FAYETTEVILLE -- The nation's consensus No. 1 college baseball team has switched up its weekend pitching rotation with two weeks left before SEC play.
The University of Arkansas (7-0) has elevated right-hander Peyton Pallette into the Friday role for today's 3 p.m. series opener against Murray State at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Coach Dave Van Horn said right-hander Caleb Bolden is scheduled to start Saturday's 1 p.m. game and lefty Lael Lockhart (0-0, 4.50) will take the hill for Sunday's 1 p.m. finale against the Racers (5-3). Zebulon Vermillion (0-0, 5.14) who had command issues in his two starts, will be back in the bullpen, where he excelled last season.
Pallette (1-0, 0.00), a second-year pitcher from Benton, has not allowed a run in 9 1/3 innings in 2 starts, with 16 strikeouts, 2 walks and a .643 WHIP.
Van Horn said he thought Pallette is still a work in progress.
"I think he's very confident, very athletic. He can really field his position," Van Horn said. "It's always going to be a work in progress, as far as the mental part of being able to handle pitching Game 1, if that's where he ends up. I think he's ready for it. We didn't just give it to him. He had to earn it. He's thrown well his first two outings. So here we are Week 3, and we just put him up there."
Bolden (0-0, 6.23) posted one out and allowed three runs in his Thursday start vs. Southeast Missouri State last week, three days after throttling Texas for a four-inning save.
"We didn't give him enough time to get ready," Van Horn said. "Unfortunately, he kind of talked us into that. The way it turned out, he didn't have the stuff or command that he had against Texas down there in a tough spot."
Lockhart (0-0, 4.50) has struck out 13 batters in 8 innings, with 5 hits and 5 walks allowed. Van Horn said Lockhart's three walks on a muddy mound in 3 2/3 innings on Sunday could be discounted.
The Razorbacks still have potential starters in veterans Connor Noland (1-0, 0.00) and Patrick Wicklander (0-0, 0.00), who both pitched very well in 4-plus innings of long relief last weekend, Kole Ramage (0-0, 13.50) and freshman Jaxon Wiggins (1-0, 0.00) who has five strikeouts in two innings and has touched 98 mph on the radar gun.
"It would be nice to know that we had two for sure, locked-in starters and we could rotate the third one," Van Horn said. "Many years we've gone into Sundays with a TBA label and just whoever we had left or who we decided would match up best after seeing the other team for two days, we'd go with that pitcher."
From a health standpoint, preseason All-SEC catcher Casey Opitz (.381, 3 2B, 1 RBI) had a good day of practice on Wednesday after a collision at first base on Sunday left him banged up and with a mild wrist injury, and he could be in position to start today. Additionally, Matt Goodheart (.500, 1 HR, 3 RBI) has had a good few days with his stomach ailment and is likely to be in the designated hitter role again.
Van Horn said Braydon Webb (.063, 2 RBI) would start in left field, with Brady Slavens (.379, 3 HR, 8 RBI) at first base and Cullen Smith (.304, 4 RBI) at third base.
Van Horn said he has not brought up the team's No. 1 ranking in five out of six major polls this week.
"Zero times this week have I mentioned ... about us being ranked wherever we may be ranked," Van Horn said.
The motivation could be strong in the Murray State dugout, he said.
"I know when we're playing a team that's ranked really high and we're not it jump starts you a little bit," Van Horn said.
"We're all excited," Murray State Coach Dan Skirka said of facing the No. 1 team. "It's a great opportunity to have a chance to make a memory, something these guys can cherish the rest of their lives, playing the No. 1 team. We're good to go. It's going to be a very good environment and we're playing a very good ball club."
The Racers squeezed seven games into a six-day span to open their season, then edged Arkansas State 9-6 on Tuesday.
"I feel good about our team," Skirka said. "We've been very inconsistent and our wins have kind of been ugly, but you don't apologize for winning.
"We haven't played our best baseball yet. We're looking for that to pick up when we get outside and get in better weather."
The Racers are scheduled to pitch 6-0 left-hander Shane Burns (0-1, 6.23) in the opener, followed by right-handers Sam Gardner (0-1, 12.00), an Alabama transfer, and Jack Wenninger (1-0, 0.00).
Murray State's top bats belong to Jordan Cozart (.387, 3, 8) Brennan McCullough (.286, 6 RBI), Alex Crump (.286, 2 RBI) and David Hudleson (.286, 5 RBI).
Matt Jones of WholeHogSports.com contributed to this article.
UP NEXT
ARKANSAS BASEBALL
vs. Murray State
WHEN 3 p.m. today
WHERE Baum-Walker Stadium, Fayetteville
RECORDS Murray State 5-3; Arkansas 7-0
STARTING PITCHERS Murray State LHP Shane Burns (0-1, 6.23 ERA); Arkansas RHP Peyton Pallette (1-0, 0.00)
SERIES Arkansas leads 2-0
COACHES Dan Skirka (39-40 in third year at Murray State); Dave Van Horn (707-389 in 19th year at Arkansas, 1,292-629 in 28th year overall)
INTERNET SEC Network-Plus
SHORT HOPS
The other pitching matchups for the weekend are Arkansas RHP Caleb Bolden (0-0, 6.23 ERA) vs. Murray State RHP Sam Gardner (0-1, 12.00), a transfer from Alabama, on Saturday, and Arkansas LHP Lael Lockhart (0-0, 4.50) vs. Murray State RHP Jack Wenninger (1-0, 0.00). … The Razorbacks are 47th in Division I batting average (.291), 66th in pitching (3.60 ERA), 16th in fielding (.988), and 37th in scoring (7.7). … The Racers are 104th in batting average (.257), 123rd in pitching (4.91), 192nd in fielding (.954) and 86th in scoring (6.0). … Murray State Coach Dan Skirka spent the 2008-09 school year at Ouachita Baptist, working as an assistant for former Murray State player Chris Moddelmog. … Skirka hit .400 with 7 home runs and 43 RBI as a senior at Grand Valley State.
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