Freshman's Emergence Makes Van Horn's Decision Easy For Razorbacks

Three straight outings without an earned run catapults Colin Fisher into role as mid-week starter

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas' trio of weekend starters of Hagen Smith, Brady Tygart and Mason Molina were locked in rotation spots before fall ball even began. What was far less clear was who would start mid-week games for the Razorbacks. 

Three appearances later, Colin Fisher looks to have provided a clear-cut answer. The freshman has not allowed an earned run in 82/3 innings and has already served multiple roles. Fisher is the reigning co-SEC Freshman of the Week and outperformed all three weekend starters against James Madison, going five scoreless innings. 

In the 14-inning marathon game against Oklahoma State, the Razorbacks were running out of pitchers. Coach Dave Van Horn called on Fisher to come out of the bullpen. Although he took the loss, with the game ending on a perfectly executed suicide squeeze, Fisher struck out six in 21/3 as part of a program-record 25 strikeouts. 

Fisher's latest outing is a clear sign that the mid-week starter battle is all but over for now. After throwing 39 pitches Saturday, Van Horn sent Fisher back out to start against Grambling. 

"We were going to go one [inning] with him," Van Horn said. "If he got three guys out on eight pitches maybe we’d let him go again. But we just wanted to let him get in the rhythm of starting on Tuesday like he was going to." 

Van Horn has been high on Fisher since the preseason, lauding his pitch-ability and a knack for throwing strikes.

"We knew he was a strike-throwing lefty that had a breaking ball and a change-up," Van Horn said. "He could pitch. Whether he didn’t gain another mph on his fastball, he could come in and get college hitters out."

Getting over the mental block of transitioning to high school baseball to the SEC can be challenging, but after the start of fall ball, Fisher has done it seamlessly.

"Definitely just attacking the zone," Fisher said after his start against James Madison. "I felt like earlier in the fall I was trying to be like, too perfect. So attacking the zone definitely helped, and just trusting the defense more. My game plan for today was trust the defense and throw a lot of strikes."

Of all the highly touted freshmen Van Horn brought in, Fisher has managed to stand out most. He was ranked the fifth-best prospect of his class from the state of Oklahoma according to Perfect Game. Van Horn really lauds Fisher's composure.

"I just think after being around him in the fall and realizing he’s a little more mature than some freshmen mentally," Van Horn said.  "He was going to help us right away."

The Razorbacks continue their 12-game non-conference home stand against Murray State Friday at 3 p.m. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+.

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