Fan man

Arkansas left-hander Matt Cronin came in blazing against Auburn in the third inning of Thursday’s night game.

Cronin got the call with runners on first and second after Dominic Taccolini walked the first two batters in the bottom of the third inning. He then struck out Jonah Todd swinging and Daniel Robert and Dylan Ingram looking to get out of the inning.

Cronin also struck out the side in the fourth inning, working around a walk and a hit batter. The 6-2, 190-pound freshman from Navarre, Fla., threw a season-high 71 pitches in his three-inning stint while improving to 3-0.

“We talk all the time … and next year he could be a weekend starter for us,” Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. “He has a really good breaking ball. He just hasn’t been able to figure out how to throw it in these games yet, though we’ve seen it from time to time.

“There’s some deception there. The board’s reading 88-90 [mph], and they’re swinging and missing it. He’s not throwing 95. … What he’s done is earned a little more time, and next weekend at the regional he’ll probably pitch in some tough situations.”