HawgBeat - Mason Molina named starting pitcher against Southeast Missouri State
Arkansas has named left-hander Mason Molina as the starter against Southeast Missouri State on Friday.
arkansas.rivals.com
The Arkansas baseball team will start junior left-hander Mason Molina on the mound against 4-seed Southeast Missouri State to open the NCAA Tournament, the team announced Thursday.
After being a usual starter for the majority of the season, Molina was relegated to the bullpen in the Razorbacks' final series against Texas A&M and in the SEC Tournament. He shined in two appearances, as he tossed a combined five shutout frames with five strikeouts, zero walks and only one hit.
A former transfer from Texas Tech, Molina earned the starting role back thanks to his recent performances and will look to give the Diamond Hogs a 1-0 start to the NCAA Tournament on Friday at Baum-Walker Stadium.
“Molina throwing good those last two outings was like ‘Hey, that’s the guy we brought in here,’” head coach Dave Van Horn said Thursday.
Through 14 appearances on the mound, Molina has racked up a 4.04 ERA in 55.2 innings pitched with 77 strikeouts, 32 walks, 37 hits and 25 earned runs.
The decision to "pitch off" in Game 1 rather than throw lefty ace Hagen Smith is probably the right call for Van Horn, who usually likes to play things by the book. Now, the Razorbacks will be turning to Smith either to take a 2-0 lead in the regional or to avoid an 0-2 elimination against 2-seed Louisiana Tech or 3-seed Kansas State.
“I feel like we’re in a good place mentally,” Van Horn said. “That can be shut down by another team’s pitcher or just maybe their team, but we’re in a good place right now if you take away a few injuries. I’m not complaining. Compared to last year, this team is healthy as can be.”
Arkansas and Southeast Missouri State will face off in the Fayetteville Regional on Friday afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. CT and it will stream on ESPN+.
