LITTLE ROCK — BASEBALL Baxendale to miss season following surgery
Arkansas freshman catcher Blake Baxendale underwent elbow ligament replacement surgery Wednesday to repair an injury to his throwing elbow and will redshirt the 2013 season, according to Razorbacks Coach Dave Van Horn.
Van Horn said Baxendale should be able to play summer ball considering recovery time from the surgery is generally significantly shorter for position players than pitchers, who are often sidelined 12 to 15 months.
Baxendale batted .467 with 6 home runs and 30 RBI last season as a senior at Rogers Heritage High School. He helped the War Eagles to a Class 7A state runner-up finish and was named the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Player of the Year.
He is the younger brother of former Arkansas starting pitcher DJ Baxendale, who was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 10th round of this year’s major-league draft.
Sports, Pages 21 on 11/29/2012