Dave Van Horn‘s plan was in place. The stars who carried Arkansas in its run to the College World Series last season were beat up and needed some rest entering the SEC Tournament last week. It was best to lose in the SEC Tournament without its stars than to further injure the two key cogs in the Razorbacks’ lineup.
Brett Eibner‘s right hand was wrapped, protecting a hairline fracture he suffered after being hit by a pitch three weeks ago at Ole Miss.
Zack Cox, the best hitter on the team (.432 batting average, 47 RBIs), was resting an injured back he suffered against South Carolina two weeks ago.
An 0-for-2 performance at the SEC Tournament wasn’t necessarily unexpected or murderous in the Arkansas clubhouse. By Monday, a new season had commenced with the announcement of the three teams Arkansas will host in an NCAA regional this weekend.
“We’ve tried to be really upbeat and the players know we really like this team and that we all want to be here,” Van Horn said. “We feel like we’ve got another month of baseball in us. Whether we can play that long or not, we’ll see. We’ve got to get through this weekend, but I think the attitude has been great and the guys are excited.”
By 1:55 p.m. on Monday, there was a glimmer of hope after players and coaches met with the media. Eibner, Arkansas’ center fielder and clutch home-run hitter (team-leading 18), was all alone in Arkansas’ outfield. He was sprinting, running, high-stepping and going through indivdual drills. He was the only man on the field, voluntarily working on his own while his teammates sat in the clubhouse or went home for the day.
At one point, Eibner took off the brace on his right hand and went through his pitching motions, routinely shaking his hand in an obvious attempt to kill the pain radiating from his hand.
“I don’t know if it will be totally healed by Friday, but it will definitely be feeling a lot better than it was at Vanderbilt,” Eibner said earlier Monday. “I can’t wait to get back out there and play.”
Eibner, who’s repeated the running and sprinting with the team during practices since the injury, will get a chance to swing the bat again Wednesday. That will be the first true test for Eibner, who has been cleared by doctors to return to the field.
“It’s going to be very painful,” Van Horn said. Even so, Eibner may even throw an inning or two on the mound if the need arises this weekend.
As for Cox, the Hogs remain cautiously optimistic.
“He’s worked off the tee the last few days. He’s been OK,” Van Horn said. “He took a few ground balls today. We just really have to be careful with him because we don’t want to tweak that at all. If that happens again, he may be down for another two weeks. I’m hoping that he’ll hang in there.”
Game times for the Fayetteville Regional have not yet been announced. Arkansas opens its portion of the regional against Grambling (22-30) on Friday, while third-seed Kansas State plays No. 2 Washington State.
I’ll have more reaction, video and thoughts on the field and the tournament overall later today and throughout the week here in the Slophouse. Also make sure to check out WholeHogSports.com and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for more coverage.
Make sure to check out WholeHogSports.com and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for more coverage. You can also follow us on Twitter for breaking news updates with @bmarcello and @wholehogsports.
Wouldn’t you figure that we would go with Bolsinger in Game 1, saving Smyly for either Washington State or K-State??
I wouldn’t be surprised if Arkansas goes with TJ Forrest. In fact, I think it’s between him and Mike Bolsinger judging by Dave Van Horn’s comments today.