FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn hopes to have two veteran pitchers back for the Razorbacks’ next SEC series at No. 11 South Carolina.
Following the top-ranked Razorbacks’ 11-10 loss to Texas A&M on Sunday, Van Horn said right hander Zebulon Vermillion was unavailable for the series against the Aggies because of arm soreness. Van Horn said he hopes to have Vermillion and right hander Connor Noland available for the South Carolina series that is scheduled to begin Thursday at Founders Park in Columbia, S.C.
Noland has not pitched since March 5 due to a forearm strain.
Vermillion, who has bounced between relief and starting roles this season, has not pitched since a 1 2/3-inning relief outing during the opening game of the Razorbacks’ series at Ole Miss last weekend. Arkansas’ bullpen has struggled in three of the five SEC games with him unavailable, allowing 13 and 14 runs in the final two games of the Ole Miss series, and 11 runs Sunday against Texas A&M.
Vermillion has a 2-0 record, 1 save and a 3.55 ERA in 33 innings this season.
“We didn't put him on the roster this weekend,” Van Horn said. “It's one of those things, you run into this a little bit. We're hoping he'll be back ready to go this weekend and everything seems to be good.”
Noland, who has 22 career starts, has pitched twice out of the bullpen this season. Van Horn praised Noland’s first outing of the season as the best he has seen from the third-year right hander who was the team’s No. 1 starter a year ago and was an SEC starter as a freshman in 2019.
“I don't know if he's ready to start yet,” Van Horn said of Noland’s role at South Carolina. “I’m not sure the pitch count that we put on him. Whenever we get him out there, we just want it to be quality. Whether it's two innings or one hitter, we just want him to go out and pitch like he can, like he used to. I think he's ready to roll. When he is, we're going to use him."