Razorbacks out to prove worthy of early ballyhoo
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas Razorbacks baseball players were answering questions about why they didn’t qualify for an NCAA regional in 2016 at their annual media day last year.
On media day Saturday at Baum Stadium, the Razorbacks were talking about the hype surrounding a University of Arkansas, Fayetteville team that is ranked in the top five of most preseason polls.
“I think our team is embracing it pretty well,” senior outfielder Luke Bonfield said. “It’s not something we talk about but it’s something we know is there. We have a mature team to handle the hype.”
Coach Dave Van Horn returns a large group of pitchers and hitters who helped the team to a 4519 season and the NCAA Fayetteville Regional last year before falling to Missouri State to deny the Razorbacks a trip to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.
“We knew we were going to be ranked pretty good,” Van Horn said. “We knew that people feel like we’re going to have a good season. But really it’s all about how we feel about ourselves, and I think the players feel really good about themselves.”
“Our team is unbelievable this year,” said sophomore center fielder Dominic Fletcher, who hit two home runs in Saturday’s scrimmage. “Just comparing it to even last year’s team that was great, this team I’d say is even better with the hitting, pitching, everything all around.”
The Razorbacks return eight players who hit .270 or better, including shortstop Jax Biggers, the team’s top hitter (.338), and Bonfield and second baseman Carson Shaddy, who elected not to sign professional contracts.
On the pitching side, ace right-hander Blaine Knight (8-4, 3.28 ERA) came back for his junior year after turning down a large offer. The staff is dotted with experienced arms like Matt Cronin (3-1, 2.00), Jake Reindl (4-1, 2.31), Kacey Murphy (5-1, 3.65), Kevin Kopps (3-1, 3.31), Evan Lee (0-0, 3.60) and Barrett Loseke (3-0, 4.21), and they’ll be supplemented by veterans coming off injury in Keaton McKinney, Isaiah Campbell, Cody Scroggins and an influx of higly regarded signees.
“We’ve got a bunch of guys back that were off injury or they turned down the draft to come back,” Knight said. “So we’re all really excited. It’s going to be a fun year if we go play the game we’re supposed to play.”
Arkansas will miss power hitting first baseman Chad Spanberger and veteran outfielder Jake Arledge, who is now a graduate assistant coach, as well as assistant coach Tony Vitello, the hitting instructor who is now head coach at Tennessee.
But veterans abound, like catcher Grant Koch (.264, 13 HR, 42 RBI), outfielders like Fletcher (.291, 12, 37) Bonfield (.294, 9, 49) and Eric Cole (.282, 5, 25), backup first baseman Jordan McFarland (.271, 2, 10) and versatile types like Evan Lee (.333), Jack Kenley and Hunter Wilson, who missed most of last year with a leg injury.
Nate Thompson, the firstyear hitting and outfield coach, thinks versatility and depth are keys for the 2018 Razorbacks.
“We’ve got a lot of guys that are going to be able to do the job,” Thompson said. “We’re going to be able to put some guys out there, rest some guys at times, make sure we’re fresh. It’s [a] good problem to have.”
Competition to get in the starting lineup is expected to be fierce.
“It’s probably the deepest roster that I’ve had at Arkansas as far as some options offensively and on the mound,” Van Horn said. “The younger guys haven’t done it in a real game yet, but they’ve shown they have the stuff. There is a lot of talent there.”
Knight, Campbell and Murphy are the top candidates for spots in the weekend rotation. After that, McKinney, freshmen Caleb Bolden, Jackson Rutledge and Bryce Bonnin, and the two-way player Lee are top candidates for starting jobs.
“I feel pretty good,” pitching coach Wes Johnson said. “You know they’re going to have to go out and do it. Our young guys … I keep going back to the SEC, but you don’t know how your young guys are going to react when we go to the [Alex] Box [Stadium at LSU] on Friday night and they’ve got 12,000 fans and they’re screaming at you when you get off the bus.
“That’s kind of the biggest question mark we’ve got is how are these freshmen going to handle it?”