NCAA FAYETTEVILLE REGIONAL NO. 6 ARKANSAS VS. ORAL ROBERTS

Biggers OK with bad finger

Arkansas shortstop Jax Biggers goes through practice Thursday, May 31, 2018, in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas Razorbacks shortstop Jax Biggers is proof a baseball player doesn't need to grip the bat with all of his fingers to be effective.

The left-handed hitting Biggers went 4 for 6 against Florida and LSU at the SEC Tournament last week in his first at-bats since fracturing his left index finger three weeks ago in the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville's 9-3 victory over Texas A&M.

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NCAA Fayetteville Regional

Double elimination

WHERE Baum Stadium, Fayetteville

WHEN Today through Monday

TODAY’S GAMES

Game 1 — Oral Roberts (38-18) at Arkansas (39-18), 2 p.m.

Game 2 — Southern Miss. (43-16) vs. Dallas Baptist (40-19), 7 p.m.

SATURDAY’S GAMES

Game 3 — Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 2 p.m.

Game 4 — Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 7 p.m.

A splint taped to Biggers' finger prevents it from bending, so it sticks straight out when he bats.

"Apparently your top index finger isn't as important as you think," said Biggers, a junior from Missouri City, Texas. "I can still grip the bat and swing it. Everything's kind of the same for the most part."

Biggers sat out six games -- and all but the first inning of the series opener against Texas A&M -- but said his finger feels good going into the Razorbacks' NCAA regional opener against Oral Roberts at 2 p.m. today.

"In practice I didn't numb it at all and I was doing pretty well with ground balls and hitting," Biggers said Thursday. "Whenever it's not numb it can be a little painful, but every day it gets easier and easier."

Jack Kenley filled in well for Biggers, but Razorbacks Coach Dave Van Horn said it's good to have the player back who has started 110 games at shortstop the last two seasons.

"He got a few hits, took a couple of walks and fielded everything that came his way," Van Horn said of Biggers' play at the SEC Tournament "So I would have to say he's doing about as good as he can for having a broken left index finger."

Biggers' finger was fractured when he was hit by a pitch from Mitchell Kilkenny.

"I squared around to bunt and the ball came in on my index finger and just crushed it," Biggers said. "It went completely numb right away.

"Ater I took my [batting] glove off, I saw it was kind of deformed and saw blood was coming out, and mentally I went weak. It kind of made me go physically weak, too."

Dallas Baptist outfielder Devlin Granberg, whose team plays Southern Miss in today's second game, was Biggers' teammate at Cisco (Texas) Junior College. They also played summer ball together for the Hays Larks of the Jayhawk League in Kansas.

"I know Jax really well and he's just a great guy, really high energy," Granberg said. "When you look at him, nothing wows you, but then when he gets on the field he's a baller and he excels at literally everything.

"Somehow he has pop, he has a great eye and he knows what he's doing defensively really smooth. He's such a great player."

Biggers, 5-11 and 185 pounds, began this season hitting leadoff after batting .338 in his debut season with the Razorbacks, but in recent games he's hit ninth as his average has slipped to .284. He has 3 home runs, 9 doubles and 19 RBI.

Van Horn said he believes fatigue impacted Biggers' hitting earlier this season and that he tried to pull the ball too much.

"Maybe he was trying to hit home runs or hit doubles and show out a little bit there, and it just wasn't his game," Van Horn said. "You've just got to let it happen."

Biggers said he's back to the approach that worked for him last season of hitting the ball from gap to gap.

"He had a couple weeks to watch and rest," Van Horn said. "Even when he made some outs [in the SEC Tournament] he hit the ball pretty well."

Arkansas hitting coach Nate Thompson said Biggers isn't trying to do too much as he continues recovering physically.

"He's just playing his game and I think honestly his swing has kind of flattened out a little bit with that," Thompson said. "Could be a blessing in disguise."

Biggers said he felt refreshed rather than rusty when he returned to the field last week.

"Jax is grinding through some pain right now, but he brings a lot to the table," Arkansas senior second baseman Carson Shaddy said. "You saw his first game back he had two hits [against Florida] with that finger not even on the bat so that's pretty impressive. His speed for sure is a plus."

Biggers said he hated missing any games, but he's grateful to be back for the most important ones of the season.

"Any weekend could your last weekend, so you're playing with more on the line," Biggers said. "It makes it more fun."

Sports on 06/01/2018