HARRISON — The plan had been for Heston Kjerstad to play in the Cape Cod League this summer.
Instead, Kjerstad took a little time off at home in Amarillo, Texas, and is now in Fayetteville working out and lifting weights after starting all 69 games in left field this season for Arkansas as a true freshman.
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Coach Dave Van Horn said he told Kjerstad during the College World Series it would be a good idea for him to spend this summer on campus rather than playing more games. “He was supposed to go to the Cape Cod League, but I talked to him up in Omaha and pretty much told him I didn’t think that would be a good idea,” Van Horn said Tuesday night at the Harrison Area Razorback Club meeting. “I told him I think he needed to go home for a couple weeks, come back to school and start lifting, and that’s what he ended up doing.”
Kjerstad batted .332 and hit 14 runs with 58 runs batted in, but Van Horn said he was fading physically at the end of the season.
“Sometimes you just need to give yourself and your body a little bit of a break,” Van Horn said. “I think it’ll end up paying off come the spring of 2019.”