Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn expressed excitement Tuesday about the news that right-handed pitcher Mike Bolsinger would return to the Razorbacks for his senior season.

During a phone conversation, Van Horn said from his Razorback baseball office that he hadn’t spoken with Bolsinger since Monday night’s deadline. Bolsinger, who was set to arrive Tuesday night in Fayetteville, slipped to the 33rd round of the 2009 MLB Draft and didn’t agree to terms with the Oakland Athletics.

“I’m glad to have him back and have him be a part of our pitching staff,” Van Horn said. “Whether it’s as a weekend starter, or a middle reliever like this past year, or even as a guy who can close games, we don’t know yet. He’ll have the opportunity to be a starter, though.

“He showed late last season that he could go five, six innings and be effective.”

The Razorbacks received a scare, Van Horn said, when Bolsinger had his appendix taken out a few weeks ago. And that wasn’t the only scare of the offseason.

Van Horn told me that sophomore third baseman Zack Cox, junior pitcher/outfielder Brett Eibner and senior pitcher T.J. Forrest all are dealing with injury issues.

Cox thrived this summer in the wood bat Cape Cod League, batting .344 in 23 games with the Cotuit Kettleers and being named the West’s MVP at CCL all-star game. He singled, tripled and drove in two runs in that all-star game at Fenway Park. But the heavy workload took its toll on Cox.

Van Horn said that Arkansas’ coaches “shut him down” with about five games left in the season and that Cox might have a stress fracture in his hand.

“We’re having his hand x-rayed, and we’ll see if he’s going to be OK for the start of practice (on September 8),” Van Horn said. “He had a tremendous summer. He swung the ball well, and he definitely proved he’s the hitter we thought he was.”

Eibner strained his throwing elbow and made only three starts with the Wareham Gatemen of the CCL. He was impressive in those starts, with 14 Ks in 12.1 innings with a 1-0 record and 2.19 ERA. Eibner also hit .240 (.424 OBP) in 20 games with 3 HR (tying for team high).

Van Horn said Eibner wouldn’t be able to pitch until December.

“He scared us pretty good,” Van Horn said. “He’s rehabbing that elbow right now.”

Forrest had surgery after the season ended for a nerve problem in his right arm. Van Horn said Forrest’s fingertips would get numb during his starts late last season. Van Horn said he thought Forrest would miss some time on the mound during fall practice, as well.

On a more positive front, Van Horn said junior first baseman Andy Wilkins benefitted from his time on the USA National Team. Wilkins played in every game for the 19-5 squad, starting 19, and drove in 16 runs, tying for third on the team.

Wilkins started strong, but his batting average dipped to .232 by the time Team USA finished its schedule by winning the World Baseball Challenge championship in British Columbia.

“It was a great experience for him to travel a lot and get all those at-bats off different styles of pitching,” Van Horn said. “He worked hard and tried his best to get better.”

I touched base this morning with Arkansas pitcher Mike Bolsinger, a 33rd-round draft pick of the Oakland Athletics. And when asked about signing with the A’s or returning for his senior season, the 6-foot-2 right-hander said, “I’ll probably be coming back to Arkansas.”

Bolsinger made a couple of starts this summer for the McKinney Marshals of the Texas Collegiate League, hoping to convince several A’s scouts he was worth more money than Oakland offered. The A’s haven’t upped their offer — not yet, anyway.

The A’s still could do so on August 17, the date of the MLB signing deadline, Bolsinger said. And while he still envisions a scenario in which he signs, he isn’t counting on that happening.

“If anything happens, it will happen on that last day,” Bolsinger said by phone from Texas. “I think they want to see what they’re going to do with some of the guys they picked ahead of me. If some of them don’t sign, they could give me the money I was asking for. If not, I’ll be coming back.”

It’s been a tough last couple of weeks for Bolsinger, who went 6-4 last season with a 2.99 ERA and a team-high 79 strikeouts. While at a Texas Rangers game with several friends, Bolsinger complained about a sharp pain in his side. They left the game early, but the pain only worsened.

When he got home, Bolsinger told his mother that they should go to the hospital. The prognosis: His appendix had burst. Bolsinger had it removed and spent nearly a week “taking it real easy.”

“I’m feeling a lot better,” he said. “I got back to working out late last week.”

Bolsinger also said the prospect of playing one more season for Arkansas wasn’t disappointing at all, saying he hoped to claim a spot in the Razorbacks’ rotation.

“I definitely would want to start, and Coach (Dave) Van Horn has talked to me about it,” Bolsinger said. “They like the experience I’ve gotten and think I could maybe become the Friday night starter. That’s what I’d be working for if I do come back up there.”

The Omaha-bound Razorbacks met with the media at Baum Stadium this morning. Trust us, you’ll get to read just about every word that was said in the next few days whether it’s on the blog, in the paper or the special section we’re putting together for this weekend.

If that’s not enough, there’s one more avenue: We have a new Twitter page for Arkansas sports coverage that is making its debut today. If you like what I’ve been doing @NWARobbie the past couple months, sign up and follow the us at @NWAOnlineHogs. Most of the tweets there will be provided by Ryan and Alex, who will be going to the College World Series.

But back to baseball. One thing worth mentioning today is the fact Arkansas is trying to shift gears a little bit.

After celebrating its berth in the College World Series on Saturday and Sunday, the Razorbacks are trying to shift gears. Yes, they’re going to Omaha. Yes, it’s exciting. But there’s a reason they’re going: To play baseball.

“We need to win up there,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. “That’s what we’re going to try to do. That’s what this meeting was earlier: To get over the giddiness of seeing your name flashing across the ticker every three minutes while you’re watching the ball game, going, ‘Hey, we’re going to Omaha.’ Get over that. We’re going to Omaha. We have to play baseball.”

Arkansas first baseman Andy Wilkins said it was great to win the regional and super regional, but the Razorbacks don’t want the winning to stop there.

Arkansas took Sunday off and Wilkins said the Razorbacks did their best to use the day as their last to enjoy the accomplishment of reaching the College World Series. Random information: He a few teammates went to see the movie, “The Hangover” last night.

“A bunch of people keep saying how cool it is that we’re going to Omaha,” Wilkins said. “That’s starting to wear down a little bit, I think. Everyone’s just ready to go. We’re ready to start winning some games and go for a national championship. That’s been our goal the whole year: Omaha. It’s a goal to get there. But it’s another one to try and win the national championship.”

Got plenty of stuff today from the Arkansas baseball team, and we only had so much room for the Tuesday newspaper. So I thought I’d unload some more information from my trip over to Baum Stadium for the Razorbacks’ reaction to being sent to the Norman (Okla.) Regional.

First off, there was some considerable relief and excitement coming out of the Arkansas clubhouse today. The Hogs expected to be sent to regional hosted by Oklahoma, and the NCAA Tournament selection committee came through for them.

Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn sounded thrilled that his team could take a bus ride to its regional site. Senior second baseman Ben Tschepikow agreed wholeheartedly.

“It’s good. It’s not as good as hosting a regional, but going only four hours away is great,” Tschepikow said. “We won’t have to travel that much and we should have a strong base of fan support.”

Van Horn commented during his 10-minute session with reporters that “the biggest issue for us is to get some guys healthy and get some experience back out on the field.”

Tschepikow is one of the players Van Horn was referring to. Tschepikow bounced back from a dislocated finger he suffered early in the SEC Tournament and even played some shortstop as he filled in for senior Scott Lyons.

Lyons injury, a bruised shoulder, has turned out to be much more problematic than initially expected. Lyons jammed his shoulder during a collision on the bases against Ole Miss on May 15. He has had only one pinch-hit at-bat since.

When I caught up with him in the Arkansas clubhouse, Lyons vowed to be on the field when second-seeeded Arkansas (34-22) takes on third-seeded Washington State (31-23) at 1 p.m. Friday at L. Dale Mitchell Park.

“I’m going to play,” Lyons said. “But you know what, if  it’s hurting, I’m going to tell coach (Van Horn). I’m going to do the right thing. I have full confidence in Tschepikow, Bo (Bigham) and (Tim) Carver.

“It’s been real frustrating. It’s healed a lot slower than I thought it would. I thought I was going to start the first game of the SEC Tournament. It’s the front part of the shoulder that hurts. It’s a deep bruise. That’s the most frustrating thing. There’s no big injury. I’m just sore.”

If Lyons can’t go, Bigham has shown he can fill in admirably — with Tschepikow sliding over to short. Bigham, a freshman second baseman, possibly earned a spot in Friday’s by hitting .400 at the SEC Tournament.

Bigham’s just one of many freshmen who stepped up in Hoover, Ala. Tschepikow said these youngsters are ready for the spotlight, and pressures, of regional play.

“My message has been just not to be nervous or scared,” Tschepikow said. “Just go balls to the wall and just play hard. You don’t have anything to lose when you get to the tournament. A lot of them have a lot of great experience under their belt, so it’s not going to be like their first game of the year. They’ll be ready. They have a strong mentality.”

One more item of interest from Dave Van Horn today.

Arkansas’ coach said there is a possibility the Razorbacks could bring in the fences at Baum Stadium after the season.

For now, Baum Stadium is one of the bigger parks in the SEC. The fence is 320 feet from home plate down the lines, 375 feet in the alleys and 400 feet in center field. In essence, it’s not known as a home run hitting paradise. Van Horn believes it’s an issue that hurts the Razorbacks on the recruiting trail when they go head-to-head with other schools for home run hitters.

He couldn’t name names, but used one example Monday. He said Alabama and Arkansas are both recruiting a prospect. He knows what Alabama is telling him: The prospect can hit home runs at Alabama. He can’t hit home runs at Arkansas.

“If we want to really match the stadium’s that we play in, we might need to address that when this season is over on possibly bringing in the fences and the alleys a little bit,” Van Horn said. “I think Ole Miss has done it. Kentucky is short. Just off the top of my head there’s probably five or six stadium’s that have made some adjustments. Tennessee, they didn’t bring their fences in, they took home plate out about 10, 15 feet so it’s shorter. It might help us a little bit.”

Of course, a big park wasn’t the reason Arkansas was swept at Alabama last weekend. But it’s an interesting topic.

What has happened to the Arkansas baseball team?

It wasn’t long ago one poll had them ranked No. 1 in the country and they were atop the SEC standings. But now, after five straight losses, the Razorbacks have tumbled out of Baseball America’s Top 25 poll and resemble the Arkansas men’s basketball team.

OK, maybe that’s a little much. But you get my point.

Arkansas (31-17, 14-12 in SEC) is in the midst of its longest slide since 2005 after being swept at Alabama. Coach Dave Van Horn and his team will try to end the losing when it plays Oral Roberts in Baum Stadium on Tuesday night. It’s part of a four-game home stretch that will end the regular season. The Razorbacks play Ole Miss on Thursday, Friday and Saturday in the season-ending series.

Van Horn addressed his team’s woes at the Swatter’s Club meeting earlier this afternoon. One of the most noteworthy things he told the club was this: “I do think we can host a regional. I do think we can make a run.”

Van Horn met with the media after the meeting ended and told us Arkansas just needs a win starting Tuesday night.

“We need to bounce back and win the game,” Van Horn said. “Hopefully we’ll get after them. … We just need to change the way the outcomes have been lately. We’ve got to find a way to finish a game.”

Arkansas will start the game with Drew Smyly (2-1, 5.77 ERA) on the mound, but the bigger concern will be at the plate. Arkansas, which is batting an SEC-low .271 as a team, is desperate for hits and runs. Arkansas is 4-8 in its last 12 SEC games. Six of those eight losses have been by one run, including the Friday and Sunday games at Alabama.

“The team is frustrated now. You don’t lose six one-run games the last couple of weeks in league play … If we flip-flopped three of those games and we win three of those games, we’re right there talking about championship right now.

“Yeah, there’s some frustration. The only way you can change that is to go out and get some wins.”

Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn must have liked what he saw Wednesday from junior pitcher T.J. Forrest. On the Southeastern Conference’s coaches conference call Thursday, Van Horn said Forrest would return to pitching this weekend after resting last weekend.

The 6-foot-6 right-hander, Van Horn said, would either pitch in relief Friday or Saturday, or he would start Sunday’s game against the fifth-ranked LSU Tigers, his former team (2007).

“He’s rested and ready to go,” Van Horn said.

That means junior left-hander Dallas Keuchel will go on Friday night, as usual, and sophomore right-hander Brett Eibner will throw for the second straight Saturday.

Van Horn also talked about the challenges posed to No. 9 Arkansas by LSU. The Razorbacks have won five of their last six games. But they still sit a half-game behind the Tigers, who have won six straight themselves, in the SEC Western Division.

“We know what they have, we’ve been watching them,” Van Horn said. “They have great, great talent up and down that lineup and on the mound. They can hit, they steal bases with great athletes and they are really talented on the mound. They are way up there with strikeouts. We know what we are going to face.”

LSU coach Paul Mainieri said he was happy his Tigers team “got back on the right track” this past weekend by sweeping Auburn. LSU then beat Tulane 13-2 Wednesday night. He sounded like a coach who knew what kind of atmosphere the Tigers would encounter this weekend at Baum Stadium.

“It’s going to be a tremendous challenge,” Minieri said.

Minieri said he didn’t think LSU could afford to try and win any low-scoring games — “we need to put up some crooked numbers” — and also commented about enjoying competition against Van Horn.

“One thing that has struck me in my first two years in the league is that Arkansas plays so hard and plays fundamentally sound baseball,” Minieri said. “I like playing against Dave’s teams because they play the game the right way.”

Tennessee coach Todd Raleigh opened up the conference call and was asked who he favored in the LSU-Arkansas series. The Hogs took two of three from the Vols in Knoxville last weekend, and UT took two of three from LSU in Baton Rouge the weekend before.

“LSU is dynamic when you look up and down their roster,” Raleigh said. “And Arkansas just plays good baseball. They don’t do anything to hurt themselves and they know how to win.”

Eventually, Raleigh refused to choose a favorite.

“I’d have to give the edge to … that’s a tough call,” Raleigh said. “I don’t see a sweep in that series.”

Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said Wednesday afternoon that he was still undecided on who would pitch for the No. 9 Razorbacks on Saturday and Sunday against No. 12 LSU.

Obviously, 6-foot-3 junior left-hander Dallas Keuchel will make his Friday night start as usual. As for the next two days, Van Horn said that 6-foot-4 sophomore right-hander Brett Eibner would start one game and that 6-foot-6 junior right-hander T.J. Forrest would start the other.

Forrest, played at LSU as a freshman, didn’t pitch this past weekend, meaning he didn’t throw on the weekend for only the second time this season. Forrest was simply resting a “tired arm,” but Van Horn said Forrest has looked better throwing the ball early this week.

“We’ve flip-flopped on it back and forth this week,” Van Horn said. “We’re going to see T.J. throw a little bit more today and see how he feels before we decide. We’ll know tonight or in the morning. He needed the weekend off and got the rest.”

Keuchel is 6-1 with a 4.30 ERA this season. Eibner is 4-2 with a 3.23 ERA, and Forrest is 2-3 with a 4.74 ERA.

  The first inning is over and already we have some controversy.

  Tennessee jumped out to a 3-0 lead when first baseman Cody Hawn crushed a 3-2 pitch that was called fair, though it was hard to tell. Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn was clearly not pleased with the call, bolting out of the dugout to argue the call.

  Van Horn looked heated, but the arguing didn’t work and the three-run homer stood. From my seat in the press box, it was hard to tell whether the ball sailed just fair or went on the other side of the foul poll. 

  After walking Tennessee’s Cody Brown, Arkansas starting pitcher Drew Smyly was pulled and replaced by right-hander Sam Murphy. Smyly gave up a single, two walks and one controversial home run in 2/3 of an inning.

 

So, I hate to use the term “must-win” to describe any baseball game, considering the length of a season. But that’s exactly what Arkansas faces today. The Razorbacks try to avenge their 3-2 Tuesday night loss to the University of Louisiana at Monroe this afternoon in about a half-hour.

And Arkansas needs a W. The Hogs are riding a three-game losing streak, their longest since late-March of last season, and face a trip to No. 8 Georgia this weekend. So needless to say, the 11th-ranked Razorbacks could use a positive outcome today.

It surely won’t be easy against the hot-hitting Warhawks, who won Tuesday night on Boomer Blanchard’s eighth-inning home run. ULM sends righty Josh Miller to the mound this afternoon, which has turned out absolutely lovely weather-wise, by the way. The Razorbacks will start lefty Drew Smyly.

Here are today’s starting lineups:

University of Louisiana at Monroe (22-12)

1. Boomer Blanchard, 2B (.340)

2. Jon Prevost, LF (.353)

3. Ben Soignier, SS (.367)

4. Matt Collins, 1B (.326)

5. Matt Laird, CF (.338)

6. Jordy Poche, DH (.361)

7. Nick Wade, 3B (.317)

8. Ryan McMillan, C (.286)

9. Perry Smith, RF (.373)

on the mound — right-hander Josh Miller (1-1, 4.08)

Arkansas (24-9)

1. Chase Leavitt, CF (.350)

2. Scott Lyons, SS (.322)

3. Andy Wilkins, 1B (.336)

4. Travis Sample, DH (.227)

5. Zack Cox, 3B (.244)

6. Andrew Darr, RF (.239)

7. Bo Bigham, 2B (.250)

8. James McCann, C (.244)

9. Collin Kuhn, LF (.325)

on the mound — left-hander Drew Smyly (2-1, 4.55)