Dave Van Horn describes emotions of hearing about Peyton Stovall's broken foot

Peyton Stovall can haul in any ball that comes his way, but the Arkansas second baseman can’t catch a break. Stovall missed the end of last season with a torn labrum. After healing over the offseason, disaster struck again last week.

On Feb. 12, Stovall suffered a broken foot, which will keep him out 4-6 weeks. Stovall sustained the injury in the first inning of a scrimmage when a wild pitch nailed his foot. Earlier this week, Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn addressed Stovall’s devastating setback.

“It was tough for me personally and Peyton,” Van Horn said. “Our team feels really bad for him. He was upset about it when he found out. He was just like, ‘Why me? Why does this keep happening?’ He missed games last year. He was really swinging the bat too.

“I just told him, ‘You’re of the stronger guys mentally. You can handle this and that’s why it was put on you.’ I think he’ll be even more ready to go once he gets it going and gets his live at-bats. But, it was tough.”

Stovall started in all 38 games he played in at second base last season before suffering his season-ending injury. He was one of the Razorbacks’ three team captains. Stovall slashed .253/.330/.393 with five home runs and 31 RBI.

Stovall was expected to play a significant role for the Razorbacks again this season, who were predicted to finish first in the SEC West in the preseason coaches poll. Van Horn claims he had a bad feeling about Stovall’s situation the moment the ball hit him.

“When the ball hit him, we were like, ‘Ooh, that is not a good spot.’ Even though it was a changeup, it hit him flush. He didn’t move. He was leading off the game and he’s mad at himself for not jumping out of the way.

“I said, ‘Well, you play the game the right way and a guy throws you a change-up, you just let it hit you, take your base. You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s the way you were trained. We’re sure excited to get him back when he comes back.”

Luckily for Arkansas, the baseball season is long. Fans can rest assured Peyton Stovall will be back as soon as he can. However, while he’s unavailable, Jared Sprague-Lott and Nolan Souza are two candidates to replace Stovall at second base. Peyton Holt could also shift over to second base from third.

Arkansas is currently 2-1, with all three games being against James Madison. The two programs will conclude their series today. The game is being broadcast on the SEC Network+.