Getting healthy priority for UA

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas’ Zack Cox, Brett Eibner and Drew Smyly likely will be on the All-SEC baseball team announced today, but they might not get on the field at the SEC Tournament, which begins Wednesday in Hoover, Ala.

Cox, Eibner and Smyly are all questionable for the tournament because of injuries.

Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said the Razorbacks (40-16), who open against Vanderbilt (40-15) in the first-round nightcap, are going into the SEC Tournament with “a half-loaded gun” given the possibility of playing without their top two hitters and top pitcher.

Cox, a sophomore third baseman batting an SEC-best .432, has missed three of the past four games because of a pulled muscle in his back.

Eibner, a junior center fielder who is tied for third in the SEC in home runs (18) and tied for eighth in RBI (61) and has pitched as a starter and reliever, has a sore right hand.

Smyly, a sophomore lefthander, has a blister on his left index finger. He is third in the SEC in ERA (2.58), has pitched 83 2 /3 innings and is tied for second in victories with his 8-1 record.

“Those three guys are keys, but what we’re talking about is they’re key for us to win a regional,” Van Horn said. “We need to win a regional. That’s our goal.

“League play is already over. We can’t do anything about that. Yeah, the [SEC] Tournament’s there, and we’d love to win in the tournament and stay around until Sunday, and we might do it. But our main goal is to play in Omaha [Neb., at the College World Series] and have a chance to win a national championship.

“What gives us the best chance to do that is to get those three guys healthy.”

Cox, who started the first 52 games this season before injuring his back May 16 on a swing against South Carolina, played just one game at Vanderbilt last weekend, when he was the designated hitter and went 1 for 2 in the Razorbacks’ 4-3 victory Friday.

Eibner was hit in the hand by a pitch a couple of weeks ago, and it is causing him pain and affecting his swing, Van Horn said. There are no broken bones, but Eibner attempted a drag bunt in his final at-bat at Vanderbilt and then took a third called strike, Van Horn said, because he didn’t want to take a full swing.

“That’s how sore it was,” Van Horn said. “We were just trying to keep him in the game for defense.”

Van Horn said Eibner’s status is day to day.

“He could play Wednesday, maybe Thursday,” Van Horn said. “We’ll see.”

Smyly was pulled from the Razorbacks’ 4-3 loss at Vanderbilt on Thursday night after five innings because of his blister.

“Kind of a precautionary thing,” Van Horn said. “I don’t think he’ll be starting on Wednesday. I don’t know if he’ll pitch at all in the tournament.”

Van Horn said freshman right-hander D.J. Baxendale (0-2, 3.78 ERA with 7 saves) is a leading candidate to start Wednesday and that senior Mike Bolsinger (6-3, 4.16 ERA) likely will start Thursday in his role as the team’s No. 2 starter.

If Eibner can’t play, Collin Kuhn likely will move from right field to center, with junior Travis Sample possibly playing in right.

Andy Wilkins moved from first base to third base for the final two games of the Vanderbilt series - he also has made that move in some previous games - and fielded well, with Monk Kreder, normally a designated hitter, playing first base.

Tom Hauskey, who has excelled as a pinch hitter, might serve as designated hitter in the SEC Tournament as he did the finale at Vanderbilt.

Matt Reynolds, a freshman shortstop, started at third in Cox’s place in the opener of the Vanderbilt series.

“We’ll mix it up, and you never know ... this could be a good thing,” Van Horn said of juggling the lineup and pitching rotation. “Maybe not towards winning the SEC championship, but getting some guys some experience, getting them ready for the future.”