From @RStew32
arkansas.rivals.com
The 2023 SEC regular season is halfway over, and the Razorbacks are the Western Division leaders with an 11-4 conference record.
An offseason characterized by roster turnover and uncertainty has given way to just another season of Arkansas baseball — one with consensus top-five rankings and the expectation to come out of every weekend with at least two victories.
Although the Diamond Hogs are making it look easy, the path has not exactly been that.
The right-handed pitching trio of Jaxon Wiggins, Brady Tygart and Koty Frank has not been completely healthy at any point during the campaign, and none of them have made an appearance since March 5. The batting order is without its leading home-run hitter and RBI man in left fielder Jared Wegner for at least the next three weeks.
Nevertheless, the Razorbacks are receiving contributions from up and down the roster to keep stringing wins together as they fight to get as close to full strength as possible.
With 15 SEC games down and as many to go, here are the five most pleasant surprises to this point in the 2023 season:
When Tygart grabbed his elbow March 1 during a midweek game against Illinois State, those at Baum-Walker Stadium feared the worst.
It had not even been a month since Arkansas lost Wiggins, its projected ace, to a torn UCL, which requires season-ending Tommy John Surgery. To lose the top bullpen arm on top of that was devastating.
Fortunately, Tygart sprained his UCL rather than tearing it, putting him in a position to return before the season’s end.
That return, head coach Dave Van Horn said Tuesday, could very well come this weekend against Georgia.
“He’ll probably be on the 27-man (roster), that’s the key,” Van Horn said. “You see him on there, you’ll probably see him throw.”
Tygart logged a sub-4.00 ERA in 37 ⅔ innings in 2022, earning him three freshman All-American honors. He had given up just one earned run and four hits in 4 ⅔ innings in February, racking up eight strikeouts without any walks.
Whether or not the sophomore returns to form right away, his return should be a welcome addition to a bullpen that could use another reliable arm.
When Van Horn pinch hit for Wegner with a five-run lead in the first inning April 11, it was tough to tell why. Plenty of reserves were already in the lineup, and the Hogs were on their way to a 21-5 run-rule win over UALR.
However, Van Horn revealed in the coming days, the graduate transfer sustained a hairline fracture in his left thumb sliding into third base. As of Tuesday, Wegner will be out at least three weeks, according to his skipper.
“He’s got a cast on,” Van Horn said. “So he had surgery yesterday. Put a couple pins in it, just to hold the bone in place, just normal, standard procedure, and we’ll just keep him in shape.”
The outfield was easily the most set-it-and-forget-it group on the team, as all three players came to Fayetteville with Division I experience. Beyond Wegner, Tavian Josenberger and Jace Bohrofen, things are thinner.
Freshman Mason Neville is a solid defensive outfielder but has struggled at the plate this year, and the opposite can be said for junior college transfer Hunter Grimes. The sacrifice Van Horn has chosen to make is Kendall Diggs’ inexperience in right field in exchange for his favorite bench bat at designated hitter.
So far, McLaughlin is fitting that bill.
In four starts over the past week, the two-way player has gone 6-9 with a triple, a walk, an RBI and a run. Three of those hits off his left-handed bat have gone to left or center field.
“Here’s a guy that hadn’t been in the batter’s box, I don’t know, in two months,” Van Horn said Sunday. “His at bats are good. What I like about him, he’ll fight you. And he’s a good hitter with two strikes.”
McLaughlin missed more than a month with a torn meniscus, which he sustained Feb. 25 rounding first base against Eastern Illinois. He returned March 28 against Nebraska-Omaha as a pitcher, and his first plate appearance came April 11.
“Every at-bat, I feel like I'm seeing more and more pitches that I missed when I was gone, and I just feel very confident right now,” McLaughlin said Tuesday.
CONTINUE READING HERE
HawgBeat - Five pleasant surprises for Diamond Hogs
HawgBeat examines five things the Arkansas baseball team should be happy about halfway through SEC play.
arkansas.rivals.com
The 2023 SEC regular season is halfway over, and the Razorbacks are the Western Division leaders with an 11-4 conference record.
An offseason characterized by roster turnover and uncertainty has given way to just another season of Arkansas baseball — one with consensus top-five rankings and the expectation to come out of every weekend with at least two victories.
Although the Diamond Hogs are making it look easy, the path has not exactly been that.
The right-handed pitching trio of Jaxon Wiggins, Brady Tygart and Koty Frank has not been completely healthy at any point during the campaign, and none of them have made an appearance since March 5. The batting order is without its leading home-run hitter and RBI man in left fielder Jared Wegner for at least the next three weeks.
Nevertheless, the Razorbacks are receiving contributions from up and down the roster to keep stringing wins together as they fight to get as close to full strength as possible.
With 15 SEC games down and as many to go, here are the five most pleasant surprises to this point in the 2023 season:
Tygart on the precipice of return
When Tygart grabbed his elbow March 1 during a midweek game against Illinois State, those at Baum-Walker Stadium feared the worst.
It had not even been a month since Arkansas lost Wiggins, its projected ace, to a torn UCL, which requires season-ending Tommy John Surgery. To lose the top bullpen arm on top of that was devastating.
Fortunately, Tygart sprained his UCL rather than tearing it, putting him in a position to return before the season’s end.
That return, head coach Dave Van Horn said Tuesday, could very well come this weekend against Georgia.
“He’ll probably be on the 27-man (roster), that’s the key,” Van Horn said. “You see him on there, you’ll probably see him throw.”
Tygart logged a sub-4.00 ERA in 37 ⅔ innings in 2022, earning him three freshman All-American honors. He had given up just one earned run and four hits in 4 ⅔ innings in February, racking up eight strikeouts without any walks.
Whether or not the sophomore returns to form right away, his return should be a welcome addition to a bullpen that could use another reliable arm.
Ben McLaughlin filling in admirably for Wegner
When Van Horn pinch hit for Wegner with a five-run lead in the first inning April 11, it was tough to tell why. Plenty of reserves were already in the lineup, and the Hogs were on their way to a 21-5 run-rule win over UALR.
However, Van Horn revealed in the coming days, the graduate transfer sustained a hairline fracture in his left thumb sliding into third base. As of Tuesday, Wegner will be out at least three weeks, according to his skipper.
“He’s got a cast on,” Van Horn said. “So he had surgery yesterday. Put a couple pins in it, just to hold the bone in place, just normal, standard procedure, and we’ll just keep him in shape.”
The outfield was easily the most set-it-and-forget-it group on the team, as all three players came to Fayetteville with Division I experience. Beyond Wegner, Tavian Josenberger and Jace Bohrofen, things are thinner.
Freshman Mason Neville is a solid defensive outfielder but has struggled at the plate this year, and the opposite can be said for junior college transfer Hunter Grimes. The sacrifice Van Horn has chosen to make is Kendall Diggs’ inexperience in right field in exchange for his favorite bench bat at designated hitter.
So far, McLaughlin is fitting that bill.
In four starts over the past week, the two-way player has gone 6-9 with a triple, a walk, an RBI and a run. Three of those hits off his left-handed bat have gone to left or center field.
“Here’s a guy that hadn’t been in the batter’s box, I don’t know, in two months,” Van Horn said Sunday. “His at bats are good. What I like about him, he’ll fight you. And he’s a good hitter with two strikes.”
McLaughlin missed more than a month with a torn meniscus, which he sustained Feb. 25 rounding first base against Eastern Illinois. He returned March 28 against Nebraska-Omaha as a pitcher, and his first plate appearance came April 11.
“Every at-bat, I feel like I'm seeing more and more pitches that I missed when I was gone, and I just feel very confident right now,” McLaughlin said Tuesday.
CONTINUE READING HERE
