Arkansas baseball Dave Van Horn said second baseman Nolan Souza will miss the rest of this weekend's series against Georgia and could be out 'a lot longer' after sustaining a shoulder injury Friday night.
The No. 1 Razorbacks defeated the No. 6 Bulldogs 13-3, but Souza's injury puts a damper on the dominant victory.
With one out in the top of the fifth, Souza smacked a double off the wall in left field. The next batter was Justin Thomas, who hit a hard ground ball to Georgia third baseman Slate Alford.
"I don't know much yet. He hurt it pretty bad," Dave Van Horn said.
Souza should have just stayed at second base, but he made a mental error and darted for third. The Hawaiian second baseman tried to avoid a tag from Alford, running left of the base line and making a diving attempt at the bag. Alford still applied the tag, and the collision appeared to lead to Souza's injury.
In the next half inning, the SECN+ broadcast showed Souza sitting on the bench with his right arm in a sling and a large ice pack resting on his shoulder.
The sophomore got off to a slow start this spring but was coming alive in recent weeks. Souza had a .354 batting average in his last 10 games, razing his season average to .250. He has four home runs and 22 RBIs on the season.
Freshman Gabe Fraser took over for Souza at second base Friday night and could be the full-time replacement as long as Souza is out injured. Fraser delivered a go-ahead RBI triple in his first at-bat and is hitting .227 with one home run in 22 at-bats this season.
The Hogs and Bulldogs will play game two of the series Saturday at 3 p.m. CT.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Nolan Souza injury update: Arkansas baseball ...
