Rosters Set For Fall World Series

Fall World Series Rosters

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The annual Fall World Series gets underway Monday at Baum Stadium as the 2017 Razorback baseball team nears the end of its fall workout season.

The intrasquad games, which will be a best of five series, will split the roster and the coaching staff into two teams (Cardinal, Gray). Head coach Dave Van Horn will oversee the Gray team, while assistant coach Tony Vitello will head up the Cardinal team.

Van Horn, now entering his 15th season at the helm of the Razorbacks, has been overseeing his new club that includes 24 newcomers and 22 returners. Of those 24 new players, six are coming in from junior colleges, and are part of a recruiting class that was recently ranked No. 12 in the nation by Baseball America.

Making up the Gray team are 12 veterans and 11 newcomers. Part of the pitching staff consists of right-handers Blaine Knight and Barrett Loseke. The team is also heavy with the bats as the top two Hog hitters from 2016, Luke Bonfield and Carson Shaddy, will don gray jerseys.

Knight and Loeseke both enjoyed successful freshman seasons with both garnering the lowest ERAs of any starting pitcher on the team. Knight led all starting pitchers with a 2.98 ERA over 48 innings, boasting two victories and 46 strikeouts in 18 appearances.

Loeseke became one of the Razorbacks primary starting pitchers toward the end of the 2016 season, but was also one of Arkansas’ best pitchers out of the bullpen. In 11 relief appearances, Loseke had a perfect 0.00 ERA in 15 2/3 innings, giving up just 10 hits with two going for extra bases.

As for Bonfield and Shaddy, both were the only Razorbacks to hit over .300 last season. Shaddy led all Arkansas hitters with a .332 average, eight home runs and a .521 slugging percentage. Bonfield led all players with 39 RBIs.

On the Cardinal team, 11 veterans make up part of the squad that is heavy on pitching experience. Dominic Taccolini and Keaton McKinney make up the notable names on the Cardinal pitching staff, which also includes sophomore Isaiah Campbell.

Taccolini is Arkansas’ lone senior starting pitcher from a year ago and decided to return for his final year of college after being drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 16th round of last summer’s MLB Draft. Taccolini was Arkansas’ primary starting pitcher last year, making 13 starts in 15 appearances. He posted an even 5-5 record with a 5.75 ERA over 72 innings pitched.

He also turned in one of Arkansas’ best performances in school history when he threw a complete 10-inning shutout against Kentucky back in April, hurling a career-high 10 strikeouts in the process with no walks.

The pitching matchup for Game 1 of the series will be determined Monday morning. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Baum Stadium.

Fall World Series Schedule
Game 1 – Monday, Oct. 17 at 1 p.m.
Game 2 – Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 5 p.m.
Game 3 – Wednesday, Oct. 19 at 2:30 p.m.
Game 4 – Friday, Oct. 21 at 6 p.m. (if necessary)
Game 5 – Saturday, Oct. 22 at Noon (if necessary)

(Thursday, Oct. 20 will be an off day)

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