The Arkansas Razorbacks pulled off a sweep of Texas A&M last week without several key assets on the field, but with the ever-growing injured list and a road test against a desperate opponent, duplicating the feat — or even winning the series — will be a tall order.
Head coach Dave Van Horn met with the media Thursday before he and his team departed for Starkville, Mississippi, where they will meet the Mississippi State Bulldogs (24-20, 6-15 SEC) for a three-game set beginning Friday.
First, the Arkansas skipper doubled down on his postgame comments Tuesday about Hunter Hollan, who has started every SEC series opener this season.
"What we’re going to do is we’re going to let Hollan have a couple more days to rest," Van Horn said Thursday. "We’ll either throw him game 2 or game 3, hopefully and let that leg continue to rest."
The junior left-hander is dealing with shin splints, Van Horn revealed Monday at the final Swatter's Club meeting of the year.
Hollan has been preparing as if he will throw this weekend, but it is not a given that he will.
"It seems to be getting better, so we feel like, as of today, that he’s going to get on the mound in Starkville," Van Horn said.
The only piece of the starting rotation set in stone is Hagen Smith, who will replace his fellow lefty in the Friday role. The sophomore has known for a week that he is assuming the ace duties, Van Horn said, and the Razorbacks are expecting at least five or six innings out of him.
Brady Tygart is expected to fill one of the starting pitcher spots to be announced, regardless of if Hollan can pitch during the other. The sophomore righty used 20 pitches against four hitters Friday in his first inning since March 1, and his pitch count this weekend is around 35.
"There’s a really good chance Tygart gets the ball in one of those games, and then we’ll just piggyback off of him," Van Horn said.
On the offensive side of things, Van Horn said it is unlikely second baseman Peyton Stovall will be on the 27-man roster, in hopes of letting his shoulder tendonitis heal.
"It's inflammation, which basically means tendonitis," Van Horn said. "It's bothering because we've got to get that inflammation to calm down and go away a little bit. They're working hard to get that taken care of."
The sophomore has been battling the injury for the better part of two months, and his head coach wants to give him more time to get healthy after taking Tuesday's game against Lipscomb off.
"He’s not ready yet," Van Horn said. "You’re going to have either (Peyton) Holt in there or possibly (Harold) Coll. So we’ve got to have some guys pick it up."
Holt twisted his ankle Friday and showed up to Baum-Walker Stadium ahead of the series finale against the Aggies on crutches. He did, however, pinch run Tuesday in North Little Rock, advancing 270 feet on two wild pitches to score the game-tying run in the eighth inning.
Starting at second base and shifting to shortstop, Coll went 1-5 at the plate Tuesday, including a three-run homer, three strikeouts and a double play.
The Razorbacks and Bulldogs are set to get underway at 6 p.m. CT Friday at Dudy Noble Field. The contest will stream live on SEC Network Plus, accessible through the ESPN app.
