Razorbacks baseball report

Jackson aware of his role

Zach Jackson of Arkansas delivers a pitch Friday, Jan. 29, 2016, during practice at Baum Stadium in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Preseason first-team All-American Zach Jackson will open his junior season on Arkansas' baseball team at the same place he spent his sophomore year, as a high-powered closer.

The 6-4 right-hander said he wanted another shot as a starter heading into the season, a year after coming out of the bullpen in 24 of his 27 appearances. He finished the year with a 2.10 ERA and 9 saves, holding opponents to a .196 batting average and striking out 89 in 60 innings.

Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn and pitching coach Dave Jorn met with Jackson recently to share their decision.

"He was great with it," Van Horn said during the Razorbacks' media day Saturday. "It could change later on. If it came where we weren't using him enough, we have no problem starting him. So we'll let it evolve a little bit. We just want to have a veteran guy out there with plus stuff that can get us some wins early."

"It's the same mindset I had last season, where some weeks I didn't know what I was going to be doing," Jackson said. "So luckily I've had a whole year's worth of experience at it, and I'm not too worried about it."

Jackson has been named a preseason first-team All-American by Perfect Game, Louisville Slugger and D1 Baseball.

Baum upgrades

The largest video board in college baseball is less than a week away from making its debut, but a new scoreboard is hardly the only noticeable change at Baum Stadium, the home of Arkansas' baseball team.

In addition to the 25 foot by 71 foot screen in right-center field, there are new banners around the grounds honoring former coach Norm DeBriyn, prominent former Hogs, including American League Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel, and current players.

"We're really excited about it," Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. "It's something that's going to make it more fun to bring a recruit in here with his parents and show some of the history and be able to talk about."

New seamless netting stretching behind home plate from dugout to dugout will provide a clearer, less-obstructed view for spectators.

The biggest upgrade is clearly the new video board, which boasts a high-definition layout, speed-gun readings and gives Baum Stadium a top-flight scoreboard, maybe one of the only features the stadium was lacking.

Hitting leadoff

Dave Van Horn has pegged true freshman Eric Cole as Arkansas' best leadoff hitter, but that doesn't necessarily mean he'll sit atop the lineup card when the Razorbacks open the season against Central Michigan on Friday.

"I may hit him in the two-hole early and just put Carson Shaddy up there leading off," Van Horn said. "Or I could flip-flop them. We discuss it all the time. Does it really matter? I don't know."

Cole, a 5-11, 190-pound switchhitter from Southlake (Texas) Carroll, could figure into the lineup as a designated hitter or right fielder.

"He led our team in hitting in the fall," Van Horn said. "He's continued to hit and he's 10 pounds bigger than he was in fall baseball."

Wherever he plays, Cole has seemingly earned the trust of the coaching staff in short order.

"I'm just going to grind out every at-bat," Cole said. "I hate getting out more than anything. I'm going to do everything I can to put up a good at-bat for my team and make things happen."

Shaddy hit .337 with 3 home runs, 19 RBI and a .427 on-base percentage in 44 games as a freshman. His 89 at-bats ranked 11th on the team, but his average was second only to Andrew Benintendi's .376.

"We just want somebody who can be a bit of a pain to the opposing pitcher. Foul off pitches, work the count a little bit. But if they make a mistake, they can hit a double," Van Horn said.

Old man

Right-hander Doug Willey, 23, is the oldest player on Arkansas' roster, and his teammates let him know about it.

"A couple of the freshmen call me Grandpa and Dad," said Willey, a fifth-year senior. "It's funny."

Willey transferred from Division II Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire, where he graduated last spring. He enrolled in a graduate program at Arkansas after teaming with Razorbacks outfielder Luke Bonfield in the Cape Cod League.

"Honestly, I knew nothing about Arkansas," Willey said. "I didn't even know where it was in the United States, to be honest with you. I knew it was a real good baseball program and was just coming off a World Series run.

"When you hear about a big SEC school coming from a small school in New Hampshire, you kind of step back a bit. But being here, it's awesome and the decision I made is probably the best I've made in my life.

Playing hurt

Carson Shaddy, a Fayetteville High School graduate and the son of former Razorback Chris Shaddy, played his freshman season with a ligament tear in his elbow that required Tommy John surgery last summer.

"It was 90 percent torn," Shaddy said. "I really think it was torn at the beginning of last year and really I've had trouble with it since I was a junior in high school."

Shaddy, who switched from catcher to third base during the fall, wasn't able to throw while rehabbing from the surgery.

"It really helps you focus on one thing, and my one thing was learning how to field ground balls because I've never really done that before," Shaddy said. "I really got the chance to focus on fielding instead of having to put two and two together. It was very helpful that I got to learn how to do that first."

That's Chad

Chad Spanberger, a left-handed hitting sophomore, appears to have the most pop in his bat among the Arkansas players, with prodigious home run balls in batting practice, but he went without a home run last season in 107 at-bats.

"Chad's fun to watch take batting practice," Coach Dave Van Horn said. "You know the wind sometimes will blow straight in from right and it doesn't matter with him. If he hits it, it'll cut right through it. It'll get over that fence. When there's no wind, he hits them over the scoreboard. That's a pretty good poke."

Sports on 02/14/2016