FAYETTEVILLE — The next start carries extra significance for Arkansas right hander Cody Scroggins.
The worst moment of Scroggins' baseball career came two years and nine days ago against Sunday's opponent, Louisiana Tech. Pitching in relief, Scroggins tore his ulnar collateral ligament in the third inning of a game March 1, 2017, in Ruston, La.
Scroggins required Tommy John surgery and nearly a year of rehabilitation.
"To be honest, to me it's more personal because I'm never going to forget that date," Scroggins said. "Who you're playing, you're never going to forget it. It was such a huge setback in my baseball career.
"Everything that I've been through since Tommy John, to face the same team again, I'm just excited."
The game in which Scroggins injured his elbow was memorable for his teammates for other reasons. Arkansas came from behind to win 13-10 after trailing by nine runs in the second inning.
"It showed that resilience the University of Arkansas has as a baseball team," said Isaiah Campbell, a pitcher who made the trip but was redshirting because of an injury. "We might get down early, but we're not going to give up and we're never really out of a ballgame."
Scroggins, a former infielder from Bentonville who had converted to a full-time pitcher prior to the 2017 season, was brought out of the bullpen to see how he would react in a pressure situation. The Bulldogs battered starter Evan Lee and reliever Dominic Taccolini for 10 runs.
Scroggins' outing didn't start well. He threw a wild pitch, then allowed a two-run triple to cap the seven-run second inning that put Louisiana Tech ahead 10-1.
"(Pitching coach Wes) Johnson told me, 'Just to go in there and cool it a little bit, and then we'll get someone else in there,'" Scroggins said.
Scroggins worked a perfect third inning, but on the final pitch of the inning - a popup to shortstop - he felt discomfort in his elbow.
"It was like a little, itty bitty pop," Scroggins said. "I just held it for a second and didn't know what it was."
Scroggins credits Campbell for noticing the injury. Campbell saw Scroggins favor his elbow and suggested the coaches should check on him.
Cody Scroggins throws during a game at Louisiana Tech on Wednesday, March 1, 2017. Scroggins' UCL was only partially torn thanks to the watchful eye of a teammate.
"I probably would have gone back out had Isaiah Campbell not said something to Coach Johnson," Scroggins said. "I wasn't going to say anything because I didn't know what it was.
"I think it was like only 35 or 40 percent torn, but I'm sure if I had gone back out I would have completely torn it, and that's when I would have felt the complete pain of Tommy John."
As it was, Scroggins was on the mound for the Razorbacks' opening series in 2018, about 11 months after undergoing surgery. He pitched 15 2/3 innings in 16 relief appearances, and had a 4.60 ERA.
Scroggins began this season in the bullpen, too, but moved to the starting rotation for the team's second series at Southern Cal. He has a 7.88 ERA in eight innings over three appearances.
In his starts he allowed three runs in 3 2/3 innings at USC and three runs in 3 1/3 innings last week against Stony Brook. It's unclear whether Arkansas coaches want to keep Scroggins in the weekend rotation longterm.
"At the beginning of the season I wasn't sure what they wanted me to do, come out of the bullpen or start," Scroggins said. "Lately they've just asked me to give a couple of innings, or three or four, on about a 70-pitch count.
"I think everybody has just done an amazing job coming behind me and shutting it down. Isaiah made the comment at practice that we're pitching kind of like the (Tampa Bay) Rays did when they start their bullpen. That's exactly what we're doing until they feel comfortable with me getting my pitch count up more."
He hopes his count increase more to around 80 on Sunday in one of the most anticipated games of his life.