Hog Calls

Hogs' lineup flows together nicely

Arkansas second baseman Carson Shaddy bats during an NCAA Tournament game against Oral Roberts on Friday, June 2, 2017, in Fayetteville.
Arkansas second baseman Carson Shaddy bats during an NCAA Tournament game against Oral Roberts on Friday, June 2, 2017, in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Fourth-year junior second baseman Carson Shaddy calls his University of Arkansas, Fayetteville coach a "legend" and a "Hall of Famer."

In Shaddy's view, Coach Dave Van Horn's decision to keep playing slumping first baseman Chad Spanberger in the early season was very legendary at all.

Struggling to crack .200 early in the season, Spanberger entered Friday's start of the Fayetteville Regional batting .304 with 19 home runs and 64 RBI. Some of the home runs were hit farther than the eye could see.

"You can't not stick with that guy," Shaddy said. "He's an ox. So even if he did hit .230 with 10 home runs, he's still helping our team."

Having Spanberger bat second helps switch-hitting leadoff man Eric Cole get pitches to hit.

Cole, a sophomore hitting .276 0n the season entering Friday, hit .400 during the SEC Tournament with 9 hits in 5 games.

"It makes it pretty easy to hit when I've got somebody like Chad behind me," Cole said. "Because they obviously don't want to walk me and put me on for Chad. So I'm getting pretty good pitches to hit. All I need to focus on is getting on base for Chad, and he can easily do the rest of the work."

Well, Cole did do the work by himself when he hit home runs against Florida and LSU in the SEC Tournament.

"They're obviously going to throw me a lot of strikes with him on deck," Cole said. "So I've been more aggressive trying to put the ball in play for some power in the gaps early in the count. It's been working out pretty well."

Cole coming into his own allows Arkansas to play its fastest, best defensive outfield. Cole now starts every day in right field while senior Jake Arledge moved from right to left. That freed up junior left fielder Luke Bonfield to move to designated hitter.

The youngest outfielder, freshman center fielder Dominic Fletcher, is the best outfielder.

"He's awesome," Cole said. "Any ball that's hit to center I feel is going to get caught, even if it's well in the gap or even when it's over. He can go up and rob a home run. It's really nice for us, and I really think it's nice for the pitchers to be confident with a guy in center field."

Most of the season sophomore right-hander Blaine Knight pitched the weekend series opener. However, he's switched places enough lately with Friday starter Trevor Stephan to adjust to being the No. 2 starter. Going into Friday, Knight and pitching coach Wes Johnson did not know whether Knight's start today would be against either Missouri State or Oklahoma State, and whether it would be in the afternoon loser's bracket or the winner's bracket tonight.

"It will be a late look at the scouting report, but I'll get with coach Johnson and we'll figure out something, whoever it is," Knight said Tuesday. "We'll attack them with what he think is best and hope for the best."

Sports on 06/03/2017

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