Hagen Smith’s stay in the Arkansas rotation will last at least one more weekend.
Arkansas’ sophomore left-hander had spent a bulk of the SEC portion of the Razorbacks’ schedule in the bullpen. Coach Dave Van Horn moved him back to the rotation last week against Mississippi State. The Diamond Hogs won that game, 6-2, and swept the series.
Van Horn said Thursday that Smith would stay in that spot in the team’s final series at Baum-Walker Stadium this year against South Carolina. First pitch Friday is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Arkansas owns a half-game lead over LSU for the SEC West lead. South Carolina is three games behind Vanderbilt and in third place in the SEC East. The Hogs are ranked third and the Gamecocks seventh.
Smith has been Arkansas’ best pitcher by far this season. He’s pitched in 13 games with seven starts and his 2.56 earned-run average is best on the team in his 52 innings. He has 28 more strikeouts (79) than any other pitcher on the roster and opponents are batting just .181 against him.