Arkansas needs others to pitch in with Killian
FAYETTEVILLE — Trey Killian was the lone Arkansas starting pitcher dinged up when the season began.
Now Killian is the only fully healthy Arkansas weekend starter standing with national No. 8 seed Missouri State heading into town for a NCAA Super Regional at Baum Stadium.
“I guess it’s kind of weird, you know, after the beginning of the season,” said Killian, who had right elbow tendinitis that kept him out of the lineup until Arkansas’ 10th game March 6.
Freshman Keaton McKinney, who won five of his last six starts in the regular season, has been limited to a combined five innings in two postseason starts by muscle tightness in his right hip. Sophomore Dominic Taccolini, who pitched most of the early season as the No. 1 starter before moving to the No. 2 role April 11, has been ruled out with an undisclosed medical issue that required hospitalization over the weekend.
“We’re just trying to battle through it and do it with the guys we have,” Killian said. “They’ve done it for us so far. We got through a regional with them, so I think we’re just going to take what we have and go through this super with them, too.”
Arkansas got by with seven pitchers in three games at the regional at Stillwater, Okla. Closer Zach Jackson (5-0, 2.08 ERA, 8 saves) pitched in all three games, striking out 10 batters while recording 12 outs.
McKinney (6-1, 3.21) said Tuesday that he pitched through soreness in his four-inning outing in Arkansas’ 7-5 victory over Oklahoma State. He said the Arkansas bullpen and spot starter Jackson Lowery (7-1, 3.22) showed last weekend they could deliver even after none of the Razorbacks starters posted
an out in the sixth inning in any game of the regional.
“There’s not too much concern because we’ve got a great bullpen, and that definitely showed in the regional,” McKinney said. “I mean, it definitely hurts not having Dom. Hope the best for him.”
Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn has announced Killian as his Friday starter, but he didn’t commit to a rotation beyond that.
Sophomore James Teague (6-4, 3.67), a mid-week starter much of the year and now a key long-relief right-hander in the postseason, said Lowery’s one-hitter over five innings against St. John’s during his second outing at the Stillwater Regional showed he is ready for a key role.
“I think where Taccolini falls out maybe Jackson Lowery fills in as that third starter,” Teague said. “Then Zach [Jackson] and I stay in the pen, which I wouldn’t have any complaints about.
“It’s a big loss to lose Taccolini because he is a workhorse and he throws as much as any of them.”
Killian’s stat line — a 2-4 record with a 4.76 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) — isn’t eye-popping, but he’s gone against opposing aces much of the season and the Razorbacks haven’t consistently
given him run support.
“Going out on Fridays you’re going to see everyone’s No. 1 and it’s going to be the toughest game of the weekend most likely, as far as the pitching,” Killian said. “But, I mean, I’m not concerned with my wins and my losses. We’re at a super regional, hosting a super regional right now, and that’s all that matters.”
Killian followed a rocky outing at Georgia — 4 earned runs on 6 hits and 4 walks in 5 innings — in his regular-season finale with a gem against Tennessee in the SEC Tournament, when he held the
Volunteers to 1 run on 4 hits in 72/ innings. Last Friday
3 against Oral Roberts, Killian gave up two first-inning runs but settled down to give up 3 runs on 8 hits in 5 innings.
“Last week I pitched pretty well,” Killian said. “I didn’t pitch bad. That first inning, just a lot of stuff didn’t fall for me.”
Where the Arkansas starting staff enters the super regional on shaky footing, Missouri State is stout. Killian is expected to match up against 6-4 right-hander Jon Harris (8-1, 1.85 ERA), although lefthander Matt Hall (11-2, 2.17)
also has done work as the lead starter.
“We’re going to see a pitcher [Harris] Friday that should be taken off the board on day one of the [MLB amateur] draft in the first round,” Van Horn said. “His numbers are outstanding.
“Then their No. 2 is a lefty. He’s striking a lot of people out. Some people think right now he might be pitching better than the No. 1. If that’s the case, we’ve got our hands full.”
Arkansas has faced a series of top-notch starters in recent days, including Florida’s A.J. Puk and Oklahoma State’s Michael Freeman, whom the Razorbacks beat behind a five-run eighth inning.
“I guess the positive about facing those types of pitchers is that we’ve already faced a lot of quality pitchers,” Van Horn said. “Especially the last 45 days or so we’ve seen some guys that if they’re draft eligible, they’re going high, and if they’re not, they’re going to go high next year.”
Killian said he recalled very little of Missouri State’s 2-0 victory over the Razorbacks on March 31 at Baum Stadium.
“That wasn’t the point of our season that I really want to think about or remember,” he said. “We weren’t doing so well then.
“Obviously they’re a national seed and they’ve moved on to a super. They’re not to be taken lightly.”