Familiar Face

Arkansas got a chance Wednesday to face one of its former pitchers when Kansas reliever Brett Bollman took over in the bottom of the sixth inning, hoping to get his new team out of trouble.

Bollman went 0-3 with a 5.94 ERA in 10 games as a freshman with the Razorbacks in 2006, but he transferred to Kansas after one season at Arkansas.

Bollman came in after Arkansas center fielder Brett Eibner smacked a two-run single to left field, giving the Hogs a 2-0 lead. Bollman got Aaron Murphree to ground out to third base to end the inning.

Bollman, a sophomore, gave up no hits and no runs with one strikeout in 1 1/3 innings of relief.

Better Start

James Mahler's second start as an Arkansas pitcher went much better than his debut last week.

Mahler struggled in his first start last Friday, giving up five hits and four runs in 1 1/3 innings to get a no-decision in the 9-4 win over Wright State on opening day.

But the 6-foot-7, 240-pound freshman bounced back, recording a team-high six strikeouts and giving up only one hit in Wednesday's 2-1 win over Kansas. He lasted 3 1/3, but got another no-decision.

"Now he can go to bed tonight, he can relax and start thinking about how good he is instead of how he's got to make a move to get back into the rotation," Van Horn said. "He did a good job."

Never Scared

Eibner has played only four games as a Razorback, and yet he has already impressed Van Horn with his courage.

The freshman came up with Arkansas' biggest hit of the afternoon when he knocked a single to left field with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning to score the team's only two runs.

"He showed that he's not scared and that's the main thing at this level," Van Horn said. "When you go from high school to here, or even junior college to the Division I level, you have to be fearless."

THE INSIDE PITCH

Arkansas Razorbacks

ON DECK: Louisiana Tech vs. Arkansas

WHEN: 12:30 p.m. Friday

WHERE: Olsen Field, College Station, Texas

SERIES: 0-0

LAST MEETING: Arkansas defeated Louisiana Tech, 6-2, on Feb. 4, 2007

TV: Cox Sports (cable 119)

ON THE AIR: KFAY 1030 AM, others TBD