By Nate Allen
Special to the News-Times
FAYETTEVILLE - For the first time this baseball season, Blaine Knight won’t pitch Arkansas’ opener in a SEC series setting.
For Arkansas’ SEC Tournament opener Wednesday night in Hoover, Ala., against Tuesday’s play-in winner between South Carolina and Missouri, the nationally No. 8 Razorbacks (37-17) will start either left-hander Kacey Murphy or right-hander Isaiah Campbell, and save Knight (9-0) for Game Two or Three of the double-elimination tournament, Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn explained by phone in Hoover.
Knight threw six complete innings beating Georgia 8-6 starting Arkansas’ final regular-season SEC series last Thursday in Athens, Ga.
A long rain delay finished Murphy after four innings starting Friday’s 8-7 loss in 10 innings.
Campbell, scratched from his Saturday start because of a foot injury, felt well enough by game time to pitch an efficient final three scoreless in relief of a 3-2 loss.
“We won’t throw Blaine Knight first,” Van Horn said. “That’s Wednesday from last Thursday. Blaine will either throw Thursday or Friday depending on how it goes Wednesday. Murphy only threw 75 pitches and Campbell threw like 50 and his foot is healing up good. So it will be Murphy or Campbell and see who we play.”
Van Horn liked what he saw against Georgia from freshman Cole Ramage starting in Campbell’s place.
“He threw really well for three innings,” Van Horn said. “So maybe we’ve got another pitcher with Ramage that can really help us.”
The revolving first base door that started briefly with good hit-but no field trying to convert from pitcher-outfielder to first baseman Evan Lee, then to various lengthier periods to Jared Gates, Jordan McFarland and Hunter Wilson seems to have swung back to Gates, a left-handed hitting senior with a .198 average, but a much better past.
“I’m going to go with Gates,” Van Horn said. “I just feel like he’s a senior and this is his last hurrah at the college level. He hasn’t had the year that he expected or we expected, but I think we’ve got to have somebody step up there offensively and I think Gates is the guy. Whether it’s a left or right-handed pitcher, we expect him to play good defense and drive in some runs down at the end of the order.”
Junior shortstop Jax Biggers, out since breaking his finger in the first inning of the May 11 SEC victory over Texas A&M, seems closer to active duty, Van Horn said.
“Jax Biggers in the next day or two will finally start taking some ground balls and swinging the bat,” Van Horn said. “There’s a chance he could play Wednesday maybe Thursday. We are actually starting to heal up.”
Catcher Grant Koch, removed from the final game against Texas A&M because of a sprained ankle that initially appeared severe, pinch hit and stayed in Thursday’s game against Georgia, then started the next two.
“Koch’s ankle is getting better daily,” Van Horn said. “He actually swung the bat really well in Athens. Maybe as good as he’s swung it all year.”
ALL-SEC
Excelling for the SEC West co-champion Arkansas Razorbacks netted SEC baseball honors for Knight, second baseman Carson Shaddy, left fielder Heston Kjerstad, third baseman Casey Martin, right fielder Eric Cole and center fielder Dominic Fletcher.
The SEC office in Birmingham, Ala., on Monday announced its post regular season awards leading into today’s start of the SEC Tournament in nearby Hoover, Ala.
Shaddy, the leading hitter for the Razorbacks batting .354, was named First-Team All-SEC.
Kjerstad, hitting .348 with 11 home runs and a team leading 46 RBIs, was named SEC Freshman of the Year and on the SEC All-Freshman team and Second-Team All-SEC for all classes.
Martin,.344, 10 home runs and 38 RBIs this season, was named Second-Team All-SEC and to the SEC All-Freshman team.
Cole, hitting .333 with 43 RBIs and a team-leading 12 home runs, was named Second-Team All-SEC.
Knight pitched his way to Second-Team All-SEC, going 9-0 with a 2.88 earned run average while recording 82 strikeouts in 81 1/3 innings while walking just 18.
Koch and Fletcher both were named to SEC All-Defensive team.
The SEC East/Overall champion Florida Gators swept SEC Coach of the Year, Kevin O’Sullivan; Pitcher of the Year, Brady Singer; and Player of the Year, third baseman Jonathan India.
Georgia left fielder Keegan McGovern and Tennessee catcher Nick Mascia were named Co-Scholar Athlete of the Year.