Van Horn reflects on super Sunday

Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn watches his team from the dugout during the Stephen F. Austin game Wednesday, April 15, 2015, at Baum Stadium.
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn watches his team from the dugout during the Stephen F. Austin game Wednesday, April 15, 2015, at Baum Stadium.

FAYETTEVILLE -- An Arkansas baseball season in critical condition a month ago has taken a turn for the better.

The Razorbacks stunned No. 1 Texas A&M on Sunday with a six-run comeback to finish off a rain-suspended game and followed with a seven-inning rout to deal the Aggies (35-5, 12-5) their first back-to-back losses and first series setback.

Arkansas (24-17 overall) won its fourth consecutive SEC series to level its conference record (9-9) and catapult itself into the No. 25 spot in Monday's Baseball America poll.

"When you're going to beat somebody as good as Texas A&M in their own ballpark, you've got to have a few things go your way and obviously we did," Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said on Monday. "But we've had some things go against us this year, and it's about time it turned around."

The Razorbacks went to bed late Saturday in College Station, Texas, facing an 8-3 deficit in the seventh inning of a weather-suspended game after enduring a 13-6 rout against ace Trey Killian in the earlier game, which had been postponed from Friday night.

Arkansas scratched out a run in the seventh inning, then Joe Serrano's bases-loaded triple triggered a five-run rally in the eighth inning as the Razorbacks pulled out a 9-8 victory.

There was a two-hour break after the end of the suspended game and another two-hour delay in the top of the first of Sunday's regularly scheduled game, which began at 3 p.m. but did not resume until after 5.

But Arkansas scored six runs in the first inning , triggered by key hits from Serrano, Luke Bonfield and Brett McAfee. Freshman right-hander Keaton McKinney was the beneficiary and the Hogs won the seven-inning second game, 8-2.

"I never could have guessed it would go the way it did," Van Horn said. "We came out and played awfully hard."

Sophomore center fielder Andrew Benintendi hit .545 for the weekend and stole four bases en route to being named on Monday as the SEC player of the week.

Benintendi, the NCAA home-run leader with 14, reached base in his final nine plate appearances over the weekend.

Arkansas, which was 11-12 on March 24, has won 13 of 18 to jump to No. 52 in the NCAA RPI ratings and significantly improve its chances of making a 13th consecutive NCAA regional under Van Horn.

"I just feel like one reason we're playing better and things are going our way is because guys are starting to know their roles a little bit," Van Horn said. "And it's not all about them. It's about the team and whatever we've got to do to win."

Arkansas had two six-run innings and one five-run inning against an Aggies pitching staff that entered the weekend with an NCAA-best 2.07 earned run average.

"First off, we weren't intimidated by their pitching," Van Horn said. "We knew they had good pitchers. We've seen good pitching.

"It's that time of the year where hitters a lot of times are seeing it pretty good. It doesn't matter if you're throwing it 87 or 97 [mph], if you leave it in the middle of the zone we're going to hit it. We're not intimidated by it."

The Razorbacks had contributors up and down the roster.

Jackson Lowery (4-0) had a seven-out scoreless stint in the second game, pitching Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, that provided opportunity for the Arkansas comeback. James Teague nailed down his first save in that 9-8 game by posting two outs with two Aggies on board, including the final out on a strikeout after falling behind 3-0 on Logan Nottebrook.

Van Horn also found positives in the 13-6 series-opening loss that helped get the Razorbacks turned around:

First, there was starter Trey Killian, who stuck around for 4 2/3 innings despite yielding 11 earned runs, taking pressure off the bullpen. And there was Arkansas' six-run sixth inning, in the first game which featured Michael Bernal's grand slam.

Van Horn said Killian didn't complain about having to eat a couple of innings to save the Arkansas bullpen and it helped pay off in the final two games.

Overcoming the 8-3 deficit in the last three innings of the suspended game might not have happened if the Razorbacks hadn't mounted the big rally in first game.

"We scored six runs in one inning the previous game to get back in it, so we knew we could do it," Van Horn said. "We knew we had a chance."

There was also a solid outing by McKinney (3-1) to win the series finale, which came on the heels of his complete-game victory over Kentucky the previous Sunday. McKinney allowed 7 hits and 4 walks in 5 1/3 innings.

Van Horn said McKinney's work the last few weeks was "huge,"and not just because it took stress off the bullpen.

"It really helps the position players relax a little bit too, and maybe the coaches a little because ... we know he's going to give us some innings."

Van Horn said the Razorbacks, who have won four consecutive SEC series, can not afford to be mislead by the sub .500 SEC records of their final four conference opponents -- Mississippi State, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia,

"I guess the biggest concern for me is that I know how good the league is and really just what separates it a little bit," he said. "Those are dangerous teams. Those are teams that are fighting for their lives. We're still one of those teams. I mean, you take two wins away from us and we're right there with them. That's how fragile it is."

Sports on 04/21/2015

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