’t really phase me much. Once it gets to that point, it’s more of damage control. I thought I did a good job of that.”

With his pitch count sitting at 79 and having already surpassed his season high for innings, it looked like Bolden’s day might be done after working around a one-out walk in the fifth.

As a reliever warmed up in the bullpen, the Razorbacks exploded in the home half of the inning. They sent 11 hitters to the plate and scored five runs, extending their lead to 10-1.

However, Bolden said he knew he’d get to pitch the sixth inning, so he stayed loose by throwing a weighted ball against the wall. Still, after the long wait, he wasn’t quite as sharp as before.

He gave up a leadoff double and the next guy singled, but Bolden bounced back by forcing a double play and a groundout - both to Casey Martin at shortstop.

“We knew that his pitch count was up and we’re trying to stretch him out a little bit - whether he’s a weekend starter or midweek starter or long reliever, just so he can go long,” Van Horn said. “He wanted to go back out and Coach (Matt Hobbs) has been building him up. He’s been trained for that. He came out and fought his way through it.”

The only real blemish on his statline, aside from the two runs, were three walks. Two of them came on a full count, while the other was a four-pitch free pass that put runners on first and second. Bolden responded by striking out the next batter on three pitches to end the inning.

Van Horn said any determination about Bolden’s role moving forward, such as whether or not he did enough to earn a spot in the weekend rotation, wouldn’t be made until after the series.

Considering the struggles of some other veteran pitchers, there’s a good possibility he sticks in the rotation or at least becomes a midweek starter. That is particularly impressive because Bolden is just 15 months removed from Tommy John surgery.

It’s a tough procedure to come back from and he’s steadily built up his arm, with three shutout innings against each Eastern Illinois and Gonzaga the first two weekends of the season and then four scoreless innings against Texas after it had scored eight runs in the first two innings.

His arm wasn’t an issue Saturday, either, as he said he felt good even after throwing 90 pitches.

“That’s the most pitches I’ve thrown since coming back from surgery,” Bolden said. “Coach Hobbs told me before this weekend, ‘You know, I’m just going to let you go out there (and) whenever you get tired, just let me know.’”

After Saturday’s outing, Bolden - who was Arkansas’ midweek starter as a true freshman in 2018 - has a minuscule 1.12 ERA with 15 strikeouts and only three walks in 16 innings this season.

If he consistently produces and puts up numbers like that, he could earn the No. 3 spot in the Razorbacks’ weekend rotation - or even take Patrick Wicklander’s spot on Saturdays if the sophomore left-hander continues to struggle.

That also depends on how well junior Kole Ramage follows up a solid start against Baylor. The right-hander will get the ball in the Game 3 rubber match against South Alabama on Sunday.

First pitch is scheduled for noon CT and the game will be streamed on SEC Network-Plus, meaning it can be watched online on ESPN3.com or on the WatchESPN app.