FAYETTEVILLE -- Heston Kjerstad had a debut at-bat to remember Friday for the Arkansas Razorbacks.
The freshman from Amarillo, Texas, entrusted with the No. 5 spot in the batting order, drilled a two-out single to right-center field on an 0-1 count to drive home Jax Biggers and open the scoring in what turned into a 14-2 rout of Bucknell at Baum Stadium.
The 6-3 left-handed hitter added a second-inning double off the wall in right field and came around for his second run, then hit a single in the third inning en route to a 3-for-4 performance with three runs scored.
Kjerstad said he took a mental snapshot of the moment his hit got past Bucknell second baseman Evan Madigan to remember forever.
"As soon as I got on first base and I was able to look around and see the crowd cheering, that's when it set in that I had finally done something here," Kjerstad said.
The freshman had a huge fall camp, but had dropped off a little during January practices. But Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said he had a strong batting practice Thursday.
"His BP in pregame today was good, and he took it to the game," Van Horn said. "That ball he hit off the wall was absolutely hammered."
Arkansas senior Carson Shaddy said he wasn't surprised at Kjerstad's debut.
"Heston? He's a big-leaguer some day," Shaddy said. "He did exactly what he's supposed to do. He's been doing it all fall. So pretty amazing to see this kid grow and I can't wait to see what this kid does this year."
Bucknell Coach Scott Heather was impressed.
"I had heard a lot about him from the fall, when I think he led their team in hitting," Heather said. "He showed it today. He hit different types of pitches. He certainly drove the ball well and looks to be a tough out for sure."
Isaiah's coming
Arkansas 6-4 right-hander Isaiah Campbell was slated to be a weekend starter for the Razorbacks last year, but he never made it there. The 235-pounder was shut down after one appearance and had to undergo surgery to remove bone spurs in his elbow.
He is scheduled to be Arkansas' today against Bucknell left-hander Jack Grabeck.
"It's going to be great to see him out there pitching," Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. "I've made the comment, I think really it's more the fans and y'all haven't seen him pitch. We've seen him pitch a lot. We know how good he is and how good he can be and will be. I'm excited for him.
"I think he feels like he let us down last year. He got hurt. He knows that he was one of the main pieces to our pitching staff and it just happens. ... It would have been great to have him last year, but we have him this year, so we're excited."
Blaine Knight, the Hogs' starter Friday, said of Campbell, "He's going to come out and throw strikes. He'll have some good velocity and good off speed. He's going to do really, really well, I think.
9-hole shot
Senior Carson Shaddy, in the No. 9 spot in the batting order Friday, hit Arkansas' first home run of the season, a three-run, opposite-field shot to cap the Razorbacks' six-run second inning.
Shaddy's shot was caught by Bucknell's bullpen catcher beyond the right-field wall as the second baseman from Fayetteville drove in Grant Koch and Jared Gates, who had walked.
"I told him last week, 'Don't really get all uptight about where you're at in the batting order,' " Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. "We feel like if you're hitting in the eight hole, you might be hitting cleanup in the second inning. That's the way we look at it."
Shaddy said the last time he hit ninth probably came during his sophomore year at Fayetteville High School.
"Like Eric [Cole] said the other day, after the first inning it doesn't matter," Shaddy said. "My second at-bat, I came up with two guys on. It's just a number. I'll do whatever I can to help this team. I'm just trying to be as selfless as I can."
Going extra
Sophomore Dominic Fletcher provided Arkansas' first extra-base hit of the season, launching a deep shot off the top of the wall in right-center field to lead off the second inning. He scored on a Luke Bonfield single one out later.
The Razorbacks wound up with six extra-base hits, with Heston Kjerstad, Jared Gates, Hunter Wilson and Jack Kenley all hitting doubles and Carson Shaddy providing an opposite-field home run to right.
Sub frame
Dave Van Horn changed his entire infield in the top of the sixth inning, when freshman right-hander Kole Ramage come in for staring pitcher Blaine Knight.
Jared Gates moved from third to first, Hunter Wilson came in at third, Jack Kenley replaced Jax Biggers at shortstop, Casey Martin came in for Carson Shaddy at second and Casey Opitz took over at catcher for Grant Koch.
Wild early
Bucknell starter Connor Van Hoose needed 46 pitches to escape the first inning, during which his wildness hurt him more than Arkansas' bats.
Van Hoose gave up a bunt single to leadoff man Jax Biggers, a one-out single to Eric Cole and a two-out RBI single by freshman Heston Kjerstad. He didn't allow another hit in the first, but he balked in the Hogs' second run and walked four batters in a row, including RBI walks by Jared Gates and Carson Shaddy.
The run-scoring balk was the first of Van Hoose's career in 1172/3 innings.
Handling distractions
Bucknell Coach Scott Heather, a former Arkansas pitcher and student assistant coach, said he was interested in how his team would handle all aspects of the Baum Stadium atmosphere this weekend, including the pom squad known as the RBI Girls, who perform between innings.
"I don't know if they're ready for the RBI Girls to dance on the dugout," Heather said. "I've got a feeling they'll be distracted. We're not used to that."
Today’s game
NO. 6 ARKANSAS VS. BUCKNELL
WHEN 11:30 a.m. WHERE Baum Stadium, Fayetteville RECORDS Arkansas 1-0; Bucknell 0-1 SERIES RECORD Arkansas leads 3-0 STARTING PITCHERS Bucknell LHP Jack Grabeck (2-7, 8.62 ERA in 2017); Arkansas RHP Isaiah Campbell (0-1, 40.50 ERA in 2017) RADIO Razorback Sports Network. Not all games will be carried by all affiliates. Check local listings. INTERNET SEC Network-Plus SHORT HOPS Arkansas players gave Carson Shaddy a plastic Hog hat to wear after his second-inning home run Friday, perhaps foreshadowing a season-long tradition in the Hogs dugout. … Catcher Grant Koch and third baseman Jared Gates drew three walks apiece in the seven and eight spots in the Arkansas order, while first baseman Evan Lee and second baseman Shaddy had two walks each among the 15 for the Razorbacks. … Arkansas left 16 runners on base, while the Bison left only three. … Junior Keaton McKinney is expected to start Sunday for his first appearance in two years after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He’ll be opposed by Bucknell right-hander Jack Simpson (1-1, 4.91 ERA in 2017).
THE WEEK AHEAD
TODAY Bucknell, 11:30 a.m. SUNDAY Bucknell, noon MONDAY Off TUESDAY Off WEDNESDAY Arizona *, 9 p.m. THURSDAY Off FRIDAY Cal Poly San Luis Obispo#, 3 p.m. * at San Diego #Tony Gwynn Memorial, San Diego
Sports on 02/17/2018