Nate Allen
Special to the News-Times
FAYETTEVILLE - If you seek a silver lining for the Razorbacks' 14-6 loss at Missouri State on Tuesday night, here’s one.
The three Arkansas freshman relievers that Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn praised when Arkansas lost two of three SEC games to Texas A&M last weekend at Baum Stadium emerged unscathed from Tuesday’s tumble.
They didn’t pitch.
So rookie right-handers Blaine Knight, Isaiah Campbell and Barrett Loseke ought to be fresh of arm and psychologically intact as the likely first men out of the pen should starters Dominic Taccolini, Zach Jackson and Keaton McKinney need relief in this weekend’s SEC West series at LSU.
Arkansas (26-19, 7-14) and LSU (28-16, 11-10) meet at the Tigers’ Alex Box Stadium at 7 p.m. Friday, 6:30 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday
Saturday’s game will be televised on ESPNU, while the Friday and Sunday games on the Internet via SEC+.
“Knight should be fresh,” Van Horn said before his Hogs practiced Wednesday at Baum Stadium. “He’ll have had four or five good, solid days off with a light bullpen. Loseke, he can do it.
“And Campbell, they all throw strikes. They compete well.
“So those will be guys that will come in maybe in more crucial situations than they have in the past because those are the guys that have been getting it done a little bit better than the older guys.”
Against the No. 2 Aggies, Knight pitched a scoreless ninth closing last Saturday’s 9-5 victory in the first game of a doubleheader and got recycled in Saturday’s 11-inning second game.
Knight, following Loseke’s three scoreless innings, pitched a scoreless 10th before tagged by Hunter Melton’s ultimately game-winning two-run home run in the 11th.
Campbell yielded only a run in the final 3 1-3 innings of Sunday’s 6-2 loss to the Aggies.
“Blaine hung that one that landed in the pond,” Van Horn said of Melton’s home run.
“But Blaine has done a good job. He just needs to get bigger and stronger.
"Isaiah Campbell has got a good arm. His curveball is getting better, and he’s up to 94 miles an hour every now and then.
“He throws on a downhill angle. He did a pretty good job. Barrett Loseke did a good job and threw one pitch 95 miles an hour.”
Taccolini, brilliant the previous weekend with a 10-inning shutout against Kentucky, didn’t approach that brilliance against A&M, but did last six innings to log the series opening victory.
Jackson, also brilliant with a seven-inning shutout at Kentucky, was chased by a grand slam in the fifth in losing Saturday’s second game.
Pitching into the sixth, McKinney pitched the best he’s been all season, Van Horn said but was charged with Sunday’s lost.
But their struggles forced Jackson to be a starter instead of the closer, and now brings three freshmen to the front of the bullpen.
“It’s hard to plan for older guys’ struggling,” Van Horn said.
BIELEMA TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE
Arkansas coach Bret Bielema will hold his spring football wrapup press conference today and presumably address senior receiver Keon Hatcher’s latest foot injury.
Just two games into the season, Hatcher missed the remainder of 2015 with a broken foot.
Hatcher returned to practice this spring but according to his own post on social media, has foot problems again.
“So I has surgery on my foot,” Hatcher is reported to have posted with a video of his left foot in a walking boot.
Senior running back Kody Walker broke his foot during spring drills.
Last fall, running back Jonathan Williams missed the entire season with a broken foot, and current senior receiver Cody Hollister missed five of Arkansas’ 13 games with a broken foot.