FAYETTEVILLE -- Infielder Casey Martin is batting .336 for the Arkansas Razorbacks, but he isn't the team's top-hitting freshman.
Martin isn't even the top-hitting freshman in his dorm room.
Freshman outfielder Heston Kjerstad -- Martin's roommate -- is batting .344 to lead the Razorbacks going into this weekend's NCAA super regional against South Carolina that opens Saturday night at Baum Stadium.
Both are on the Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American Team -- which has several players at every position -- announced Wednesday.
"I faced them in the fall, and I figured out real quick they were real good," Razorbacks junior pitcher Blaine Knight said. "If they could bring that over into the season, I knew they were going to have a good year. They did.
"They've gone through the freshman slumps and everything else where teams are figuring them out because this is a really, really good league. They've had games where Heston's gone 0-fer, Marty's gone 0-fer, but they bounce back better than I thought they would.
"They've done really well for themselves this year."
Kjerstad was voted SEC Freshman of the Year by the conference coaches, and he was joined by Martin on the All-Freshman team.
"Heston's my teammate, so I'm definitely proud of him regardless of who got what," said Martin, who is from Lonoke. "At the end of the day, it's just an award. You still have to go out and play ball just like always."
Not only have Kjerstad and Martin roomed together but they also batted back-to-back in the three Fayetteville Regional games. Martin hit second and Kjerstad third.
Both were voted by the media to the All-Regional team. Their photos and bios are even next to each other on page 73 of the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville's media guide.
Kjerstad and Martin also lead the team with 13 home runs each to tie the Razorbacks' freshman record set by Zack Cox in 2009. Kjerstad has set a freshman record for runs with 56.
"It's been awesome to have another freshman right alongside," said Kjerstad, who is from Amarillo, Texas. "We've had a blast being roommates, and it's always fun to be able to talk with him about game plans and certain pitchers.
"We've talked a lot of baseball and just had fun getting to know each other."
SUDDEN IMPACT
Here’s a look at how Arkansas freshmen Heston Kjerstad and Casey Martin compare this season:
Kjerstad;category;Martin
60;games;58
60;starts;53
LF;position;3B/2B
.344;batting average;.336
13;home runs;13
14;doubles;10
52;RBI;44
56;runs;38
21;walks;26
3-3;stolen bases;7-8
Kjerstad has started all 60 games in left field. Martin started just one of the first five games -- at third base -- but since then has started 52 of 55 games, including 46 total at third and seven at second.
"Heston showed out pretty quick in fall ball," Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. "We could tell by the way it was going in scrimmages for Heston that it was going to be hard to keep him out of the lineup. He was going to have to fall on his face, which he never did.
"Casey was a guy where you'd see it one day and then the next day it was just OK. But he's athletic and the fastest guy on the team. A guy that has power and a good arm. He can play all kinds of different positions.
"I don't think Casey felt like coming out of fall ball he was going to play a whole lot. But we as coaches knew he would. He didn't start much early in the year, but once he got in there, it was kind of like, 'Hey, we've got to keep this guy in the lineup.' He just kind of took over at third base."
Knight said what impressed him the most about Kjerstad and Martin in fall practice is that they didn't approach at-bats the way most freshmen do.
"They didn't give in," Knight said. "A lot of freshmen, coming in the fall, you get them behind in the count and you can throw chase stuff and get them out really easy. But those guys, they laid off all that stuff. They actually had an approach and they executed it."
The Razorbacks returned seven position regulars and most of their top pitchers from last season's 45-19 team, and Van Horn said the veteran players quickly accepted Kjerstad and Martin.
"They saw the talent and they saw in the locker room these were good guys," Van Horn said. "They weren't in there telling everybody how good they were and what they were going to do, because we've had freshmen do that, and it usually doesn't work out too well.
"They just kept their mouths shut and worked hard every day and went out and proved it with the way they played. That's the way you go about it."
Kjerstad and Martin aren't going to break Jeff King's Arkansas freshman hitting record -- the No. 1 overall pick in the 1986 draft batted .383 in 1984 -- but they have the top two averages for SEC freshmen.
"Heston just has a knack for putting the barrel on the ball, and he's so strong that when he makes contact, he can really drive the ball -- and he drives it to all parts of the yard," Razorbacks hitting coach Nate Thompson said. "As people have started to pitch him differently throughout the year, he's made adjustments. He's a very advanced kid that way.
"Casey has power, but also speed. He doesn't even have to get hits to get hits, because he can put a ball in play somewhere tough on the infield and just beat it out because of his speed."
Kjerstad said the adjustment from high school to college hasn't been as easy as he and Martin have made it look.
"Every pitcher you face up here is good and throwing 90 [miles an hour]," he said. "You have to adapt and change. You can't be beat by the fastball or fooled by the breaking pitches. Normally in an at-bat you'll only get one pitch you can drive, and you can't miss it."
Van Horn said he was confident Kjerstad and Martin would make significant contributions, but no one could have predicted the seasons they've put together.
"Freshmen still have got to go out and do it," Van Horn said. "You never know whether kids can handle everything that's going on around them with academics and social stuff and friends and people pulling on them.
"These guys have done a good job with everything because they're focused. They're a little more advanced mentally than a lot of freshmen. They feel like they're good.
"They're pretty dedicated, and they know where they want to be in a couple of years, and that's to be in position to have a chance to play pro ball at a high level."
Sports on 06/07/2018
