FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas will open the first of five games at Baum Stadium this week with a fresh battery, Dave Van Horn said Monday.
Freshman right-hander Jackson Rutledge is scheduled to get his first career start against Louisiana-Monroe on Tuesday and freshman Casey Opitz will begin behind the plate to relieve Grant Koch, who's started 25 games this season.
Van Horn said Rutledge experienced a bit of soreness after throwing well early on. Velocity on Rutledge's fastball sat at 95-96 last weekend at Ole Miss, but he had difficulties landing his breaking ball. He wasn't spinning it the way Van Horn and pitching coach Wes Johnson know he can.
"He needs to get that pitch going a little bit," Van Horn said. "Hopefully tomorrow he'll go out and give us some quality innings and get us off to a good start."
A good start could mean seeing Rutledge on the mound this weekend against No. 15 Auburn, too.
"We're looking for another starter and if he can go give us 3-4-5 quality innings (vs. ULM) then we can start him again on Sunday and say, 'Hey, give us 3-4 innings.' That's a possibility.
"I always tell these guys, 'Go out and take somebody's job, prove it to us, prove it to your teammates that you deserve to be in the lineup, be on the mound,'" Van Horn added. "Hopefully he goes out and proves he deserves that opportunity."
Van Horn is confident in Optiz, who made it to campus last fall and impressed the staff with his receiving ability. He's every bit as good as Koch in that regard, Van Horn said. Opitz will be making his fourth career start on Tuesday. The freshman is hitting .235 in limited plate appearances this season.
"He can block and really catch, and he made borderline pitches look better than they really were," he said. "He had a knack for that, and a good feel. Casey's been solid and keeps working and he deserves an opportunity to get in there."
In planning for the weekend, Van Horn and Johnson are leaning toward starting left-hander Kacey Murphy (3-2, 2.25 ERA) in game two behind Friday-night starter Blaine Knight. The plan will be set by Wednesday, Van Horn said.
Arkansas entered the Ole Miss series in a bit of a bind in a short week. Van Horn said he wanted to throw Murphy in game two against the Rebels, but instead opted to give him an extra days rest. Murphy went 4 1/3 innings in Arkansas' 11-10 loss on Saturday, giving up five hits and one earned run while striking our four.
Isaiah Campbell, 2-3 with a 3.33 ERA in six starts this spring, will be on the roster this weekend against Auburn. Campbell is expected to throw a bullpen session in the next two days and will be available for a couple of innings out of the bullpen "at a minimum."
"He's feeling a lot better. He needed some rest to get that inflammation down a little bit," Van Horn said. "He's been playing catch and throwing off the mound. Everything is pointing to he's going to be available for the weekend in some capacity, some role. We're not sure just yet."
As for Keaton McKinney, Van Horn says the redshirt junior still isn't ready. McKinney last pitched on Feb. 18 in Arkansas' 3-1 win over Bucknell on opening weekend.
"He's got some soreness, and he's not ready to go yet," he said. "He's still recovering. It's still only been 12 months with the surgery. We'll monitor it, but it's going to be his call."