Peyton Stovall Returns with Renewed Energy for Razorbacks

  Junior second baseman Peyton Stovall kept playing and playing. For weeks, Stovall had pain in his arm until it came to a crashing halt against Texas A&M last May. After getting surgery over the summer to repair a torn labrum, Stovall is ready to come back with a new attitude toward baseball. 

"You kind of had different have a different mindset when something's taken from you for so long that you love to do," Stovall said. "I wasn't really doing anything (baseball related) for eight or nine months, just grinding out rehab day in and day out. It just brings another level of joy and passion to the game for me."

Despite the injury-riddled 2023, Stovall still put up respectable numbers, slashing .253/.330/.393 in 38 games. After missing the entirety of fall ball, Stovall has made his appearances of the preseason over the past two scrimmages. 

Coach Dave Van Horn also knows the importance of getting back a key piece of the lineup and an excellent glove that was sorely missed down the stretch of last year's campaign. 

"Getting Stovall back, Van Horn said. He’s been amazing. Again, fielding, accuracy of his arm has been great." 

Stovall also could see his position in the batting order change from seasons past. Van Horn floated the idea of returning Stovall to the top of the order, a spot he found himself in at the beginning of his freshman season in 2021. 

"Probably Peyton Stovall," Van Horn said. "If we started tomorrow, that's probably who I would hit leadoff. He can swing the bat extremely well, he's got a good eye, he's a lot stronger than he was last year at this time. Really seeing improvement of him driving the ball the other way."

Regardless of where he hits in the lineup, as Stovall slowly gets back up to game speed, he's ready to reestablish himself as a key cog of the 2024 team with more motivation. 

"I'm so excited to be back out here," Stovall said. "I was a little nervous. There was probably 150 people here yesterday and I was like 'That's a lot.' It lights more fire going into the season."

Stovall and the rest of the Hogs start their 2024 season against James Madison at 3 p.m. Feb. 16.