Razorbacks slated to host Grand Canyon University

FAYETTEVILLE - From just their first three SEC series, the Arkansas Razorbacks already have won as many SEC baseball games as they did last season.

Overall, they have won just four less games than they did all last season.

So far it’s a remarkable turnaround from last year’s 26-29 and 7-23 overall and SEC records, marking the first losing season of Dave Van Horn’s Arkansas coaching era. Currently, Arkansas is 22-6 overall and 7-2 in the SEC, tying

the Razorbacks for first overall in the league with Auburn and Kentucky.

“I guess I should be proud that we’ve won seven SEC games since that’s all we won last year,” Van Horn told Monday’s monthly meeting of the Razorbacks boosters’ Swatter’s Club at the Fayetteville Hilton Gardens. “But we’ve got a long way to go.”

For the Hogs, winning 2 of 3 on successive SEC weekends at Missouri and at Alabama after opening SEC play sweeping three from Mississippi State at Baum Stadium, the road leads back to Baum. Arkansas hosts Grand Canyon University, 12-15 overall but 6-0 in GCU’s WAC in nonconference games at 6:30 tonight and 3 p.m. Wednesday before hosting the No. 13 (Coaches poll) LSU Tigers in a huge 3-game SEC West series at 6:30 p.m. Friday, 6 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.

Too much lies ahead for these Razorbacks to bask in recent accomplishments, particularly with Van Horn not surprised by what’s been accomplished.

“I thought we'd be a lot better,” Van Horn said. “We thought we'd be maybe more mentally tough than last year's team and more motivated because of the season last year. Motivated players are a good thing, believe me. At any level. If a guy's got a lot of want to, you've got a chance.”

The Hogs have been so motivated behind Van Horn, assistant Tony Vitello and new pitching coach Wes Johnson that even losing pitchers Keaton McKinney and projected 2017 Friday night SEC sophomore ace Isaiah Campbell to season-ending arm injuries didn’t deter them.

Even Campbell couldn’t have been projected to match the Friday night pitching efforts of fellow sophomore right-handed Blaine Knight. Bryant native Knight, 4-1 overall with a 2.23 overall ERA, under the SEC Friday night lights is 3-0 over Mississippi State, Missouri and Alabama with a 1.71 ERA and 25 strikeouts against one walk in 21 SEC innings.

“Isaiah Campbell was projected to be our Friday night starter and we thought he was going to be one of the top sophomores in the country,” Van Horn said Monday. “We were going to throw Blaine on Sunday. But things change and you have to persevere and move on and Blaine has stepped up and pitched on Friday. We had hoped he could go four or five innings and he’s shown us the last three weeks he can go seven or eight or even nine if we needed him to. He could have gone the ninth inning with him this past Friday. I think he was at 88 or 90 pitches but we decided we are going to need that inning down the road. He’s been outstanding. He’s pitched 48 innings and he has two walks. That’s a coach’s dream.”

Obviously Knight and fellow SEC weekend starters Trevor Stephan and Josh Alberius and Sunday against Alabama used SEC relievers Dominic Taccolini and Cannon Chadwick won’t be going tonight against the Grand Canyon Antelopes while resting for the big weekend against LSU.

Left-hander Kacey Murphy and right-hander Barrett Loseke followed by a host of relievers hoping to pitch just a little rather than be overextended before the weekend, are likely to be the Arkansas starters against an Antelopes team starting five plus .300 hitters led by Austin Bull, .388 and Tom Lerouge and Tyler Wyatt, both .356.

Andy Stankiewicz, a Major League infielder from 1992-98 with the New York Yankees, Houston Astros, Montreal Expos and Arizona Diamondbacks, coaches the Lopes the abbreviated Antelopes nickname listed by GCU officials in Phoenix, Ariz.

“They were a Division II powerhouse, a NAIA powerhouse and they converted to NCAA Division and they hired Coach Stankiewicz to do it,” Van Horn said. “He coached Team USA a couple of times. He’s a good coach. They are going to do really good.”

Last week’s MRI of Arkansas third baseman Hunter Wilson’s deep shin bruise revealed no fracture, Van Horn said Monday but also said the Spiro, Okla. native likely won’t be ready this SEC weekend.

Jared Gates, the latest of the six who have played third, earns the current starting shot off his weekend at Alabama, Van Horn said.