Connect with us

Arkansas

Dave Van Horn reveals where Arkansas starting rotation stands entering season

Published

on

Dave Van Horn reveals where Arkansas starting rotation stands entering season


Going into the 2025 baseball season, there are several questions about the Arkansas Razorbacks‘ starting rotation. Those are important questions to answer, but head coach Dave Van Horn knows that he has several options to choose from.

While Van Horn didn’t want to commit to anyone ahead of the season, he did share some options that Arkansas has and broadly explained where the rotation stands.

“We’re going to let them prove it to us a little more,” Dave Van Horn said. “We saw a lot of good things in the fall and then off-season. I think just because we’ve been around Gabe Gaeckle so much, had him here, we feel like that he will definitely be a starter. [Zach] Root looks like a starter. Gage Wood. [Landon] Beidelschies. Those are all possibilities, and there are some other guys in there now.”

Gaeckle, who Van Horn shared will be a starter, is a right-handed sophomore who appeared in 22 games out of the bullpen last season. He had a 2.32 ERA in 42.2 innings pitched, striking out 57 while only walking 19 batters. Then, Root, another pitcher in a good position to start, is a left-handed junior who transferred in from ECU. Last season, he made 13 appearances and 12 starts, pitching 68.1 innings with a 3.56 ERA. He did that while striking out 76 batters and walking another 21.

Advertisement

As for Gage Wood and Landon Beidelschies, they both started games last season. In Wood’s case, it was three starts in 22 appearances with a 4.46 ERA. Then, Beidelschies comes as a transfer from Ohio State where he started 15 games with a 4.15 ERA.

“But the first weekend, we play four games, which I think is a good thing for this team, and then head down to Texas. If you look at our schedule, there aren’t a lot of games where you can go, ‘Okay, we’re going to experiment with that freshman out there.’ Although, in some cases with freshmen, it’s not an experiment. They’re pretty darn good. I mean, yeah, kind of tip-toeing around the question, but I mentioned four guys at the top and they’ll battle for those jobs to start out.”

Beyond those four pitchers, Arkansas has other options. Ben Bybee, Will McEntire, Cole Gibler, Tag Andrews, and Aidan Jimenez could all potentially start games for the Razorbacks. Regardless, it gives Dave Van Horn options in the rotation and the bullpen.

Typically, teams rely on three starters for the three-game weekend series that they play during each of those games. Another starter can be turned to for a weekday game. So, Dave Van Horn will want to be confident in that rotation by Friday, February 14th when they open the season at home against Washington State.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Arkansas

Razorbacks NIL Raffle Bill Hits Minor Snag, Still On Track For Baseball Season

Published

on

Razorbacks NIL Raffle Bill Hits Minor Snag, Still On Track For Baseball Season


FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The 95th General Assembly is now in session in Little Rock. Arkansas fans will be watching closely the movement of House Bill 1044, which would allow the University of Arkansas and other state schools to set up a 50/50 raffle to support NIL. Read the full bill here.

Schools are scrambling to stash away as much money as possible both in terms of the foundation fundraising, as evidenced by athletic director Hunter Yurachek’s recent Bud Walton “reseating” announcement. The Hogs are also looking to beef up NIL.

Schools across the state would be able to run a hybrid 50/50 raffle at athletic events that would allow fans at the game and people online with an Arkansas IP address to participate in a raffle pool in which half of the funds will go to a lucky winner and the other half to NIL efforts. The structure is similar to a promotion run by Florida Victorious during football season, the NIL arm of the Florida Gators.

The bill, filed initially in November, is still in the House Rules Committee and is sitting on the deferred bills list. There are minor changes to the language bill, due to potential legal concerns.

Advertisement

“There’s no substantial changes,” lead sponsor RJ Hawk (R-Bryant) said. “It’s just making sure that this thing, if it were ever to get challenged in a court that it would hold up. We’re just making sure all our I’s are dotted and T’s are crossed.”

Despite the minor hold-up, Hawk remains optimistic that not only will the pass the rules committee and the legislature, Fans will be able to still see the benefits of the bill this baseball season.

“As long as we can get it out [of the rules committee] in the month of February,” Hawk said. “We’ll be good to go.”

There is confidence that not only will the bill will pass, but also that schools will be ready to hit the ground running once they get the final green light because of the emergency clause attached to the bill. The clause allows the bill to go into effect immediately after the governor’s signature instead of the traditional 91 days after the end of the legislative session.

“From my understanding not just the UA [will be ready to go],” Hawk said. “All parties involved [will be ready] that the minute this becomes law they’re they’re ready to roll. I can’t speak for them as far as where they are in the process, but based on my conversations it seems like that once this becomes law, they’ll be ready to rock and roll.”

Advertisement

If the bill passes the House Rules Committee, it will go to full floor vote in the House before heading off to the senate. Hawk expects no changes between the bill passed in the House and the Senate. The Senate bill’s sponsor is Jonathan Dismang (R-Searcy).

The House Rules Committee meets every Wednesday in Little Rock. The Razorbacks start its baseball season 3 p.m. Feb. 14 against Washington State.

• Calipari doesn’t want Hogs to forget longtime fans in new policy

• Former Hogs’ All-American linebacker takes NFL coaching job

• Job most likely to come open in SEC will surprise most

• Pitino gives Kentucky fans direction on dealing with Calipari

• Former Arkansas star receives exciting news from Chicago

• Subscribe and follow us on YouTube
• Follow HogsSI on X and Facebook



Source link

Continue Reading

Arkansas

Arkansas Senate approves bill to prohibit discrimination despite concerns it would impede minorities • Arkansas Advocate

Published

on

Arkansas Senate approves bill to prohibit discrimination despite concerns it would impede minorities • Arkansas Advocate


After more than an hour of sometimes impassioned debate, the Arkansas Senate approved a bill Wednesday that would “prohibit discrimination or preferential treatment” by public entities.

Senate Bill 3 would repeal language in state procurement proposals that encourage minority participation or require bidders to adopt an equal opportunity hiring program designed to increase the percentage of minority employees. The bill would also eliminate required minority recruitment and retention plans and reports from public school districts and higher education institutions.

Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro (Arkansas Secretary of State)

Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, is the bill’s primary sponsor and told his colleagues that “racism will never cure racism.” He also said the bill would make merit the primary reason Arkansans receive jobs and scholarships at state-funded institutions.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects people from employment discrimination on the basis of “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.” Senate Bill 3 has similar language but replaces “religion” with “ethnicity.”

Advertisement

All six Senate Democrats spoke against SB 3, saying it would reduce or eliminate opportunities for historically underrepresented groups, particularly Black Americans.

“Considering someone’s sex, race and background when providing them an opportunity is not a handout or an unfair advantage,” said Sen. Jamie Scott, D-North Little Rock. “It’s about a chance to break down barriers… [This bill] hinders progress while denying Arkansas the full potential of its talent as a state. Diversity isn’t just a moral imperative. It’s a practical necessity.”

Rep. Jamie Scott, D-Little Rock
Sen. Jamie Scott, D-North Little Rock (Arkansas Secretary of State)

The bill contains similar language to Senate Bill 71 of 2023, which Sullivan also sponsored. SB 71 passed the Senate almost two years ago with the minimum of 18 senators in favor, all white male Republicans.

Some GOP senators who voted for SB 3 voted against SB 71, voted present, did not vote or were absent from the chamber that day. Sen. Alan Clark of Lonsdale was the only Republican to join the Democrats in voting against both SB 3 and SB 71.

Clark said he supported most of the bill because “there’s got to be a time that we’re just all equal,” but he could not vote for amending a scholarship designed to attract qualified minority teachers to the Delta, a rural area with a significant Black population and a known teacher shortage.

Clark said he opposed making it more difficult to hire Black male teachers because they could help Black male students improve their educational outcomes. He expressed the same concern Tuesday before voting against the bill in the Senate Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs.

Advertisement

Sen. Clarke Tucker, D-Little Rock, also voted against SB 3 in committee Tuesday. He said Wednesday that the bill does not define “preferential treatment,” but the programs the bill would change provide context for the meaning of the phrase.

In addition to eliminating minority recruitment and retention structures in K-12 and higher education, the bill would change the Equity Assistance Center in the state’s Division of Elementary and Secondary Education to the Equality Assistance Center. Its purpose would be to assist the state’s public school districts with “desegregation and nondiscrimination” instead of “affirmative action, program accessibility, human relations, awareness, and desegregation” as currently required.

Sen. Clarke Tucker, D-Little Rock (Arkansas Secretary of State)

“These programs were created surgically to where they could have the most impact. This bill is not surgical,” Tucker said. “This bill, to Sen. Clark’s point, is a blunt instrument, and we have no idea what the impact of this bill will be.”

Tucker said the bill would discourage Arkansans from participation or employment in entities that focus on the lived experiences of minorities, such as the Arkansas Minority Health Commission within the state Department of Health, or the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, an African-American history museum in Little Rock.

“I don’t see how you can celebrate African-American history and have items in your gift shop created by African Americans in Arkansas without giving preferential treatment,” Tucker said.

Knowingly violating the bill would result in a Class A misdemeanor. Additionally, the text of the bill would allow anyone “who believes his or her rights have been impacted under this section” to file a civil lawsuit and allow a judge who sides with the plaintiff to issue an injunction and allow the plaintiff to recover court costs and attorneys’ fees.

Advertisement

Sen. Reginald Murdock, D-Marianna, said white Americans don’t need help obtaining educational and economic opportunities and that “it’s an insult to even have this conversation.”

Scott and Murdock both said programs aimed at minorities helped them attend college and complete their degrees. Sullivan claimed SB 3 would not eliminate such programs, but “more people will be able to affect those scholarships than fewer.”

The Legislature is composed mostly of white men, and only four of the 35 state senators are Black, including Scott and Murdock. The other two, Democratic Sens. Stephanie Flowers of Pine Bluff and Fredrick Love of Mabelvale, also spoke against the bill.

Republican Sens. Breanne Davis of Russellville and Missy Irvin of Mountain View both voted against SB 71 in 2023 but voted for SB 3 on Tuesday.

Sen. Breanne Davis, R-Russellville (Arkansas Secretary of State)

Davis said in an interview that SB 3’s narrower focus, particularly on “equal opportunity” hiring practices, earned her support.

“I think it’s important to be merit-based and hire the best people for the job,” she said.

Advertisement

Irvin said she believes “it’s a choice whether you feel marginalized or not” and “we should all view each other as Americans” in order to achieve “healing in our nation.” 

Sen. Jonathan Dismang, R-Searcy, voted present on SB 71 and voted for SB 3. Republican Sens. Blake Johnson of Corning and Jim Petty of Van Buren did not vote on SB 71 and voted for SB 3.

Additionally, Republican Sens. Steve Crowell of Magnolia and Terry Rice of Waldron did not vote on SB 3. Rice supported SB 71 in 2023 while Crowell did not vote on it.

Sen. Jane English, R-North Little Rock, voted against SB 71 and voted present on SB 3. She said in an interview that she was not comfortable voting for SB 3 without “a little more clarification” about its impact on hiring practices and certain programs.

The bill will next be considered by the House Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs. SB 71 made it to the House floor in 2023 but was voted down after several passionate speeches from members of both parties.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Arkansas

Arkansas House approves limiting plaintiffs’ damages in personal injury cases | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

Published

on

Arkansas House approves limiting plaintiffs’ damages in personal injury cases | Arkansas Democrat Gazette


The Arkansas House of Representatives approved on Wednesday a proposed measure that would limit the recovery of damages for past necessary medical care, treatment or services rendered to the costs actually paid by or on behalf of a plaintiff.

<br />








Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending