FAYETTEVILLE — The No. 6 Arkansas Razorbacks will try to steady the ship and return to their blistering winning pace at Baum-Wallker Stadium with a stand-alone game tonight at 6 against Nebraska-Omaha.
The University of Arkansas (20-4) dropped three spots in Monday’s USA Today Coaches poll after being swept in a Saturday doubleheader at No. 1 LSU by a combined score of 26-7. The Razorbacks had won the opener 9-3 in 10 innings on Friday and had two shots at notching their first back-to-back series wins in Baton Rouge, La.
Arkansas completed a 17-1 home stand prior to the LSU series, winning the final 14 games in a row.
Van Horn and pitching coach Matt Hobbs are looking to get the Razorback pitching staff back on course after the Tigers launched seven home runs in windy conditions on Saturday.
Arkansas will start freshman Ben Bybee (2-0, 1.98 ERA), with the potential to bring him back for the weekend SEC home series against Alabama. Bybee allowed 1 run on 1 hit and 3 walks in 4 innings and picked up the win in last week’s 12-2 victory over Southeast Missouri State before throwing 2 shutout innings in Saturday’s nightcap at LSU.
Bybee and projected Nebraska-Omaha starter Charlie Bell (1-2, 8.36 ERA) were practically neighbors in suburban Kansas during their prep years.
Bybee, a 6-6, 235-pounder, was a standout at Blue Valley Southwest High in Overland Park, Kan., and was the No. 2 right-handed pitching prospect in Kansas by Perfect Game last year.
Bell, a 6-5, 230-pound junior right-hander, prepped at Olathe (Kan.) East before signing with Fort Scott Community College. His starts have come against tough competition, as he’s faced UCLA, Fresno State, BYU, Nebraska and North Dakota State. He picked up his win with a 5-inning stint at BYU in which he allowed 3 runs on 3 hits and a walk in a 16-4 decision.
Arkansas beat the Mavericks for the first time last March 2 by a 15-3 score with current regulars Brady Slavens and Peyton Stovall hitting two of the Hogs’ three home runs.
The Razorbacks have hit home runs in 20 consecutive games dating back to a homer-less 9-7 win over Grambling State on Feb. 21.
Transfer left fielder Jared Wegner supplied the power with first inning home runs in the doubleheader at LSU, helping the Hogs jump out to 2-0 leads in both games.
Wegner is tied for fourth in the SEC with 11 home runs and 38 RBI, he leads the Arkansas regulars with 32 runs scored and an .826 slugging percentage and is second with a .384 batting average.
Right fielder Jace Bohrofen (.403, 5 home runs, 17 RBI) continues to lead the club in batting average and he’s eighth in the SEC.
Other top hitters are designated hitter Kendall Diggs (.343, 7, 28), center fielder Tavian Josenberger (.330, 3, 13), the second baseman Stovall (.299, 3, 17) and first baseman Slavens (.271, 2, 17).
Van Horn is looking for the right combination at shortstop and third base, where some combination of John Bolton (.203, 7 RBI), Jayson Jones (.333, 2, 6), Peyton Holt (.294, 1, 5), Harold Coll (.243, 1, 12) and Caleb Cali (.225, 2, 9) have logged time.
Freshman Reese Robinett (.357, 2, 7) has homered in two of the last four games, including a three-run go-ahead shot in the Razorbacks’ eight-run 10th inning at LSU.
Van Horn called the situation at short and third as a day-to-day thing.
“I mean, the shortstop position has been pretty good with Bolton out there,” Van Horn said. “Now, he hadn’t hit worth a darn lately, honestly, been a little bit disappointing. Third base, just trying to get somebody to play defense and swing the bat a little bit. It’s been up and down. We’re kind of waiting on somebody to take control of that position.”
The Mavericks are coming off a home series against North Dakota State. Their top hitters are Mike Boeve (.489, 11 RBI), Haiden Hunt (.286, 1 HR, 3 RBI), Devin Hurdle (.278, 1, 10), Eddie Satisky (.271, 1, 10) and Eduardo Rosario (.264, 4, 14).