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After an offseason filled with questions about starting pitching, Lael Lockhart may have secured the second spot in Arkansas’ rotation Sunday afternoon.
The left-hander had six strikeouts and scattered five hits and one walk across five scoreless innings in the Razorbacks’ 6-0 win over Murray State.
“He did a tremendous job again working out of a couple of small jams,” head coach Dave Van Horn said. “The fifth inning was getting a little bit dicey there, but he got a strikeout that got us in the dugout and finished up his day.”
Lockhart, a graduate transfer from Houston, gave up back-to-back two-out singles in the third and fourth innings, but ended those threats with a line out and strikeout, respectively.
In the fifth inning mentioned by Van Horn, he had to work around a leadoff single. It was similar to his first two starts, when he worked through multiple jams and did a nice job of limiting the damage.
“I think for me personally, it's just kind of realizing the situation you're in and taking it pitch to pitch and kind of walking with the hitter through the at bat and executing the pitches you want to execute," Lockhart said about pitching out of trouble.
With the Cougars, Lockhart was the Friday starter, but he posted a 4.58 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 17 2/3 innings across four starts last season.
When the pandemic cut short his senior year, he decided to enter the transfer portal and ultimately landed at Arkansas.
Having the Friday job secured in Houston, the sudden move to Arkansas was a huge get for Van Horn and the coaching staff.
Even though it’s been as the No. 3 starter, Lockhart has done nothing but impress coaches and fans so far this season, posting a 2.77 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 13 innings.
The mentality and experience from Lockhart seem to be enough to have solidified his spot in the weekend rotation.
“I do like what I’ve seen from him,” Van horn said. “He throws enough strikes, he competes and, yeah, he’ll get another start next weekend.”
Arkansas will take its perfect 10-0 record on the road next week, traveling to Louisiana Tech for three games beginning at 6 p.m. CT Friday. The series will be televised on Cox Sports TV and steamed on ESPN-Plus.
