FAYETTEVILLE -- The University of Arkansas' No. 1-ranked baseball team will have the same three starting pitchers in a weekend series as it has all season, but juniors Brady Tygart and Mason Molina are trading places.
After junior left-hander Hagen Smith (4-0, 1.24 ERA) starts tonight's opener against No. 7 LSU, left-handed Molina (3-0, 2.57 ERA) will start Friday night and right-handed Tygart (3-0, 1.59 ERA) will start Saturday's finale.
Previously Tygart started the second game of a weekend series and Molina the third.
"We just want to give Brady another day to get right," Razorbacks Coach Dave Van Horn said. "Just let him rest a little bit. Let him get everything straightened up and feel really good. Nothing wrong with him."
Tygart, who has 39 strikeouts and 16 walks in 28 1/3 innings, had his shortest start of the season in Arkansas' 6-5 victory at Auburn last Friday when he went. 3 2/3 innings and allowed 3 runs, 3 hits and a career-high 5 walks with 4 strikeouts.
In two SEC starts, including Arkansas' 8-0 victory over Missouri, Tygart has 9 walks in 8 1/3 innings.
"I guess for a lack of a better term, he's spinning off the ball a little bit and he's not staying through the ball as well as he was earlier in the season," Razorbacks pitching coach Matt Hobbs said after Tygart's start at Auburn. "It's something that we have to work on and fix.
"He's aware of it, I'm aware of it. It's just something we're going to have to work through.
"But Brady is still Brady, and we have a ton of confidence in Brady."
Van Horn said he feels "great" about Tygart.
"His stuff's good. Competes hard," Van Horn said. "I think that he's had a little bit of command issues with his fastball. He gets that straightened out, he'll be good to go. So I have all the confidence in the world in him."