When Razorbacks Blew 8-0 Lead, SEMO's Sawyers, Hogs' Van Horn Expected Win
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Dave Van Horn didn't panic when his Razorbacks blew an 8-0 lead in their opening game of the NCAA Regional Friday afternoon. He simply went for a short stroll.
"I walked up and down the dugout and told the guys on the bench that when the guys get off the field, you've gotta pick them up," Van Horn said. "You've got to remind them the game is tied."
Top seed Arkansas led 8-0 after two innings against fourth-seeded Southeast Missouri State and the Baum-Walker Stadium faithful were already celebrating. However, the Redhawks posted a four-spot in the third and fifth innings to quiet the crowd of 11,062. Even worse, UA fans were nervous, upset at the Hogs' hurlers who were on their way to handing out a season-tying high of 10 free passes, and now scared of losing.
At that point, the game was as messy as the pregame weather that threatened a delay. Both teams had eight runs but each had only five hits.
SEMO Coach Andy Sawyers was as hopeful as Arkansas fans were despondent. "I thought we were going to win in the middle of the game," Sawyers said. "I really did. When it was 8 to 8, I legitimately thought we'd win. When they brought in (closer Gabe Gaeckle) in the sixth inning, I thought we've got 'em where we want 'em."
Instead, the Hogs responded with a pair of two-out solo home runs by shortstop Wehiwa Aloy and right fielder Kendall Diggs in the bottom of the fifth to regain the lead. Van Horn said the immediate response was a huge boost for confidence and morale.
"When we answered, it fired up our dugout quite a bit," Van Horn said. "That was big for us to score after they tied it." He felt the bench guys did their job in helping perk up the starters after his dugout-long walk and talk to instruct them to offer encouragement after Semo's rally to tie the fray. "Our dugout did a good job there," he added.
Hog hitters kept the pressure on as first baseman Ben McLaughlin slugged his second three-run homer in the seventh. Catcher Hudson White opened the scoring with a first-inning solo homer to right, added a sacrifice fly prior to McLaughlin's homer in the seventh, and closed the scoring with a two-run blast to left-center in the eighth to produce the 17-9 final.
"White's a lot stronger than I realized," Sawyers said. "He's got real backside juice."
Both of McLaughlin's home runs--he now has nine for the season, one more than White--came with two strikes. He was simply hitting the ball where it's pitched, McLaughlin said, and "Stacking ABs (at-bats) is all I'm trying to do."
The Hogs did that well as a team, eventually knocking 16 hits. Still, three SEMO errors led to six unearned runs for the home team, although Van Horn was philosophical about both teams' gift giving. "They kicked a couple of balls that helped us." he said matter-of-factly. "When we walked them, they scored."
Van Horn never wants his pitchers to surrender nine runs, especially when he's forced to use four relievers and perhaps burn his closer for the rest of the double-elimination opening round of the tournament. Gaeckle said despite throwing 62 pitches that he feels fine but Van Horn's response to whether his freshman fireballer would be available come Sunday or even Monday was to shrug and say, "He's not going to throw unless he feels good."
Good news is how the Hog hitters are feeling now after claiming a slugfest reminiscent of their 20-13 opening win in the 1985 NCAA Regional and a 20-12 thrashing of Oklahoma State just two years ago.
Asked if Friday's style of win could actually benefit a ballclub in the long run, Van Horn nodded and said, "Sometimes it sure can when your offense comes alive and guys start swinging the bats well. It can carry over and you can just keep scoring runs."
HOGS FEED:
• Razorbacks ride offense to topsy-turvy win over SEMO to open regional
• Razorbacks' fans of deja vu simply case of mistaken identity
• What's Van Horn's plan for capitalizing on Smith in regional?
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BOB STEPHENS