By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas pitcher Mike Bolsinger knows what it’s like to feel pressure. After all, the senior was the Razorbacks’ go-to guy out of the bullpen last season, getting them out of tight jams and pitching in three College World Series games.
But the jitters Bolsinger was feeling before stepping on the mound as Arkansas’ opening day starter against Ball State was different. It was something he had never felt in his college career.
“I was up in the locker room just pacing back and forth,” Bolsinger said. “I was like, ‘Man, I don’t want to mess this one up.’ I’ve only had a couple of starts here, but they didn’t go as planned.”
He didn’t have to worry. The right-hander threw well in his first start of the season, helping the Hogs grab a season-opening 10-2 win in front of an announced crowd of 4,847 in Baum Stadium.
Bolsinger earned the victory — his first as a starter for the Razorbacks — after allowing one run on four hits in five innings of work. He struck out six batters, walked one, and took his first step in showing he can be a suitable replacement for departed Friday night pitcher Dallas Keuchel this season.
“I thought he did a good job,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. “He had one time in his five innings he really got a little wild on a couple of hitters, but for the most part he kept it down in the zone.”
Bolsinger hadn’t started a game for the Razorbacks since struggling against Florida last March. He earned just his third start at Arkansas on Friday.
Bolsinger worked on a pitch count limiting him to 75 pitches and said he was never comfortable with is curveball. But he was strong enough to get through five innings.
The only blemish came in the fourth when Ian Nielsen singled to score Kolbrin Vitek.
Arkansas had more than enough run support for Bolsinger and reliever TJ Forrest, who allowed one run and five hits in four innings of relief.
Jarrod McKinney, Zack Cox, Andy Wilkins and Brett Eibner all collected two hits for the Hogs.
McKinney went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI in his debut as Arkansas’ lead-off hitter, while Wilkins hit a solo home run in the eighth inning.
“Any time you score 10 runs on 13 hits, it’s going to be a good day,” Eibner said.
Arkansas’ opener didn’t go without one significant problem, though.
Second baseman Bo Bigham left the game with a shoulder injury after diving for a ground ball in the third inning. Bigham, who was in obvious pain, walked off the field clutching his arm close to his chest and was replaced by infielder Tim Carver.
“I’m not a doctor,” Van Horn said. “But I’m going to say it was definitely out of place and it wasn’t being popped back in. He had some shoulder problems his senior year of high school and I think it was the same shoulder. So I’m really concerned about that.”
The injury couldn’t dampen Bolsinger’s night.
The McKinney, Texas native, who was smiling after the win, said starting a game out of the bullpen required a “totally different mentality.” But unlike his previous two starts with the Razorbacks, Bolsinger enjoyed a much better result Friday.
“It’s new to me,” Bolsinger said. “This is my first win as a starter at Arkansas. So it’s kind of cool.”
