Carson Shaddy leads offensive surge in Game 2 of fall series

Arkansas' Carson Shaddy gets a lead from first base during a scrimmage Monday, Oct. 17, 2016, in Fayetteville.

— Carson Shaddy is playing his third position in as many years this fall.

After struggling with errors at third base last season, the redshirt junior is projected to be the Razorbacks' starter at second base next spring. It is the position at which Arkansas coaches think Shaddy has the best chance to play at the professional level, and he is eligible to be drafted next June.

Like last season, it's not so much defense as it is offense that has Shaddy projected to be an everyday name in the lineup. He continued a strong fall at the plate Tuesday with four hits and an RBI in Game 2 of Arkansas' fall intrasquad series.

Shaddy helped his Gray team to a 10-6 win over the Cardinal team at Baum Stadium. The Gray leads the best-of-five series 2-0.

"He didn't play summer baseball and he got off to a little bit of a slow start this fall, but he's really come on the last three weeks and been back to his old self, kind of hitting it from alley to alley, and being a tough out," Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said.

"(Freshman backup) Jaxon Williams is really good at second. He's athletic and can turn some double plays, but he's not going to out-hit Carson."

Shaddy is 100 percent healthy this fall, unlike this time last year when he was learning another new position at third base.

The former catcher underwent Tommy John surgery in the summer 2015. Because he was rehabilitating from the surgery, he was only able to field the ball at third and could not throw across the diamond until the preseason.

Shaddy struggled at third base - particularly throwing the ball - and committed a team-high 14 errors last season, which included some time in the outfield. But he also led the team with a .332 batting average and had 8 home runs and 35 RBI.

He is still learning a lot about second this fall, but there have been some plays that show the potential he has there.

He made one such play Tuesday when freshman Jordan McFarland hit a hard line drive. Knowing McFarland's tendency was to pull up the middle, Shaddy positioned himself closer to the bag at second and was in position make a nice catch.

"The best chance for me to make a play was to sit more toward the middle," Shaddy said. "I've always had kind of good instincts, and it showed right there.

"I'm still kind of learning where I need to be on calls and things like that, but as far as the physical aspect of second base, I feel good about it. I feel like I've got good range. The throws are a lot easier than from third."

Shaddy was one of several Razorbacks that had a strong scrimmage offensively on an unseasonably warm night. There was no wind, which aided a couple of home run balls.

Luke Bonfield's solo home run to left field in the first inning gave the Gray a 1-0 lead and Shaddy followed later in the inning with an RBI single.

The Cardinal tied the game 2-2 on Grant Koch's RBI double down the left field line in the top of the third inning. Koch, the team's projected starting catcher, had two more hits Tuesday to go with his 2-for-4 outing Monday, further reinforcing the idea that he could be a middle of the order hitter for Arkansas.

Koch also drew a walk Tuesday and scored in the ninth inning on Chad Spanberger's three-run home run to the opposite field.

The Gray took the lead for good on Eric Cole's RBI single in the fourth and broke the game open on a two-run single by Hunter Wilson in the fifth.

Both squads took advantage of some inexperienced pitchers after many frontline relievers were used in Monday's 10-inning game. The squads combined for 22 hits.

Seven of those hits came from four freshmen who could log playing time early next season. Designated hitter Evan Lee was 3-for-4 with a walk and 2 RBI, and third baseman Matt Burch was 1-for-2 with 2 runs scored for the Gray team. Center fielder Dominic Fletcher had two hits and a walk, and first baseman McFarland had a hit for the Cardinal.

"We've got some freshmen who are going to push these older guys," Van Horn said. "It's good for us this season and for the future."

Lee, the 2016 Arkansas Gatorade Player of the Year at Bryant High School, is an impressive two-way player that reminds Van Horn some of former Razorbacks standout Brett Eibner. Lee can play outfield and is also a left-handed reliever.

"Lee is a little bit more advanced than Eibner was," Van Horn said. "At pitching, Lee is by a lot. Eibner had the arm strength, but he couldn't locate much. He's a better hitter than Eibner was coming out of high school - I'm not saying a power guy, just a better hitter, better average. Eibner struck out a lot and Lee doesn't strike out that much.

"He's hit the ball all over the field this fall - right field, left field, he's hit a few home runs. He can run, too, so he brings a lot to the game."

Right-hander Trevor Stephan scattered seven hits and gave up two runs over five innings for the Gray. The junior college transfer, who turned down an 18th round offer by the Boston Red Sox earlier this year, is in the running to the Razorbacks' third weekend starter behind sophomores Blaine Knight and Isaiah Campbell.

"He spotted up that fastball a lot today," Van Horn said. "He hung a breaking ball or two that they hit. We just need to work on his defense a little bit and his stamina."

Stephan's fastball has been clocked at 97 mph, but he is still learning to pitch after converting to the position his freshman year at Hill Junior College in Texas.

"He's about as raw of a junior as we've brought in because of his arm," Van Horn said. "He didn't pitch until he was older and then he went to a junior college where I don't think they had a pitching coach.

"He's getting instruction now and learning, and I'm seeing a lot of strides. I'm seeing a guy that in five or six months could be really, really good."

The Razorbacks are scheduled to play Game 3 of the series Thursday at 3 p.m. The scrimmages are open to the public and admission is free.