Hog calls

Hogs' comeback cause for celebration

Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn (right) speaks to Jeff Long, director of athletics, while preparing for LSU Friday, March 20, 2015, at Baum Stadium in Fayetteville.
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn (right) speaks to Jeff Long, director of athletics, while preparing for LSU Friday, March 20, 2015, at Baum Stadium in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Between national interviews over the phone, Dave Van Horn worked in time Tuesday for an Arkansas-based reporter with others clamoring.

Van Horn has been a college baseball head coach for 26 years and in his 13th season at Arkansas.

Never, Van Horn acknowledged after Arkansas twice defeated the nationally No. 1 Texas A&M Aggies on Sunday during a SEC West series at A&M's Olsen Field, has he been under a regular-season media siege like he has been since Sunday.

"I guess when you are down here and you beat somebody that's up there and the way we did it, it gathered a lot of attention for us," Van Horn said.

The three-game, three-day series was scheduled to begin last Friday night but was rained out, which led to a day-night doubleheader Saturday. Arkansas (24-17, 9-9 SEC) lost the opener 13-6, then trailed 8-3 and was about to bat in the seventh inning when prolonged lightning suspended the game until Sunday afternoon.

When play resumed the next day, Arkansas scored one run in the seventh and five with two outs in the eighth, numbing the Aggies and previously unscored upon reliever Mark Ecker with a 9-8 loss from which A&M never recovered.

Arkansas scored six in the first inning of the series finale and breezed to an 8-2 victory to take the series.

"We are winning and going crazy, and they are just sitting there in disbelief that in two innings they have blown a five-run lead with a bullpen that has been unhittable," Van Horn said. "They had played two months of baseball and only lost three times [35-3, 12-3 in the SEC until losing twice Sunday].

"They probably hadn't faced that much adversity, and we backed it up with pitchers throwing a lot of strikes and we didn't make an error. It was a good day."

A day that easily could have begun with the Hogs just playing out the 8-3 string and regrouping for the last game.

"That would have been the mind-set if we hadn't punched in a run in the seventh, I think," Van Horn said. "Just as important, we got them out quickly in their seventh."

Arkansas scored five to overcome the Aggies in the eighth and then held on as it closed out the comeback victory, but the game-winning exhilaration was curtailed quickly.

"I told them enjoy this another five minutes and that we had another game in an hour and a half and we need to win that game and get out of here and they did," Van Horn said. "Now when we won that second game, that's the happiest I have seen this team. They were whooping and hollering for 30 minutes.

"They were still enjoying it on the bus and they deserved it."

He gave them Monday and Tuesday off, but it's back to practice today with Mississippi State coming this SEC weekend to Baum Stadium.

"This is great and enjoy it," Van Horn said. "But we still have a lot of work to do."

Sports on 04/22/2015

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