FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas right fielder Jarrod McKinney did more than feel pain in his left knee last year when he made a leaping attempt to catch a drive against Saint Louis.
McKinney heard it, too.
“It sounded like a shotgun going off in my ear,” he said. “It was really a loud pop, something I’ll never forget.”
McKinney, a junior who played baseball and football at Hughes Springs (Texas) High School, had avoided serious injury before that night of April 7, 2010, when the Razorbacks beat Saint Louis 32-8.
“Never a broken bone or a torn muscle, not anything bad,” he said.
But McKinney knew something bad had happened when he came down awkwardly on his left leg and a cleat on his shoe got caught in the grass.
Tests revealed McKinney had a torn anterior cruciate ligament and his 2010 season was over. He underwent surgery in late April.
“He was devastated,” Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said.
McKinney was batting .190 at the time of his injury, but that was through 63 at-bats of his sophomore season.
“I think he could have raised his average 60, 70, 80 points if he had played all year,” Van Horn said.
McKinney has returned to play this season and raised his batting average 95 points, to .285, playing 45 games with 137 at-bats. He has scored 21 runs and driven in 18 and is 8 of 9 on stolen base attempts for the Razorbacks, who open SEC Tournament play against Alabama on Wednesday.
McKinney’s defense also has been a plus, highlighted by throwing out an Ole Miss runner at the plate in the Razorbacks’ 2-0 victory in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday that helped them clinch the SEC West title.
“He’s a warrior,” Arkansas center fielder Collin Kuhn said. “You can’t say enough about his perseverance to be able to come back and play as well as he has for us.”
McKinney went through practice last fall on a limited basis, being allowed to hit.
“If I put the ball in play, they just acted like I was running to first,” he said. “I caught myself trying to run out of the box a couple of times, but then my knee would hurt a little bit, so I knew it still wasn’t ready.”
A week before this season started in late February, McKinney was able to run full speed.
“I was a little worried I wasn’t going to be ready for the games,” he said. “But it just kept getting better and finally stopped hurting.”
McKinney praised the expertise of Arkansas’ training staff and appreciated the support from his teammates and coaches, and said an inspirational text message from former Arkansas assistant Chris Curry, now head coach at Meridian (Miss.) Community College, also played a key role in his recovery.
“Coach Curry sent me a message that said, ‘God has a plan everybody, and He has one for you, and you’ll see it eventually unfold,’ ” McKinney said. “I went by that quote, and it helped me through a lot of things.”
McKinney helped Arkansas tie for fourth at the 2009 College World Series, when he scored the game-winning run in the Razorbacks’ 4-3 victory over Virginia after singling and stealing second base in the 12th inning. In Arkansas’ 10-3 victory over Washington State in the NCAA regional opener, he made a diving catch on a base-loaded drive that saved three runs and prevented the Cougars from taking a 6-1 lead in the seventh.
“If McKinney doesn’t make that catch, we don’t win the game,” Van Horn said. “He made a lot of big plays for us in the postseason as a freshman.”
The Razorbacks are hoping McKinney can make more big plays this postseason.
“He’s a guy with veteran instincts,” Arkansas catcher James McCann said. “He’s been there and done that, and having him back in the lineup is something we really treasure.”
Van Horn said starting 42 games this season has been important to McKinney’s success.
“I think just knowing when he comes to the ballpark that he’s going to be in the lineup has helped him a lot,” Van Horn said. “He knows if he has a bad day, he’s still going to get a shot to play the next day.
“That’s helped him relax, plus he’s feeling a lot better.”
McKinney said his knee is sore sometimes when he wakes up in the morning, but that he’s had no hesitation to go full speed on the bases or in the outfield.
“Overall, it feels pretty good,” McKinney said. “It feels like my knee again.”
Jarrod McKinney at a glance
SCHOOL Arkansas POSITION Right field CLASS Junior HOMETOWN Hughes Springs, Texas 2011 STARTS/GAMES 42/45 2011 STATS .285 BA, 2 HR, 2 3B, 7 2B 21 runs, 18 RBI, 8-9 SB NOTEWORTHY Has returned to the lineup this season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on April 7, 2010 against Saint Louis ... as a freshman scored the game-winning run in the Razorbacks’ 4-3 12-inning victory over Virginia at the 2009 College World Series. He started the rally with a single, then stole second ... has six career outfield assists ... picked Arkansas over Texas A&M.
SEC Tournament glance
At Regions Park, Hoover, Ala.
All times Central
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES
Game 1 Alabama vs. Arkansas, 9:30 a.m. Game 2 Mississippi State vs. Florida, TBD Game 3 Auburn vs. South Carolina, 4:30 p.m. Game 4 Vanderbilt vs. Georgia, TBD
THURSDAY’S GAMES
Game 5 Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 9:30 a.m. Game 6 Game 3 loser vs. Game 3 loser, TBD Game 7 Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 4:30 p.m. Game 8 Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, TBD
FRIDAY’S GAMES
Game 9 Game 7 loser vs. Game 5 winner, 3 p.m. Game 10 Game 8 loser vs. Game 6 winner, TBD
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Game 11 Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 9:30 a.m. Game 12 Game 7 winner vs. Game 10 winner, TBD Game 13 Game 11 loser Game 11 winner, 5 p.m. (if necessary) Game 14 Game 12 loser vs. Game 12 winner, TBD (if necessary)
SUNDAY’S GAME
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME Game 13 winner vs. Game 14 winner, 1 p.m.
Sports, Pages 15 on 05/24/2011