HawgBeat - Arkansas going with different starting rotation at Texas A&M
Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn has changed the Razorbacks' starting rotation for just the second time this season.
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Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn has changed the 3rd-ranked Razorbacks' starting rotation for just the second time this year ahead of this weekend's series at No. 5 Texas A&M to close out the regular season.
As expected, junior ace Hagen Smith (9-0, 1.65 ERA) will get the ball for Thursday's series opener at Blue Bell Park in College Station, Texas. After that, the Hogs will start sophomore right-hander Gage Wood for Game 2 on Friday and Van Horn said they haven't decided on a starter for Saturday's series finale.
Wood will be making his second career start and his first SEC start against the Aggies. The Batesville native owns a 3.03 earned run average with 44 strikeouts and just seven walks this season. His only start came on April 30 when he threw three scoreless innings in a midweek matchup against Missouri State.
The Razorbacks have had a consistent rotation of Smith, right-hander Brady Tygart and lefty Mason Molina all season aside from the Florida series (April 26-27) that Molina missed due to an ankle injury.
Tygart (4-3, 3.86 ERA) didn't make it out of the second inning during Saturday's 8-5 loss to No. 14 Mississippi State. The Hernando, Mississippi, native struggled to find the zone as he gave up four earned runs on three hits and had five walks compared to just two strikeouts.
Van Horn said they had Tygart "looked at" for an injury (undisclosed), but the initial results were good. Tygart did miss time in 2023 with a sprained UCL.
"As of right now, we're told everything is clean," Van Horn said. "We might just give him some time off."
A transfer from Texas Tech, Molina (3-2, 4.44 ERA) allowed four earned runs on four hits with one walk and one strikeout in just one inning of work Sunday against the Bulldogs. Molina threw just 31 pitches and recorded only three outs before he was relieved by Wood.
Molina hasn't made an appearance out of the bullpen since his freshman season with the Red Raiders in 2022.
"If we bring him out of the pen and he pitches well, he can stay in there and grab that starting job again," Van Horn said. "He's just got to go out and throw the ball better. That's obvious. I think that's a good spot for him and he needs to embrace it and get after it."
The pair of Tygart and Molina also each had bad outings a couple of weekends ago in the series loss at Kentucky. Tygart gave up five earned runs on six hits in three innings, while Molina allowed three earned runs on three hits with three walks and three strikeouts in three innings.
Van Horn said Tygart and Molina would both be options to start the third game of the series. Weather is expected to play a factor this weekend, so that might also be part of the decision making.
The Razorbacks and Aggies will open the series at 7 p.m. CT Thursday at Blue Bell Park in College Station, Texas. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN2.
