FAYETTEVILLE -- The University of Arkansas' pitching depth will get another big test this week with five games, starting tonight against Grand Canyon in a two-game midweek series.
Right-hander Will McEntire, a 6-4 freshman, has been tabbed to start for the Razorbacks (9-5), who fell five spots to No. 15 in this week's USA Today Coaches poll after going 2-2 in home games against Illinois State and South Alabama.
Ace right-hander Connor Noland (2-0, 2.00 ERA) is expected to return from resting a strained oblique muscle to start SEC play at Mississippi State on Friday night.
Grand Canyon (9-7), which plays its home games in Phoenix, is coming off an 8-0 loss to Pacific, though the Antelopes won the weekend series 2-1.
Grand Canyon is scheduled to start 6-2 left-hander Cal Lambert (0-1, 8.00 ERA) tonight. Neither team has announced its starter for Wednesday's 3 p.m. game.
McEntire got his first collegiate action in Saturday's 15-2 rout of South Alabama, firing two scoreless innings, striking out four and allowing no hits or walks.
"I'm feeling like McEntire will get the ball on Tuesday, and we'll just let him go for a little bit," Coach Dave Van Horn said Sunday.
McEntire, a product of Bryant High School's strong program, said his mentality is to just throw strikes and let his defense work.
"It felt great to get some work in finally," he said Saturday. "I've been waiting for it, but at the same time you've gotta understand that there's upper guys who have proven themselves that have got to work on their stuff early in the season."
The Razorbacks snapped a five-game losing streak by whipping South Alabama on Saturday, then taking the series with a 5-3 victory Sunday on Heston Kjerstad's walk-off two-run home run.
"My thoughts are that the guys just kind of regrouped a little bit and settled down and we pitched better," Van Horn said. "You pitch good, you have a chance to win every game. You take away a couple innings on Friday, the pitching's been pretty good.
"I think it's a matter of we didn't walk people. We've started to get timely hits, and that's what you call winning baseball. It all is kind of a formula. It's pretty simple: If you field the ball and throw strikes and you drive in some runs, you've got a good chance to be in every game."
Kjerstad, who has a hit in all 14 games, and sophomore outfielder Christian Franklin, who has a hit in 13 of 14 games, have been in the top two positions in the batting order the last two games. Franklin has a team-high .426 average among regulars, along with 3 home runs and 11 RBI. Kjerstad is off to a sizzling start with a .424 average, 6 home runs, 19 RBI, a .485 on-base percentage and an .814 slugging percentage.
"He's been really good, obviously," Van Horn said. "What's he got, five or six home runs? And a bunch of RBIs, and he's such a threat."
The Antelopes enter with a .223 batting average and a 2.98 team ERA.
Grand Canyon has two batters hitting better than .300 in outfielder Juan Colato (.366, 4 HR, 12 RBI) and second baseman Drew Smith (.323, 2, 14), while designated hitter Dominique Grissom (.196, 4, 13) doesn't have an impressive batting average but good power numbers.
Arkansas right-handed relievers Elijah Trest and Zebulon Vermillion threw three shutout innings apiece to close out the Razorbacks' 5-3 win over the Jaguars on Sunday.
"They both know how to get out of a jam," Van Horn said. "Trest kind of worked himself into a jam his first inning ... and he got out of it. That was big for his confidence and the team's confidence, and then he came back and gave us two quick innings after that.
"Vermillion faced 10 hitters, I think, and the only hitter that faced him twice was their last hitter, and that's always concerning because it was their cleanup hitter. I'm just glad he got him out. That was going to be his last inning."
An Arkansas sweep of the two-game set would yield Van Horn his 700th win with the Razorbacks. The former Arkansas infielder will enter the week with a 698-389 record at his alma mater.
Grand Canyon Coach Andy Stankiewicz, a 12th-round pick by the New York Yankees in 1986 who played parts of seven seasons in the big leagues, has been a key contributor to USA Baseball in recent years. He led the Under 18 national team to an unbeaten gold medal appearance at the World Baseball Cup in Canada in September 2017.
Sports on 03/10/2020