Nate Allen

FAYETTEVILLE - Upon the Razorbacks return from winning the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala., Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn Monday was asked to update the injury situations and availabilities of first baseman Brady Slavens and pitcher Zebulon Vermillion for the Fayetteville Regional that Arkansas starts hosting Friday at Baum-Walker Stadium.

The winner of the 4-team double-elimination tournament including the four-seeded  New Jersey Institute of Technology, third-seeded Northeastern University Huskies, the second-seeded Nebraska Cornhuskers and the nationally No. 1 seeded SEC champion/SEC Tournament champion Razorbacks advances to next week’s Super Regionals whose eight winners advance to the College World Series in Omaha.

Slavens, batting .300 with 13 home runs and team leading 60 RBI, missed Arkansas’ SEC Tournament victories over Vanderbilt, Ole Miss and Tennessee upon exiting with a severely sprained ankle during Arkansas’ SEC Tourney first game victory over Georgia.

Slavens was immediately placed in a walking boot.

“Slavens is walking around without the boot today,”  Van Horn said.  “But I would say just looking at him he’s very, very questionable for this week.”

Cullen Smith starred in the SEC Tournament moving from third base to first base with freshman right fielder and former Greenbrier third baseman Cayden Wallace playing third and formerly starting third baseman Jacob Nesbit employed for late-innings defense.

Vermillion suffered a recurring biceps cramp and had to exit vs. the second batter he faced pitching last Saturday against Ole Miss.

Because of Monday’s Memorial Day holiday Vermillion’s won’t be more thoroughly  medically evaluated  until Tuesday, Van Horn said.