Diamond Hogs to host Shockers for autumn baseball scrimmage

FAYETTEVILLE — Fans in town for Arkansas’ home Southeastern Conference football game against Alabama can join the local baseball fans in Northwest Arkansas tonight to watch coach Dave Van Horn’s Razorbacks scrimmage Wichita State.

Admission is free. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at Baum Stadium. The 14-inning game will feature game conditions for nine innings.

The final five innings will mostly feature younger players.

Van Horn’s Razorbacks come off a national runner-up at June’s College World Series with pitcher Isaiah Campbell as tonight’s starter. Star sophomore Casey Martin has moved from third base to shortstop and SEC Freshman of the Year Heston Kjerstad moved from left field to right field. Juniors Dominic Fletcher, center field, and closer Matt Cronin are among the key returnees.

The NCAA will allow two baseball scrimmages in the autumn for

the first time. Van Horn and Wichita State coach Todd Butler, formerly the hitting coach at Arkansas for Van Horn, subsequently agreed to tonight’s game.

Arkansas’ first scheduled scrimmage with Oklahoma was canceled due to inclement weather in Norman, Okla. The Razorbacks will instead scrimmage the Little Rock Trojans in a week at Gary Hogan Field the night before the football team hosts Ole Miss at War Memorial Stadium.

Memorial Stadium. The Trojans are coached by former Arkansas graduate assistant Chris Curry.

Van Horn said he enjoys the opportunity to scrimmage against old friends and colleagues. He said he especially enjoys the opportunities for his team to play against somebody besides themselves in fall ball.

“More than anything, it gives us a chance to get one team on the field,” Van Horn said. “It sends a message that it’s a little harder to get in the lineup. This time of year there’s always things we need to work on and just the chance to get on the field and get motivated.

“Fall ball has been extremely hot this year. We haven’t gotten much of a break on that. We’ve asked a lot out of them and they are a

little tired. They need to play somebody else. That gets them going a little bit.”

Don’t look for SEC/College World Series intensity tonight in a game that doesn not count, but it is still likely to be competitive. The Shockers were 35-21-1 in the spring and did not earn a bid into the NCAA Tournament.

“When you play, you try to win,” Van Horn said. “The other team is going to try to win, so we’re going to try to win. Is it a big deal? I guess it just depends on how you look at it. Yeah, I want to win the game but it’s not a big deal. It’d be a big deal if it was a real game in February. It’s a small deal.”

Van Horn said Campbell will pitch the first three or four innings and Cronin will

pitch the ninth, regardless of the score. He said he will find pitching work for plenty of players on the pitching staff and utilize a number of substitutions with position players, especially in the final five innings.

Martin, Kjerstad and Fletcher will be among the starters, along with Casey Opitz, who was the backup catcher last year to Grant Koch, a fifth-round MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Two-year letterman Jordan McFarland is expected to start at first base, redshirt freshman Jacon Nesbit at second base, two-year veteran utility infielder Jake Kenley at third base and Christian Fletcher in left field. Magnolia native Matt Goodhart, a transfer from San Jacinto Junior College in Texas, is also expected to play.