Arkansas baseball looking to bounce back against Texas A&M.
FAYETTEVILLE - Not all was lost for the Arkansas Razorbacks last Sunday, even as they lost 7-4 to LSU in their final game of their weekend series to drop two of three games in Baton Rouge, La.
For with freshman left fielder Heston Kjerstad and senior second baseman Carson Shaddy winning their battle of resiliency, Arkansas increased long term postseason hope and short term encouragement for this weekend’s SEC series at Baum Stadium with the Texas A&M Aggies.
Nationally No. 6 (USA Today coaches poll) Arkansas (33-15 overall and 14-10 in the SEC West, good for a onegame lead over Ole Miss and Auburn, both 13-11) and Texas A&M (34-14 overall, 12-12 in the SEC West), who is 20th in the coaches poll, meet at 6 p.m. Friday on the SEC Network, 1 p.m. Saturday on the SEC Network and noon Sunday on ESPN2.
Freshman flash become season-long sensation Kjerstad (.357, 10 home runs and a team leading 42 RBIs), suffered an inexplicable “golden sombrero” Saturday, striking out five times in five at-bats of the 6-4 loss.
A struggle like that one can dog a player for weeks.
With Kjerstad, it didn’t last a day.
Kjerstad Sunday went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs.
Did Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn have a pep talk with Kjerstad between Saturday’s and Sunday’s games.
“You talk to him a little bit,” Van Horn said at Monday’s Swatters Club meeting of baseball boosters in Fayetteville. “I think Coach (Nate, the hitting coach) Thompson talked to him a little bit after the game. I just talked to him about mental approach. Physical is fine, but he bounced back yesterday, which is really big for me to see. Even after the loss, I went up to him and said, ‘Hey, great bounce back game, man.’ He said, ‘Yeah, I learned a lot yesterday.”
Already hampered, though since recovered, on his left hand from a
hit by pitch earlier this season, Shaddy had missed eight consecutive games from a more serious hit by pitch deep contusion on his throwing hand. Shaddy mostly has been unable to grip since hit by the pitch during the second game of a threegame SEC West series at Mississippi State.
Since then, Shaddy missed the final game of Mississippi State sweeping the Hogs in Starkville and Arkansas’ non-conference victory over then No. 4 Texas Tech and a SEC series sweep of Alabama and the Friday and Saturday games in Baton Rouge before returning to the lineup, going 2-for-4 with a double while batting fifth.
“I thought he did a great job,” Van Horn said. “Thursday in BP (batting practice), he was really hurting. We headed down to Baton Rouge and Friday, he hit a round or two and kind of pulled himself out. Saturday he was a lot better and he even said, ‘If you need me off the bench or to pinch hit… There were a couple of times we were looking at him, but it wasn’t the right situation. Obviously, he was good to go Sunday. BP was really good. He didn’t show us anything like he was in pain and we felt good about him being in the lineup.”
Hard for Van Horn to feel anything but good returning a fifth-year senior leader and team player leading the team in hitting at .361 with nine home runs and 29 RBIs.
However, the coach also feels good that in Shaddy’s absence, reserves Hunter Wilson, the versatile Spiro, Okla., native got two starts at second and Jack Kenley started six games at third with regular third baseman Casey Martin moved to second.
Because now, dissatisfied with alternating first basemen Jordan McFarland and Jared Gates off their LSU series, Van Horn publicly ponders starting Wilson (batting .265) or Kenley (.250) at first base Friday night.
“Kenley's hitting good,” Van Horn said. “Wilson's been swinging it pretty good too. He's a team player, can lay down a bunt. He can hit and run. Take a walk. If I ask him to take a pitch or two he won’t get upset. He'll hit from behind in the count.”
Arkansas stranded nine during last Saturday’s loss at LSU, including hitting into a inning-ending bases-loaded double play with a 1-0 count immediately after LSU pitcher Ma’Khail Hilliard on four pitches walked in a run.
“We should have scored another four or five runs,” Van Horn said. “Just make contact, stay out of the double play, hit a sac fly. Take a walk. We just didn't do it.”