Arkansas set to open series against Kent State
FAYETTEVILLE Saturday’s forecast of thunderstorms and lightning flashes has altered this weekend’s threegame baseball series at Baum Stadium between Arkansas and the Kent State Golden Flashes.
The Razorbacks (9-3) and Golden Flashes (6-3), who are the defending Mid-American Conference champions, will play a 3 p.m. doubleheader today with both games nine innings, sit out Saturday, and play their 1 p.m. Sunday game as scheduled.
All Friday tickets are good for both Friday games.
Saturday’s game tickets are void, but can be exchanged for future games this season, the University of Arkansas announced Thursday.
Like most northern schools, the Golden Flashes have yet to play a home game, but unlike most MAC schools, Kent State’s baseball program is of sufficient renown to have played in the College World Series.
In fact, the lone meeting between Arkansas and Kent State was in the 2012 College World Series opener that coach Dave Van Horn’s Razorbacks won 8-1.
“It’s a proud program,” Van Horn said of Kent State. “Ohio State may not feel that way, but they (Kent State) may be the best baseball program in Ohio.”
In Van Horn’s view, the Golden Flashes stack up to the Southern California Trojans that Arkansas beat 4-0 and 7-6 between a 3-1 loss in last weekend’s three-game series at Baum.
“It'll be like playing USC again,” Van Horn said. “And if we don't play better than we did against USC, we'll have a hard time winning the series. They just try to capitalize on your mistakes is what every coach I’ve talked to told me. We need to play mistake-free baseball and we don’t need to walk them and make them earn everything they get.”
Catcher Brad Hamilton (.394 and five home runs in nine games) leads the Golden Flashes attack for coach Jeff Duncan.
Kent State already has stolen 17 bases, seven swiped by infielder Tim DalPorto.
Starting with senior lefty Eric Kraus, Duncan has started lefty, righty, lefty for Kent State’s nine games.
Van Horn today will start his No. 1 and No. 2 starters, juniors Blaine Knight (2-0, 0.53 ERA) and Isaiah Campbell (1-1, 1.88 ERA).
On Sunday, debut start freshman right-hander Bryce Bonnin (1-0 and 0.00 ERA) makes his starting debut.
In 6 1/3 relief innings, Bonnin has struck out eight.
Left-hander Kacey Murphy, who has been the regular third-game series starter, likely will start Tuesday’s game of the Tuesday and Wednesday series with the Texas Longhorns here before the Razorbacks open SEC play hosting Kentucky March 16-18.
Regarding starting Bonnin, Van Horn said, “He threw great last week (five hitless relief innings winning 11-0 over Dayton). We need to see what he can do as a starter. So last non-conference series, we feel we need to give him that opportunity, and if you look at his numbers, he’s earned it.”
The injury-plagued saga of right-hander Keaton McKinney, an outstanding freshman on Arkansas’ 2015 College World Series team, but since then has had to recover first from hip surgery and then Tommy John surgery last year, apparently has taken another unfortunate turn. McKinney hasn’t pitched since throwing two innings against Bucknell on Feb. 18 and apparently won’t for awhile.
“There is something (possibly bone chips) floating around in there,” Van Horn said on what doctors reported. “We’re just going to rest him a little bit and he’s going to go through a little rehab and we’re going to try again in a few weeks or a week or two.”
If the elbow hasn’t responded, then McKinney will shut it down for 2018 and try to heal for 2019, Van Horn said.
RAZORBACKS PRACTICE
Coach Chad Morris’ Arkansas Razorbacks were slated Thursday to conduct a closed spring football practice without post-practice media availability.
The Thursday practice, several players said Tuesday, was geared to prepare them for Saturday’s scrimmage that will be open to media, high school coaches and former Razorbacks, but closed to the public.
Saturday’s scrimmage is scheduled for one of the outside practice fields, but conceivably could be moved inside to Walker Pavilion or rescheduled for a later date because of predicted thunderstorms.