Hogs focused on Ausua, Oral Roberts in regional

FAYETTEVILLE — Miguel Ausua lost the game but won Arkansas’ respect.

The respect carries over as Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn presumes the senior left-hander for the Summit League champion Oral Roberts Golden Eagles (38-18) will start Friday’s 2 p.m. opener of the Fayetteville Regional at Baum Stadium against the No. 5 Razorbacks (39-18) of the Southeastern Conference, which he did in Arkansas’ second game of last year’s Fayetteville Regional.

Ausua only allowed only one earned run in his 6 1/3 innings against Arkansas and was beaten only because former Razorback Trevor Stephan threw a four-hit shutout through 7

1/3 before Razorbacks relievers Kevin Kopps, out with injuries this season, and lefty Matt Cronin, Arkansas’ 11 saves bull of this season’s Arkansas bullpen, finished a 3-0 victory.

The Conference USA champion Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles (43-16) and Missouri Valley Conference runner-up Dallas Baptist Patriots (40-19) complete Friday’s regional first round at 7 p.m. While either could be a handful for his Razorbacks, Van Horn said he’s not looking past fourth-seeded Oral Roberts and Ausua.

“We’re just looking at Friday and Oral Roberts and beating their lefty,” Van Horn said Monday. “He’s awfully good. I think he’s

8-1 on the season, and I’m sure we’ll see him again.”

With a 3.08 ERA, Ausua has no trouble battling against strong competition.

“(He’s) just a really good competitor, No.

1,” Van Horn said. “Upper 80s, 90 mph is what he was last year. He threw his breaking ball and a changeup and just competed. He held us down pretty good last year. It was a tight game. He’s a good pitcher. Like I said, last time I checked he’d won seven or eight games. So he’s their guy.”

Second baseman Nick Roark, currently hitting .322, and third baseman Cal Hernandez, Oral Roberts’ second leading hitter with

.336, return at the top of the lineup while 6-2,

240 freshman first baseman Spencer Henson has powered his way into the cleanup spot, leading the Golden Eagles in hitting at .368, with nine home runs and 58 RBIs.

Henson, SEC Freshman of the Year Heston Kjerstad and All-SEC Second Team selection Casey Martin add new flavor to a traditional regional rivalry.

“It just means that we know each other a little better,” Van Horn said. “And there’s definitely been some turnover. We’re different. We’ve got a couple of freshman, playing a couple of guys that weren’t here a couple of years ago. They’re the same way. They’ve got a few of the same names. We just need to play well.”

Regional hosts tend to prefer playing the night game of the first day to attract more fan support.

Van Horn is confident of fan turnout and said he prefers his Hogs playing the regional opener at 2 p.m. instead of 7 p.m. for a variety of reasons.

“I think it gives you a chance to battle weather if there’s any weather issues,” Van Horn said. “It gives you a little bit of an opportunity to recover a little bit longer, win or lose. There’s a few other advantages. You don’t have to sit around all day. You just go out there and play.”

Arkansas SEC rotation starting pitchers Blaine Knight (10-0, 2.78), Kacey Murphy

(7-4, 3.15) Isaiah Campbell (4-6, 4.01) and relievers Matt Cronin, Jake Reindl and Barrett

Loseke are obvious keys to whether Arkansas advances from this regional to host the Greenville Regional winner in next week’s super regionals. However, for Arkansas, particularly if the Hogs have to claw out of the loser’s bracket, much could depend on freshman right-handed starter and reliever Kole Ramage.

“He’s a guy we had available if we were to win that game on Saturday against LSU,” Van Horn said. “He probably would have started yesterday (what would have been Sunday’s SEC Tournament championship game against Ole Miss).

“We have confidence in him. He gave us almost five strong innings against a really good-hitting Georgia team on the road. He could definitely be a factor for us.”