FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas Razorbacks left-hander Kacey Murphy was the first player taken on the third day of the Major League Baseball Draft, going to the Detroit Tigers in the 11th round with pick No. 315.
Murphy led a group of six Razorbacks drafted Wednesday, bringing to 11 the total number of players taken from the No. 6 University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. The Razorbacks host South Carolina in an NCAA super regional starting Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
The 11 drafted players tied a school record, previously accomplished in 2013 with a class of draftees led by pitchers Ryne Stanek, Colby Suggs and Barrett Astin.
"It's bittersweet, man," Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. "It's great. It's great for the program. It's exciting for the kids. For coaches, it's a little scary, but we're happy for them."
Murphy (8-4, 2.86 ERA) will start Sunday's 2 p.m. game, following ace right-hander Blaine Knight (11-0, 2.74), who was chosen in the third round Tuesday by the Baltimore Orioles.
Redshirt sophomore Evan Lee, a pitcher/infielder, was taken by the Washington Nationals with pick No. 461 in the 15th round.
Right-handed pitcher Barrett Loseke went to the New York Yankees with pick No. 517 in the 17th round, one spot ahead of fellow righty Jake Reindl, who was drafted by the Chicago Cubs.
Redshirt sophomore right-hander Isaiah Campbell went to the Los Angeles Angels with pick No. 721 of the 24th round.
Arkansas signee Wade Beasley, a 6-3 right-handed pitcher from Horatio, was also drafted in the 24th round with pick No. 725 by the Milwaukee Brewers.
Catcher Zack Plunkett was taken by the Arizona Diamondbacks with pick No. 1119 in the 37th round to complete the list of drafted Razorbacks. Plunkett, who transferred from TCU in 2016, earned little playing time behind Grant Koch and Casey Opitz this season.
Know your foe
Arkansas has won three of four games this season from super regional opponent South Carolina, but Coach Dave Van Horn isn't exactly thrilled to see the Gamecocks again.
"Well, it's not ideal that we're playing an SEC school, but it's who we have to play so we're just playing who they stick in front of us," Van Horn said. "They know us, we know them. We've seen their pitching, they've seen ours.
"I could go on and on. It's just about winning two out of three now, so we're just going to play."
Said second baseman Carson Shaddy: "There's no surprises about that. We've done well in our series against them, but we know how good of a team they are."
Top Hog
Blaine Knight was the first Razorback drafted, going to the Orioles with pick No. 87. The right-hander was home in Bryant when the pick came in, two days after Arkansas won the NCAA Fayetteville Regional.
"My thoughts are just about super regionals," Knight said. "I'm dedicated to this team. When the season is over with, I'll figure out the draft, but right now all I'm worried about is South Carolina."
Knight had been projected to be taken higher, but he wasn't surprised he was a third-rounder.
"Nothing surprises me in the draft," he said. "The draft, I've done it two years now and it's a crazy thing. I'm happy where Baltimore took me, and I'm glad they gave me the opportunity to continue my career."
Can't 'see straight'
A year after going undrafted, second baseman Carson Shaddy went in the 10th round to the Washington Nationals on Tuesday.
"The senior signing thing, the money deal isn't really the issue," Shaddy said. "I just really wanted to go top 10 rounds so I can tell my kids some day that I did that. Getting to the back end of the 10th was a little buzzer beater, but I was so excited.
"When I saw my name, I lost control. I couldn't even see straight I was so happy."
Tickets, parking
The UA announced Wednesday the super regional is a sellout, saying all reserved and Hog Pen general admission tickets had been sold.
The school announced that an allotment of 250 general admission tickets in the Hog Pen were reserved exclusively for UA students for $20 apiece.
Parking will be limited near the stadium and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis in the Baum East and KeyTronics lots. Additional parking is available in Lot 56 at the corner of Razorback Road and Martin Luther King Boulevard. Free shuttles can be taken from there.
Beeks starting
Former Razorback Jalen Beeks will make his Major League Baseball debut tonight for the Boston Red Sox against Detroit.
Beeks, a left-hander from Prairie Grove and a 12th round draft pick in 2014, was called up from Class AAA Pawtucket after Drew Pomeranz went on the 10-day disabled list.
"I'm just real happy for Jalen," Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. "He's one of those kids that continued to work extremely hard. He's gotten bigger and stronger in the offseason. He still lives in the area. He still comes around and works out.
"I've been able to watch him a little bit, and his stuff has really gotten better with age and strength. He battled injuries early and now he's healthy."
There could be three former Razorbacks playing in the Boston-Detroit game, including Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi and Tigers catcher James McCann.
"It's awesome," Van Horn said. "I'll be watching, that's for sure. Just proud of all those guys. They've represented us and the university well. Hopefully they all have long careers."
Draft conflict
Dave Van Horn said officials from college baseball and Major League Baseball have had discussions about changing the first day of the draft so it doesn't conflict with NCAA regional championship games.
Several college players were drafted Monday night when their teams were playing.
"I haven't been involved in the meetings, but I know coaches who have," Van Horn said. "I think they're not going to have a problem moving it by a day. I think that was kind of ridiculous on Monday, and obviously in their mind they're thinking all of the regionals are going to be over on Sunday. But they're not, because of weather or whatever. So maybe they'll move it back to Tuesday in the future."
On the call
The ESPN crew assigned to the super regional at Baum Stadium is Dave Neal on play by play, and Ben McDonald and Chris Burke on color commentary.
Sports on 06/07/2018