Tygart to start, Bolton to return for SEC Tournament semifinal
After defeating Texas A&M in walk-off fashion Wednesday and holding off No. 5 LSU on Thursday, the Arkansas baseball team earned a much-needed day off Friday at the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama.
The No. 4 Diamond Hogs sit with an overall record of 41-15 on the season and they moved up two spots to No. 2 in the overall RPI rankings following the 5-4 win over the Tigers on Wednesday.
Though they aren't playing an actual game, the Razorbacks did hit the practice field at Hoover High School baseball field and head coach Dave Van Horn spoke with a few reporters following the practice.
The 2023 SEC Coach of the Year, Van Horn revealed that he will start sophomore righty Brady Tygart against Texas A&M — who eliminated LSU with a 5-4 win Friday afternoon — in Saturday's semifinal. Van Horn said Tygart will be on a pitch count of around 65-70 pitches.
"If everything is good after that start, he should be good to do whatever next weekend," Van Horn said.
After missing time for a sprained UCL that he suffered on March 1, Tygart returned on April 28 and this will be his fifth start since returning from injury.
Through four straight starts, Tygart has gone exactly one inning longer than his previous outing and he's pitched 10 total frames since his return. The native of Hernando, Mississippi, has allowed just two runs on three hits, walked two and struck out 12 in that span.
"I think he's pitched really well," Van Horn said. "Thrown a lot of strikes. Not relying on his breaking ball. Throwing a lot of fastballs. Spotting it up. Good changeup. I think he's pitched like a starter. He could close, but he's pitched like a starter."
Tygart has thrown a total of 12 1/3 innings this season and he boasts a 2-0 record and 2.92 ERA across seven total appearances.
Arkansas' pitching came through in a big way Thursday as lefties Hagen Smith and Hunter Hollan combined to pitch all nine innings and strike out 17 total batters.
Veterans Zack Morris and Will McEntire combined to pitch nine innings of relief ball in Wednesday's 6-5 win over Texas A&M in 11 innings. The pair gave up just two runs on five hits and struck out a combined eight batters.
Though he threw 60 pitches Wednesday, McEntire might be available if needed on Saturday. Other young arms such as Gage Wood, Christian Foutch, Ben Bybee and Parker Coil should all be available for Saturday's contest.
"They're all pretty much ready to go," Van Horn said. "We could use McEntire if we needed to and (Cody) Adcock, Wood and all of the other guys. I think everybody is available pretty much."
Shortstop John Bolton is expected to return to the lineup after he suffered a sprained ankle during a collision with second baseman Peyton Holt in last Friday's loss to the Vanderbilt Commodores. Bolton has missed the last three games for the Hogs.
Van Horn said prior to the SEC Tournament that Bolton would have a shot to play if the team made it to Saturday, and he said Friday that Bolton took ground balls at practice and will proabably be good to go Saturday.
"Doing real good," Van Horn said of Bolton. "He's probably game ready. He's had a great week of working out. Trainer working with him, doctor working with him. They just told me he was like 98% on all the tests, so that means he could play.
"He really wants to play. I mean, the kid played at Austin Peay. He's from Memphis. Grew up seeing this tournament and he really wants to play in the SEC Tournament, so you'll probably see him tomorrow."
The graduate transfer from Austin Peay owns a .956 fielding percentage, a .202 batting average and a .348 on-base percentage. Bolton's batting average was .300 over the last four weekends of SEC play in the regular season and he drove in five runs across that span.
Arkansas is set to face the Aggies in an elimination game on Saturday at noon CT. The game will be played at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium and will be broadcast on the SEC Network.