FAYETTEVILLE — Isaiah Campbell's one appearance will be it for the 2017 Arkansas baseball season. Campbell won't face live hitting again until the fall.
Campbell has been throwing on the side for the last several weeks. It prompted some to wonder if the 6-4, 220-pounder was going to make a comeback for the Hogs in the stretch run.
The sophomore right-hander from Olathe, Kan., was expected to be the ace of the Arkansas pitching staff this season, but an arm injury has kept him on the shelf since throwing 26 pitches against Bryant in the fifth game of the season on Feb. 25.
“He won't throw live again until the fall,” Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said Wednesday as the Hogs prepared for their final home stand of the regular season. The Hogs play host to Vanderbilt in a three-game series slated to begin Friday at 6 p.m.
Asked about Campbell's workouts, Van Horn said, “He's just in rehab. He's begun to throw. He's on schedule to pitch against live hitters in the fall. He won't before then. He's not throwing any breaking balls yet. It's just rehab and it's going well.”
Campbell pitched in 13 games last year as a true freshman with a 3-1 record ad 3.69 ERA. He started six games and pitched 31 2/3 innings. He had a break-out summer in California earning a spot on the all-star team in a collegiate league, then dazzled in the fall when he touched 97 mph on the radar gun.
However, Campbell had soreness in the elbow area of his pitching arm when he returned after the holiday break. He was not able to pitch on opening weekend and his velocity was down as he allowed three hits, three runs with one walk and one strikeout while recording two outs in a relief stint against Bryant. That set his ERA at 40.50 for the season.