Razorbacks baseball report

Van Horn likes going to Stillwater

Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn watches from the dugout during a game against Florida on Friday, May 22, 2015, at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Ala.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas received what appears to be a favorable draw for the NCAA Baseball Tournament on Monday.

The Razorbacks were sent to the NCAA Stillwater Regional hosted by Oklahoma State, which is 180 miles from the Arkansas campus, as a No. 2 seed and will play Oral Roberts at noon Friday. Additionally, the Stillwater Regional was paired with the regional hosted by national No. 8 seed Missouri State, which cannot play home games for a super regional the following weekend because the Texas League's Springfield Cardinals will be using Hammons Field.

"You look at our regional and you think, if we're fortunate enough to win it, and believe me we have a lot of work to do ... that [a super regional] is going to be in this area it looks like if we were to get through it," Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. "Then it would be us and possibly Missouri State. That's nice.

"We need to get through Oral Roberts, who has won a lot of ballgames."

One of five

Arkansas is one of five teams in the country to earn invitations to each of the past 14 NCAA Tournaments.

The Razorbacks join Cal State-Fullerton, Florida State, Miami and Rice as the only programs to accomplish that feat. Arkansas took over the longest streak in the SEC on Monday when South Carolina, which had gone to an NCAA regional every year since 1999, did not receive an NCAA bid.

Trey's ball

Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said his initial plan is to start junior Trey Killian in the regional opener against Oral Roberts on Friday.

The right-hander Killian (2-4, 4.72 ERA) has led off each Arkansas series since April 3 at Auburn, the Hogs' fourth SEC series. Arkansas is 6-6 in his starts, including a 2-1 victory over Tennessee last week at the SEC Tournament. That game, in which Tennessee scored an eighth-inning run to send him out with a no decision, was indicative of several of his starts, with the Razorbacks providing little run support.

"I try to set the tone for the team and give us a chance to win and keep us in the ballgame," Killian said Monday.

Oral Roberts' top two starters in Summitt League play have been right-hander Guillermo Trujillo (10-3, 4.03) and right-hander Xavier Altamirano (8-2, 2.94).

Tickets

Seating will be tight during the tournament at Oklahoma State's Allie P. Reynolds Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 3,821.

All-session tickets for $60 can be bought through the Oklahoma State ticket office at www.okstate.com/tickets. Single-session tickets, which will be available in limited quantities, will go on sale 90 minutes before each session at Reynolds Stadium. Every seat at the stadium is reserved.

The Oklahoma State ticket office, open between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., can be reached at 877-255-4678.

Injury update

Arkansas freshman pitcher Keaton McKinney, who came out of Wednesday's 7-6 victory over Florida after walking the first three batters in the second inning, is questionable this weekend after aggravating a hip injury.

Coach Dave Van Horn said Monday he had not spoken to McKinney since the Razorbacks returned to Fayetteville from the SEC Tournament.

"I'm not sure where he's at yet," Van Horn said. "There's some soreness and inflammation in there, some pain.

"I just know it's been bothering him off and on for a while, and it really hadn't come about in a game until the other day. And you could tell it really affected his command [against Florida] because he throws strikes and he threw 7 out of 8 pitches for a ball. That's unusual."

Sure of Shaddy

Dave Van Horn said he won't hesitate to call on redshirt freshman catcher Carson Shaddy, who had a couple of throwing errors that contributed to LSU's four-run first inning in its 10-5 victory over the Razorbacks on Thursday at the SEC Tournament.

"He had a bad day, and he admitted he was a little wound up," Van Horn said. "He's been really good off the bench. He and I have had this conversation a couple of times. He's a little better off the bench than he is starting."

The Razorbacks are 20-10 when Tucker Pennell starts at catcher, 10-7 when Alex Gosser starts and 5-5 when Shaddy starts. However, Van Horn has substituted frequently at the spot in games. Arkansas won its first two games at the SEC Tournament with Pennell, then Gosser, starting, but Shaddy was in the game at catcher when the Hogs scored the winning run.

Hogs' plans

Arkansas' players had Sunday off after traveling back from the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala., and Monday was used as a weightlifting and individual batting practice day. The team will conduct practices Tuesday and Wednesday at Baum Stadium before traveling to Stillwater, Okla., for Thursday's workout.

Sports on 05/26/2015