STEPHAN GETS start in Arkansas’ tourney opener.

Stephan gets start in opener

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Arkansas Razorbacks baseball Coach Dave Van Horn said right-hander Trevor Stephan will start Thursday’s SEC Tournament opener for the Razorbacks.

Showers at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium on Tuesday evening played havoc with the tournament schedule, pushing the Razorbacks’ opener — originally scheduled for tonight — against the winner of the game between Mississippi State and Georgia to Thursday at 9:30 a.m. Mississippi State and Georgia, first slated to play in Tuesday night’s final game, are now scheduled to play today at 9:30 a.m.

Stephan (5-3, 3.24 ERA) is coming off once of his best outings of the season, a nodecision at Texas A&M last Thursday in which he threw 106 pitches over 72/3 innings, allowing 5 hits and 3 earned runs and striking out 10.

“Five day’s rest, that’s fine,” Van Horn said Tuesday, prior to the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville’s workout at Alabama-Birmingham’s baseball practice facility. “He’s a big, strong kid, threw [106] pitches the other night and really wasn’t in much trouble.

“It wasn’t stressful. He didn’t have a 30-pitch inning. I’m not saying it was easy, but it was easier than it’s been. He’s ready to go, so he’ll start tomorrow.”

In his past four starts, Stephan has pitched 27 2 /3

innings and allowed 19 hits and 9 earned runs, with 36 strikeouts and 4 walks.

“As the season’s gone on, I felt like my outings have gotten stronger,” Stephan said. “I feel good, ready to go.”

Stephan has started the series opener the past two weekends, since his seveninning, one-hit 2-0 victory at Tennessee on May 6.

“You always want to get out there, get the first win, set the tone for the series,” Stephan said. “It’s been nice to be able to do that the last

few weekends.”

Van Horn said Stephan would be on a pitch count tonight that would likely be less than 100 pitches, and that it would definitely be Stephan’s final start before NCAA regional play.

“I’ve been asked a couple of times, ‘Well, if you made it to the championship game, would you throw him?’ ” Van Horn said. “If it was his bullpen day and he needed an inning or we needed an inning, maybe, but highly unlikely.”