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Dave Van Horn shares Arkansas' rotation plans for Texas A&M series

20200517_134556by:Justin Rudolph•05/16/24

The Arkansas Razorbacks have a huge season finale series against the Texas A&M Aggies, with the SEC regular season championship up for grabs. And the pitching rotation for the three-game series has already been decided, according to Arkansas baseball head coach Dave Van Horn.

“(Hagen) Smith will go first, Gage Wood will go second, and we’ll leave the third game TBA,” said Van Horn.

Van Horn will have his lefty starter take the mound on Thursday and switch to his young, talented right-handed pitcher for Friday’s matchup. As for Sunday, the Arkansas skipper has a few options, like lefty junior Mason Molina and righty Brady Tygart. But will either of them be available on Saturday?

“Could be an option there. Yeah, definitely,” said Van Horn.

With so much on the line for Arkansas’s season finale against Texas A&M, Van Horn is opting to keep some information close to the vest. Depending on how the first two games go, the Razorback skipper will know who to give the ball to come Saturday.

Texas A&M skipper Jim Schlossnagle explains his rotation approach against Arkansas

As the Aggies gear up for the showdown against the Razorbacks, their skipper Jim Schlossnagle also took a moment to explain his approach for the rotation in this series.

“I mean, the weather will play a role in that. I’m not gonna bring Shane back– everybody’s gotta come back on one day’s rest– on two. So, the whole TBA thing would be the middle game,” said Schlossnagle.

“We’ll just get through the first game, see what happens, see how it looks, get a chance to see Arkansas with our own eyes. And then we’ll make a decision on the middle game and more than likely have Shane pitch the third game.”

Aggies left-handed pitcher Shane Sdao has been a nightmare for opposing batters this season. He currently has a record of 13-4 and is 4-1 as a starter following his seven-inning six-strikeout and no-earned runs performance against Ole Miss on Sunday, leading the Aggies to a 6-0 shutout victory. The win also helped Texas A&M stay in the hunt for the SEC regular-season championship.