State of the Hogs: Morris gets pressure with No. 32

Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn watches from the dugout during a College World Series game against Texas Tech on Monday, June 17, 2019, in Omaha, Neb.

— Is there something to picking a number for a baseball player? Apparently so, if you ask Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn.

The man who wears No. 2 says he’s not superstitious, but he does put some thought into who wears what jersey for the Razorbacks baseball team.

Van Horn told the first Swatter’s Club group of the year on Wednesday that freshman lefthander Zack Morris didn’t end up with No. 32 by accident. And, it wasn’t an accident that Van Horn assigned the same number to lefty Matt Cronin three years ago.

“That’s a lefthander superstar pitcher’s number,” Van Horn said. “I wanted to put a little pressure (on Morris). If you didn’t know it, I think (Sandy) Koufax wore that number.”

Maybe a few were more concerned with whom Van Horn thinks about for his starting rotation for opening weekend, Feb. 14-16 against Eastern Illinois. That was where a lot of questions started.

That seems obvious from watching the six scrimmages. Connor Noland and Patrick Wicklander are returning weekend starters and were first on the rubber on the opening scrimmage.

Yes, it’s going to be Noland first, followed by Wicklander against Eastern Illinois. Freshman righthander Blake Adams is the likely Sunday starter.

I assumed all of that even before Van Horn went to the microphone Wednesday. The bullpen is just as important, especially the back end where Cronin was one of the nation’s premier closers the last two seasons.

Could it be another No. 32? Morris has electric stuff and it’s nice to have a lefty for back-end duty. The 6-3, 215-pound Cabot product has been outstanding in two scrimmages.

It wasn’t a coincidence that he was brought in to shut down a bases loaded, 2-out jam in the first scrimmage. He fanned Curtis Washington on three pitches. His next outing began with a test against veterans Heston Kjerstad, Casey Opitz and Jacob Nesbit. He fanned all three.

“He’s been pretty good,” Van Horn said of Morris. “He’s 89-93 (mph) with a really good curve. He’s starting to throw strikes. You know me, if you don’t (throw strikes), you will sit by me. He’s got a downhill tilt and it’s tough.”

Back to the No. 32 assignment, Van Horn said, “I usually do give it to a lefthander. I do ask the kids in the summer and give them three options. I told Morris that 32 was one of them. He made a good choice.”

It takes some moxie to put on Cronin’s number. Apparently, Morris has some.

“He’s confident,” Van Horn said. “He’s got a little attitude about him. All he needs to do is smile a little more when he’s off the field.”

As far as number assignments, Van Horn doesn’t forget who has worn what.

“No, I don’t for the most part,” he said. “For example, No. 28 is important to me. One of the best pitchers I’ve ever had wore it at Nebraska.”

That would be Shane Komine, a Friday night ace for Van Horn.

“He probably had the best stats of any pitchers I’ve ever coached,” Van Horn said. “He was about 5-7. He had an amazing college career. So when I give out No. 28, I think of him. Kole Ramage has it now.”

All of this started as I contemplated Cronin’s replacement as the Arkansas closer. It’s a big role.

“It is, but you don’t have to have just one,” Van Horn said. “We may have four or five. We will see how things go. It could be Morris, especially against a lefty. But there are several others. I just say we are going to figure it out.

“I said the same thing last year about our starting pitching because we only had Isaiah Campbell as a weekend returning starter. You do just figure it out.”

Zebulon Vermillion, 6-4, 225-pound junior, was expected to compete for that role. A hamstring injury has slowed Vermillion since the holiday break.

“He hasn’t pitched in a scrimmage,” Van Horn said. “You might ask me how a pitcher injures his hamstring. I don’t know.”

Vermillion’s work on the side has progressed. He’s healthy enough for a bullpen this week and could face live hitting this weekend.

Van Horn likes the idea of having multiple closers.

“You probably noticed that Cronin was usually pretty good on Friday nights, but if he had to get more than three outs, then he wasn’t as good the second time on the weekend. So it’s better if you have more than one (closer).”

Back to the front of the starting rotation, Van Horn wants to test Noland and Wicklander a little more this weekend.

“I’m going to load up one lineup to go against Connor, then do the same thing with Wicklander on Saturday,” Van Horn said. “We are going to try to get them ready.”

They are different type pitchers. Noland pitches to contact a little more. Wicklander is a strikeout specialist.

“Connor is keeping his velocity up and is stronger,” Van Horn said. “Wicklander walked too many last year and is throwing more strikes. Last year, we had to take him out (after throwing too many pitches) a lot with two outs in the fourth inning.”

That limited his decisions in a 6-2 stat line.

“If he throws more strikes, he might be one of the best lefthanders in the country,” Van Horn said. “Will he? No doubt.”

Swatter’s Club Tidbits

Heston Kjerstad has been hot in the six scrimmages. Van Horn said the junior outfielder “looks like a pro hitter. He learned how to lay off pitches this summer. His confidence is boosted. He’s worked extremely hard and is better than ever. From what I’ve seen, it would be hard to find a better hitter.”

Van Horn must think his recruiting matches high opinions in national services. The 2020 class has been rated first, second and third at different times. The 2021 class might be close.

That has led him to schedule tough opposition in future seasons. The Hogs will play Oklahoma, Texas and Baylor in Houston this season on the third weekend. And, it will be similar trips the next two seasons.

“We are going to open in the new park the Texas Rangers have built in 2021, against Texas, TCU and Texas Tech,” Van Horn said. “We hope for good weather here (in January and February) to prepare for that. When we get there if it’s not good, they can close the roof.

“Then in 2022 we are going to Austin, or nearby at Round Rock. We will play in the Rangers AAA park against Stanford and Indiana, just not sure on the third team. We will go back to (Arlington) and play Texas, TCU and Oklahoma State.

“Either I’m losing my mind, or I think we have some pretty good players coming.”

Van Horn has worked Jacob Nesbit and transfer Cole Austin at both corner infield spots in scrimmages. Nesbit will open at third and Austin at first. Matt Goodheart, coming back from shoulder surgery, will be the designated hitter, but could return to first at some point this season.

Van Horn called sophomore Jacob Burton the most improved pitcher on the staff. Burton lit up the radar gun last season, but control was an issue.

“He was more of a thrower last year, but now he’s more of a pitcher,” Van Horn said. “He throws really hard. The (scoreboard radar numbers) aren’t always right. But if he’s out there and it reads real high, it’s probably right.”