FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas baseball right-handed pitchers Brady Tygart and Cooper Dossett will not be on the 27-man roster for this weekend’s NCAA Fayetteville Regional at Baum-Walker Stadium.

Tygart is being held out as trainers assess an injury to his shoulder area that has affected his performance in recent weeks. Dossett is out for the season after he suffered an apparent arm injury May 18 at Texas A&M. 

Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said the sophomore Dossett’s injury will not require surgery. He was unsure whether Tygart, a junior, will be available if the Razorbacks advance past their home regional. 

“They’re going to have to do some testing — I don’t know the exact word,” Van Horn said of Tygart. “It’s not a ligament. The shoulder is not a problem. It’s something that needs a little time.

“I want guys when they get on the mound they feel good about how they feel and they go pitch, and not have something going on. The mental part of this game won’t let you perform if you’re thinking like that and if you have something going on, which he does.” 

Tygart was in Arkansas’ weekend rotation for the first 13 weeks of the season. He had a hiccup early in conference play, but otherwise was solid through the first couple of months. 

During a three-week stretch in April, Tygart allowed 5 runs over 17 innings (2.65 ERA) in consecutive starts against NCAA regional teams Alabama, South Carolina and Florida, including a pair of starts on the road. 

Tygart was taken out of the rotation after consecutive short starts at Kentucky and at home against Mississippi State in late May. In those games he struggled to command his fastball, allowing 9 runs, 9 hits and 8 walks in 4 2/3 innings. 

He was kept off the roster for the team’s final regular-season series at Texas A&M, then brought back in a relief role against Kentucky last week at the SEC Tournament. The first inning went well, but the Wildcats scored 3 runs (1 earned) against him on 1 hit, 1 walk and 1 hit batsman in his second inning of work that did not include an out. 

“If he was pitching like he could and has in the past, I’d say it was a big loss,” Van Horn said. “If you’re talking now, it’s a big loss from two months ago or a month and a half, but we’ve been playing down the stretch with short starts and out of the pen, scrambling. I’d rather start guys that you’re not just on pins and needles on how it’s going to go, and that’s kind of been what’s going on when he’s on the mound. We didn’t know how he felt.” 

Tygart has a 3.75 ERA and 1.38 WHIP in 59 1/3 innings this season. Dossett had a 5.17 ERA and 0.89 WHIP in 15 2/3 innings over 14 relief appearances. 

Van Horn did not name a starter for Friday’s regional opener against Southeast Missouri State. He said he will do that at the regional administrative meeting Friday at 4 p.m. 

“I want to wait until the teams have all practiced,” Van Horn said. “Let them practice without knowing who they’re facing.” 

JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) – Human trafficking is a crime hidden in plain sight affecting thousands across the nation and Region 8.

In Arkansas, the battle against human trafficking is gaining momentum thanks to organizations across the state.

At the forefront is the Arkansas Human Trafficking Council, led by Arkansas State Police Sergeant Matt Foster.

The council includes local non-profits and state authorities coming together to perform operations against human trafficking. Their goal is to raise awareness and provide support to victims.

“You know, if not us then who?” said Foster. “I believe, after three operations we identified there’s a problem and now it’s starting to find those solutions.”

Foster has been leading the charge in the statewide fight against human trafficking and wants everyone to understand how much each community means to the cause.

“In Hot Springs, Jonesboro, we pick out a hotel; a hotel owner will help us with the rooms for the operation,” he explained. “Garland County has a human trafficking task force. That task force was able to provide us with food and drinks for our law enforcement operation that night. So, whenever we have our briefing, we’re all fed. In Jonesboro, we had a local church donate the food to us. I’m so thankful for all the community involvement and all the troopers and all the victim services that travel into these communities.”

While they have already conducted a few operations, the fight isn’t over.

Organizations like Hope Found of Northeast Arkansas and its director Megan Brown are still working locally day in and day out to raise awareness about who trafficking can happen to and how it can happen.

“Traffickers are looking for those with noticeable vulnerabilities, so they prey on vulnerable populations,” said Megan Brown. “That means our kids, that means people that are homeless, that are addicted to drugs, that are in some kind of state of desperation, and they need help. And here comes a trafficker trying to exploit that vulnerability.”

Because of the need to increase awareness, spotting someone in one of these situations can be hard to do.

Brown emphasized that many victims of human trafficking are not chained up and held captive all the time.

“It does happen, but it’s all about the mental chains that they’re enduring,” she said.

If you notice anything out of the ordinary with someone close to you, Sergeant Foster encourages you to ask questions and get to know their situation better. He also urges reporting anything suspicious.

“Reporting is the most important thing, in what the public can do,” Foster said. “So we can respond to that incident and might be able to save someone’s life, might be able to save a child’s life. Understand, human trafficking is here. It’s in Arkansas.”

Both Brown and Sergeant Foster want everyone to remember that human trafficking is a prevalent issue in rural areas as well as large cities. They both want everyone to come together and give victims their voice back.

“It’s all about choice, giving this individual a choice for the first time in a long time,” Foster said. “It’s just a powerful thing to see everybody, arms working for one goal.”

For more information on indicators and how to report possible human trafficking, visit the websites for the Arkansas Department of Public Safety and Hope Found of NEA.

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