FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — It’s not really surprising that Arkansas social media released a starter for tonight’s game at 6 p.m. against Texas A&M a little early or that it’s Brady Tygart, who has been out with an injury for a couple of months.
The players have said he would play this week and Razorbacks coach Dave Van Horn said after the loss at Missouri State that he might start Tygart, who had an MCL sprain of his elbow March 1 and has slowly worked his way back into playing.
Tonight's starter: @BradyTygart pic.twitter.com/5zPbCBNmli
— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) April 28, 2023
“Brady’s obviously a dude,” freshman Ben Bybee said Tuesday. ” He’s super excited and working really hard to get back to where he is right now.”
It provides a shot in the arm for a pitching staff that has been struggling with injuries since projected No. 1 starter Jaxon Wiggins was lost for the season before it ever started. They’ve been trying to figure it out since then.
“He threw a ton of innings for us in high-leverage situations last year, so I mean I think everyone’s pumped,” Hagen Smith said after Thursday’s 7-5 win in the series opener at Baum-Walker Stadium.
You wonder how long it will take for him to be ready to live up to last year’s All-SEC Freshman status. Maybe the initial projection of 5-6 seeks that turned into now eight weeks was for more preparation and we really have no idea what’s been going on in practices and how he’s been re-habbed.
Considering the move to bring in Smith in the opener (he ended up working the last four innings, giving up just a couple of hits) caught some by surprise, we honestly have little to no idea how Tygart has been prepared.
Razorbacks and Aggies tonight at 6pm at Baum-Walker Stadium. pic.twitter.com/Ahm1Z4cSiB
— Mark Taylor (@mdt1021) April 28, 2023
But pressure situations is something he’s dealt with before. After the Hogs ended a four-game losing streak to finally get a win, Tygart comes along at a good time. After all, postseason starts now in less than a month.
Tonight’s second game is set for 6 p.m. (depending on the weather in the area here) at Baum-Walker Stadium.
