Van Horn's Gamble With Razorbacks Game 1 Starter

Arkansas ace saved for later in Regional

Arkansas Razorbacks pitcher Mason Molina hangs his head waiting on Dave Van Horn to walk from the dugout to replace him in the second inning. / Craven Whitlow-allHOGS Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Coach Dave Van Horn has opted to leave Hagen Smith on the bench for the series opener, instead announcing that fellow lefty Mason Molina will get the start against Southeast Missouri State to open the Fayetteville Regional.

Mase on the mound in Game 1 🔥 pic.twitter.com/2fbSdug71H

— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) May 30, 2024

Molina has not started a game since May 12 against Mississippi State and was charged with four earned runs in just one inning of work. In the time since, the lefty has pitched five scoreless innings out of the bullpen across two appearances and only allowed one baserunner with five strikeouts. Prior to that, Molina had been exclusively a starter for nearly two full seasons between Arkansas and Texas Tech.

Even with the Razorbacks being heavy favorites against the No.4 seed in the region SEMO, there is an inherent risk to leaving your ace, who has carried the Hogs to an overwhelming majority of its success, on the bench. Van Horn hinted at the potential of starting Molina earlier in his pre-regional press conference.

"We’ve got a lot of guys who could throw for us," Van Horn said. "A couple of them are left-handed."

It's an interesting conundrum higher seeded coaches often find themselves in with varying schools of thought. Do you save the ace for a 1-0 game while essentially lowering your chances of winning the opening game or do you pitch as if it were single-elimination? LSU's Jay Johnson opted to pitch Paul Skenes in the opening game against Tulane en route to a 7-2 win and a 3-0 finish in the Baton Rouge Regional in 2023. LSU went on to win the national title a few weeks later in Omaha.

Van Horn opted against that and instead will send Molina to the mound against SEMO. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday and will be streamed on ESPN+.

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