During Wednesday’s press conference previewing this weekend’s series versus No. 8 LSU, coach Dave Van Horn told the media that there will be slight shake-up in the starting rotation.
Since the beginning of the season, the starting pitchers have played in the order of Hagen Smith on game one, then Brady Tygart, and finally Mason Molina. For the LSU series, Tygart and Molina will switch places.
Van Horn wants Tygart to have an extra day “to get right” after an uncharacteristic outing from the righty. Against Auburn, Tygart had trouble finding the zone, giving up 3 earned runs and a single-game career-high 5 walks in 3 2/3 innings.
Despite the performance, Tygart still has a 1.59 ERA on the season with 39 strikeouts in 28 1/3 innings pitched.
There will be no drop-off in production on Friday, though. Molina is arguably the best third-day starter in the country. Other than a slightly higher ERA, he has a similar stat line to the other starters, recording a 2.57 ERA, 12 hits, 8 walks, and 47 strikeouts in 28 innings pitched.
Arkansas’ series against the Tigers starts Thursday, March 28, at 6:00 pm.