Serrano's geared up for return

FAYETTEVILLE -- When Arkansas held its baseball media day Jan. 28, senior Joe Serrano talked about being the only Razorback remaining who had played in the College World Series in 2012.

"That was the greatest thing of all time for me," Serrano said. "I just hope this team can get to Omaha and experience what I did my freshman year."

Serrano's hopes have come to fruition.

The Razorbacks will open the College World Series against Virginia on Saturday at 2 p.m. Central at TD Ameritrade Stadium in Omaha, Neb.

"It's amazing," Serrano said. "To be able to go twice, with two great groups of guys, I just couldn't be more excited."

Serrano was asked what wisdom he has imparted on teammates about playing in the College World Series.

"Mainly they just want to know what kind of gear we get when we get to Omaha," Serrano said with a smile. "I'm going to try to do everything I can to keep everybody calm."

No crying

Arkansas pitching coach Dave Jorn said the Razorbacks can't dwell on the recent injuries that have knocked out key pitchers Dominic Taccolini and James Teague and limited ace freshman Keaton McKinney to 6 1/3 innings in three postseason starts.

"There isn't anything you can do about it," Jorn said. "Crying's not going to get anything done. It's the personnel that you have to work with, and you just go out there and try to get other guys ready to try to give you some innings. It's just the way it is."

Hammer curve

Pitching coach Dave Jorn rated the curveball of Arkansas closer Zach Jackson as one of the best he's seen.

"It's a hammer," Jorn said. "He's throwing it up there anywhere from 84 to 85 mph. It's kind of 12 to 6, so you don't get a real good angle on it as a hitter to be able to tell that it's a curveball. I mean, it's going straight down most of the time and it's got a lot of late break to it.

"It's one of the better ones I've had, and I've had some good ones."

Covering ground

Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said thinks his outfielders -- Joe Serrano, Andrew Benintendi and Tyler Spoon -- could become a factor in the huge outfield expanses at TD Ameritrade Park.

"It's a tough ballpark to hit the ball out of the park," Van Horn said. "It all depends on the wind ... for the most part. In the past, the outfielders have played extremely shallow.

"You have to back up a little now. If not, you're going to take a chance of somebody hitting it over your head."

Been there

The announced crowd at TD Ameritrade Park was 3,102 when Arkansas beat Creighton 6-2 on May 12.

There should be about 20,000 more people at the stadium for the College World Series, but Tyler Spoon said it should be a slight advantage that Arkansas already has played there.

"We played on the surface, so we know what it's going to be like, but you can't simulate 25,000 people, Spoon said. "That's the one thing we've got to get accustomed to. I think last weekend helped us out quite a bit with all our fans that were here."

Arkansas drew 35,730 fans for its three super regional games against Missouri State at Baum Stadium.

Stone help?

It's been a disappointing season for Arkansas senior pitcher Jacob Stone, who took over as closer late last year and was a preseason All-SEC pick after having a 4-0 record, 4 saves and a 0.94 ERA.

Stone has a 4.41 ERA this season and pitched in only one of the Razorbacks' six NCAA Tournament games, a one-inning appearance in the Hogs' 18-4 victory over Missouri State.

With Arkansas' pitching staff thinned by the losses of James Teague (elbow injury) and Dominic Taccolini (undisclosed medical condition), Coach Dave Van Horn said the Razorbacks might need Stone at the College World Series.

"He probably needs to jump in there a little bit more, and I think he wants to and is ready to," Van Horn said. "I definitely could see him coming out of the bullpen a little earlier."

A in chemistry

Dave Van Horn has felt a positive vibe around his team this season even early when the Razorbacks were struggling.

"Chemistry is huge part probably in most sports, but especially in baseball," he said. "You've got to have so many players to make your team. You've got to have relievers and starters and backup catchers. There are just a lot of things going on there, a lot of moving parts.

"If the team gets along and likes each other, pulls for each other, it's just a lot better feeling in the dugout and on the field.

"Guys want to be out there. It's going to add up to a lot of wins before the season's over."

30 years gone

This season marks the 30th anniversary of Dave Van Horn breaking into coaching in 1985 as a graduate assistant under Arkansas Coach Norm DeBriyn.

The Razorbacks opened that season by losing three consecutive games at Miami, then won 22 of their next 23 and ended the season by playing at the College World Series. They finished 51-15.

"I knew about midway through that season, that's what I wanted to do as a career was coach college baseball," Van Horn said. "That's how much I enjoyed that season."

Sports on 06/12/2015