Van Horn sticking with same starting rotation for Mississippi State series
Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn announced Thursday that he's keeping the Razorbacks' starting rotation the same for this weekend's series against the No. 14 Mississippi State Bulldogs at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville.
Ace left-hander Hagen Smith will make his 13 start of the season Friday, as expected, and Van Horn will keep righty Brady Tygart in the Game 2 starting role with left-hander Mason Molina starting the third game.
There was no question as to whether Smith was going to start the first game, and Tygart and Molina proved they deserve to stay in the rotation with solid workouts Wednesday.
"They both feel good, healthy," Van Horn said Thursday. "No one has a sore arm. No complaints. Ready to go."
Viewed as the top pitcher in the country, Smith owns a 9-0 record with a 1.36 ERA, 125 strikeouts and 25 walks in 66.0 innings pitched this year. He ranks third nationally in strikeouts, first in strikeouts per nine innings (17.05), second in WHIP (0.82), first in ERA and first in hits allowed per nine innings (3.95).
"We knew he was going to have a big year," Van Horn said. "Did we know that he was going to do what he’s doing? I mean, we thought it was in there because I've been doing it a long time and I’ve had some really good pitchers, and I’ve never had a better one."
Tygart (4-2, 3.34 ERA) struggled to locate with three walks and two strikeouts in three innings of work against Kentucky last weekend.
"The other day, he'd probably tell you it might be his worst start he's ever had," Van Horn said. "Velocity was down. Breaking ball, couldn't throw for a strike. He had a rough start."
The Hernando, Mississippi, native will look to perform well against his home-state school. Tygart threw two innings of scoreless ball in the start while working back from a sprained UCL last year against the Bulldogs in Starkville.
Molina (3-2, 3.81 ERA) recorded three walks, three strikeouts and gave up three earned runs on three hits in three innings at Kentucky. After missing the previous series against Florida with an ankle injury and then having a rough outing against the Wildcats, Molina seems to be ready to shake it off and move forward.
"Hopefully he has a better outing than he had in the last couple," Van Horn said. "I don’t know. He’s just got to go out and pitch. I mean he’s an older guy. He’s got a lot of weekend experience at this level. Hopefully he’ll go out and have a good outing for us. I expect him just to be a lot better."
Mississippi State will go with right-hander Khal Stephen (7-3, 2.96 ERA) in Game 1, both-handed pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje (7-1, 3.53 ERA) in Game 2 and the Bulldogs did not announce a starter for the third game.
The Bulldogs have shot up in the polls thanks to three straight series wins over Auburn, Vanderbilt and Alabama. Van Horn said Mississippi State is one of two teams that SEC coaches would probably say they don't want to play right now, with the other being Texas A&M — the team the Hogs play next weekend.
"Those would be in the top three or four, and we play both of them," Van Horn said. "That’s just the way it is. A few weeks ago, they probably said you didn’t want to play Arkansas. Now they’re probably saying, ‘Yeah, Arkansas, they’re just getting by. They got their wins and they don’t score enough runs and once you get past Hagen you’re in good shape.’ Hey, it is what it is. Don’t hide it. That’s what I talked to our guys about."
The Razorbacks will open the series against Mississippi State at 6:30 p.m. CT Friday at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville. The game will be streamed live on SEC Network+.