Arkansas, Vanderbilt to meet in key series
FAYETTEVILLE - For an Arkansas Razorbacks baseball senior class of catcher Alex Gosser and pitchers Josh Alberius and Dominic Taccolini and transfers Jake Arledge and Cannon Chadwick, plus possibly a slew of 2017 Major League draft eligible underclassmen, this Vanderbilt series marks their scheduled farewell to Baum Stadium. Arkansas (35-13, 14-9) and coach Tim Corbin’s Vanderbilt
Commodores (29-19 overall, 12-11) play at 6 tonight on the SEC Network and 6 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday on the Internet’s SECN+.
It’s the last scheduled series at Baum, but draft eligible fourth-year junior second baseman Carson Shaddy insists there is more Baum baseball to come for coach Dave Van Horn’s 2017 Razorbacks.
“I'm not going to be focused on saying this might be my last series here or anything like that,” Shaddy said. “I expected us to host a regional, so I don't think it's going to be our last series here.”
If the Razorbacks are to host a regional, it behooves them to start winning consistently again with just this Vanderbilt series and next week's series at Texas A&M remaining before the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala.
Their 16th-ranking in the coaches poll and they still can contend for best in the West, just 2 1/2 games behind Mississippi State, but their last three SEC series show losing two of three both at Auburn and to Ole Miss at Baum then splitting two with one rained out at Tennessee.
“Yeah, we've just kind of been sputtering along,” Van Horn said. “It's pretty obvious.
“I think every team goes through it a little bit. Our job as coaches is to try to get them rolling here at the end.
“We're finishing up finals and they can clear their mind a little bit and just hopefully get after it for the stretch run.”
The Razorbacks know from sweeping Mississippi State to open the SEC season what they are capable of doing, but haven’t been consistently doing the last three weeks.
“We are aware this is a big weekend coming up and we’ll do everything we can to come out on top,” junior pitcher Trevor Stephan said.
Stephan, 5-3, 3.14 and normally Arkansas’ second-game SEC starter, switches places with normal No. 1 starter Blaine Knight to start tonight.
Knight, 6-3, 3.63, had to pitch twice in three days at Tennessee and will start Saturday night against Vandy.
He started the Thursday rain-interrupted game at Tennessee and then resumed when the game was picked up last Saturday with Jake Reindl eventually charged with a 5-4 loss in relief.
Stephan threw a one-hit shutout to win 2-0, the seven-inning second game of last Saturday’s improvised by rain doubleheader in Knoxville.
Sunday’s Arkansas starter most likely will be sophomore lefty Kacey Murphy, but Van Horn leaves it open as all except Stephan and Knight could be used in relief.
Vanderbilt starts three right-handers.
Sophomore Patrick Raby, 8-3, 2.29, starts tonight. Junior Kyle Wright, 2-5, 3.35 pitches Saturday night with sophomore Chandler Day, 7-1, 3.54, set for Sunday.
Offensively, the Commodores are paced by first baseman Julian Infante, .328, nine home runs and 52 RBI, and center fielder Jeren Kendall, .303, 13 home runs and 36 RBI.
“We're facing a good team that has outstanding pitching,” Van Horn said. “They've got two to three kids that are supposed to go high in the draft, maybe as early as second or third pick. I've seen 13th-14th pick on Kendall the center fielder.
“They're a good club. I think they're a team that feels they've got to win games. We feel like we've got to win games. We're not just riding it out. There's going to be some good competition this weekend.”