FAYETTEVILLE — With the South Carolina Gamecocks in town for a three-game series, the Diamond Hogs were hopeful this was the weekend their lineup would be back to full strength.
Instead, Arkansas will be lucky to get one of the three starters it lacked last week back in the mix, based on the injury updates head coach Dave Van Horn provided Thursday.
Left fielder Jared Wegner, who has not recorded an at-bat since April 11 against UALR, will be on the 27-man roster, but Van Horn said it is "probably highly unlikely" he will play this weekend.
The Creighton transfer sustained a hairline fracture in his left thumb sliding into third base against the Trojans. Doctors removed the pins from that thumb Monday, and his status hangs in the balance of how he feels.
"Thumb’s still pretty sore," Van Horn said. "He’ll be on the roster. Still not sure about playing yet. Not swinging the bat with the team at all yet."
Second baseman Peyton Stovall, who has been battling shoulder tendonitis for two months, has not played since April 29 against Texas A&M.
Van Horn and company had hoped that rest during games against Lipscomb and Mississippi State would help Stovall's shoulder heal, but now it seems it will need even more time.
"Stovall's shoulder's not doing great," Van Horn said, "so probably not, as of now, (going to) put him on the roster, and we'll see how that goes."
With the sophomore on the shelf once again, fans can likely expect to see Peyton Holt slot in on the right side of the infield next to Brady Slavens.
Last week against the Bulldogs, Holt went 2-12 with two runs, two RBIs, a hit-by-pitch and two strikeouts hitting seventh in the order.
"These guys…They work hard, they practice hard," Van Horn said after Saturday's 14-4 win. "They’re good players or they wouldn’t be on the team. That’s what I tell them, ‘When you get an opportunity, help us out,’ and they do. They did tonight. It was really good to see Holt come through with a couple of hits, couple of RBIs."
Of the injured trio, Van Horn made it seem like center fielder Tavian Josenberger has the best shot to play against the Gamecocks.
The leadoff man suffered a Grade 1 hamstring strain April 22 at Georgia, and he has missed the past eight contests.
"Josenberger’s looking good," Van Horn said. "Worked out with us yesterday, he’ll be out there again today, so he’ll be on the roster again."
The Kansas transfer was on the 27-man roster last week, but it was likely a transactional move with Stovall being left off. He did not play against Mississippi State.
"I think Josenberger would tell you he's about 80-85 percent," Van Horn said after Sunday's win. "I put him on the roster, but I didn't want to run him. (Josenberger and Wegner have) been working really hard with our strength coach and trainer, stretching and running and exercising trying to get right."
If Josenberger is unable to play this weekend and Jace Bohrofen remains in center field, Van Horn said he expects a platoon approach in left field.
"It would be more of a defensive position, at least at the beginning of the series," Van Horn said," so if there's a right-hander on the mound, we'd go with Mason Neville. If there's a lefty, probably more like Hunter Grimes or something until we kind of see what we're up against and then go from there."
Another potential option is Jayson Jones, who started Sunday's game but did not finish it after taking a pitch to the head.
As the Razorbacks gear up for their 6:30 p.m. series opener with the Gamecocks on Friday, HawgBeat will have you covered with the latest injury news and live updates throughout the weekend.
