FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn made another tweak Thursday to the team's starting rotation for its final home series against Alabama.
The Razorbacks will open with right-hander Dominic Taccolini (5-3, 5.00 ERA) in tonight's game at 6:30, as they've done for 11 of the first 12 weekends. Then right-hander Keaton McKinney (1-4, 6.06) is scheduled to move up to start Saturday's 6 p.m. game.
Right-hander Zach Jackson (3-4, 4.88 ERA), who has started the second game in four of the past five SEC series, will either work out of the bullpen again or start Sunday's finale.
"If we need to use Jackson out of the pen, we'll use him," Van Horn said. "If we need to use him three days in a row, we'll use him. We'll do whatever we need to do."
Asked why Jackson was potentially coming out of the rotation, Van Horn replied, "Just too many pitches," in reference to Jackson's 105 pitches through four innings Saturday at LSU. Jackson and the Razorbacks held a 9-1 lead through four innings in what turned out to be a 10-9 loss in 10 innings.
Tough spot
The last time a team coached by Dave Van Horn did not make the NCAAs came in 1998 during his first season at Nebraska. The last time the Razorbacks did not qualify for the NCAAs was in 2001.
Both of those streaks are in jeopardy with the Hogs at 26-22 overall and 7-17 in SEC play.
"It's been difficult for me personally, but it's really not all about me," Van Horn said. "This is for me to just try to figure out how to handle it and keep working and try to keep these guys motivated.
"We've had some luck along the way here, and had some good things happen for us. This year we haven't made our own breaks, that's for sure. We've stubbed our toe a lot and we've blown leads, and we haven't fielded the ball when we needed to, and we haven't come up with that big hit.
"It's probably cost us seven or eight games the other way. If you flip it six, seven, eight games, you've got a pretty good record."
Tourney or bust
Arkansas would not qualify for the 12-team SEC Tournament if it started today, so the Razorbacks are simply hoping to win enough the next two weeks to play their way into the field.
Arkansas is tied for last in the SEC with Missouri and Tennessee with 7-17 records. Missouri holds the tiebreaker over the Hogs by winning a series in Fayetteville. Arkansas and Tennessee do not play in 2016.
"It's definitely a big weekend," junior Clark Eagan said. "Our thoughts are on getting in the SEC Tournament, and we're not right now. We're a little surprised with the way the season has gone, but it's never too late to turn it around. We're going to keep scrapping every day and we're working hard to turn it around."
Six in a row
Dave Van Horn's first 12 teams at Arkansas never lost more than five games in a row. The Razorbacks lost six in a row early last season, and they also have a six-game losing streak heading into tonight's series opener against Alabama.
The Razorbacks were 26-16 after beating No. 2 Texas A&M 9-5 in the first game of a doubleheader on April 30. The losing streak has included setbacks after having leads of 6-2 against Texas A&M and 9-1 at LSU last Saturday.
"We know what we need to do," Van Horn said. "We need to win the series in the worst way.
"You look back on this conference season, and obviously it's been a roller coaster, but it's been one if there's a way to give one away or not get one because we don't make a play, it seems like it's happened, and it's kind of snowballed a little bit."
Make or break
Shortstop Michael Bernal said many of the Razorbacks have never been on a team that is struggling the way Arkansas is right now.
"That's part of the game," he said. "There's a lot of learning opportunities.
"That's one thing that people always say is baseball is a lot like life. You're going to be put in situations that are going to make you or break you, and you're able to decide yourself what that outcome is. You're able to bear down and go with the flow and try and change it or you're going to let it break you and kind of just give in."
Around the horn
• Shortstop Michael Bernal leads the SEC with 158 assists, four more than Mississippi State's Ryan Gridley.
• Catchers Tucker Pennell and Grant Koch rank in the top seven in the SEC in catching base stealers. Pennell leads the SEC with 25 runners caught while Koch is tied for seventh with 10.
Sports on 05/13/2016