Razorbacks baseball report

Van Horn deliberates on Murphy

Arkansas pitcher Kacey Murphy reacts after recording an out during an SEC Tournament game against Florida on Saturday, May, 27, 2017, in Hoover, Ala.
Arkansas pitcher Kacey Murphy reacts after recording an out during an SEC Tournament game against Florida on Saturday, May, 27, 2017, in Hoover, Ala.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Sophomore left-hander Kacey Murphy earned All-SEC Tournament honors after throwing a seven-inning 2-hitter in the Arkansas Razorbacks 16-0 run-rule pasting of No. 4 Florida.

So what is Murphy's role this weekend as No. 12 University of Arkansas, Fayetteville (42-17) hosts the NCAA Fayetteville Regional against Missouri State, Oklahoma State and Oral Roberts?

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To be determined.

"I would be good throwing Murphy," Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said about a potential game three behind right-handed co-aces Trevor Stephan (5-3, 3.12 ERA) and Blaine Knight (8-4, 3.08). "I'm going to wait and see. Hopefully we get to that game and see where we're at in that game."

Arkansas catcher Grant Koch noted Murphy's seven innings with one hit allowed in the Razorbacks' 2-0 victory over Memphis on April 19 in North Little Rock.

"I told some people -- and I've thought this for a long time -- with his stuff and his command and his arm, I thought he could be that kind of pitcher for us for a long time," said Koch, adding the seven-inning shutout against the Gators continued to build Murphy's reputation. "That was one of his outings where it all came together, and it's really good to see. He just goes out and throws three pitches, doesn't overpower anybody, but just goes and does his thing."

Span-tastic

Arkansas players said fans and other observers might have been awed by Chad Spanberger's power display in Hoover, Ala., but they've seen it many times in batting practice.

"If you just watch his batting practice every day and see the ball come off his bat, you wouldn't be surprised by that big week he just had," freshman Dominic Fletcher said. "We all know what he can do and what he's capable of, so it wasn't a big surprise for anyone. But it was a pretty awesome week for that big of a stage and for him to do that."

Second baseman Carson Shaddy called Spanberger's 8-for-19 performance at the SEC Tournament, which included 5 home runs and 10 RBI, an "incredible" feat. Spanberger broke SEC Tournament records with three home runs and seven RBI in a 12-0 run-rule victory over Auburn.

"I've had times where I couldn't get out, but not like hitting balls into the trees and stuff like that," Shaddy said. "That was absolutely incredible what he did."

Coach Dave Van Horn said he thought Spanberger would not try to jump out of character after his huge week.

"I don't know if we really need to talk to him too much about that," Van Horn said. "He's pretty level-headed. He's had a really solid year. It's not like it came out of nowhere.

"Obviously it's a big feat to do what he did. He just had a great weekend. But he also struck out a little bit. He also failed a little bit, and this game's all about failure and being able to handle it."

Van Horn said if anybody needed to talk to Spanberger about staying focused it would be hitting coach Tony Vitello first.

"If I see that I need to get involved with that I will, but I think he's had a great approach," Van Horn said.

Resume series?

Arkansas and Oral Roberts have played 101 times, but not in the regular season since 2012 when the Razorbacks won 6-1 at Baum Stadium.

The teams met every season between 1979 and 2012 -- except for 1989 -- before Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn decided to discontinue the series with their neighbors from two hours away in Tulsa.

"You can blame it on me," Van Horn said. "I really didn't want to go over there too much. They want to play home and away. We needed more home games. It just kind of went that way. Then we didn't talk for a year or two about playing."

Oral Roberts Coach Ryan Folmar said he's in favor of resuming the series and is optimistic it will happen.

"We'd love to play Arkansas," Folmar said. "Dave and I have talked about it on several occasions and it'll get done here in the near future."

Arkansas beat Oral Roberts 8-6 in the most recent meeting, the opening game of the 2015 Stillwater Regional. The Razorbacks lead the series 66-35. The teams first played in 1970, with Arkansas winning 7-0 and 8-0 in Fayetteville.

SEC mode

Oral Roberts won the Summit League regular-season and conference tournament championships, but Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said the Golden Eagles don't play like a team from a smaller conference.

"They're an older team," he said. "They look like an SEC team physically. They're confident."

2015 redux?

Only two seasons ago, Arkansas faced each of the other three teams sent to this weekend's NCAA Fayetteville Regional on its way to the College World Series.

The Razorbacks downed Oral Roberts 8-6 and Oklahoma State 7-5 on back-to-back days en route to winning the NCAA Stillwater Regional. Arkansas then hosted the No. 8 national seed Missouri State in a super regional because the Bears' home park, Hammons Field, was booked by the Texas League's Springfield Cardinals. Arkansas won the opener 18-4, lost the second game 3-1 and took the finale 3-2, as a total of 35,370 fans attended the super regional at Baum Stadium.

Nailed it

Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said he accurately predicted the four-team NCAA Fayetteville Regional, including Oklahoma State's late run to the postseason by winning the Big 12 Tournament.

"I pretty much predicted the regional, except I thought OU was coming until Oklahoma State won the [Big 12] championship," Van Horn said. "Then I said we'll get Oklahoma State instead of OU. It's a regional. It's definitely a regional.

"If you add up all the RPIs, we're right there with everybody else. It's amazing how they went by RPI so much. If you really break it down, it's incredible."

Sports on 06/01/2017

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