FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas baseball Coach Dave Van Horn got a standing ovation at the start and big applause at the end of his remarks at the monthly Swatters Club meeting at the Hilton Garden Inn on Monday.
The club members gave Van Horn an ovation after Brett Dolan, UA's senior broadcast manager, brought him to the podium with congratulations for picking up his 600th victory at Arkansas, which he did in a 5-2 victory at San Diego State on Feb. 24.
The rousing recognition at the end of his remarks were for Van Horn's assessment of the No. 7 Razorbacks' series victory over Southern California to cap a 4-1 record in a stretch of five days Sunday.
"That win was good for our national perception," Van Horn said of the Hogs' 7-6 victory Sunday that was sparked by a two-run rally in the final inning against USC closer Connor Lunn.
"We didn't play very well this weekend and yet we won two out of three," he said, triggering the closing ovation.
The victories left the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville at 9-3 three weeks into the season with one more weekend series against Kent State remaining before the Razorbacks host longtime rival Texas for two games and play their SEC opener against Kentucky after that.
Van Horn expanded on his state-of-the-team remarks with the media moments later.
"I don't think we're playing real good yet," Van Horn said. "If I was grading us, I'd probably give us a B-minus to be honest with you.
"I think we're a lot better defensive team [than they've shown]. And offensively, the numbers aren't bad, but we've had some days we don't do much. That's usually a credit to the other team's pitching or defense, or both. But I think our better days are still in front of us. Guys are still figuring it out. I think the more we play and the warmer it gets, the better we're going to get."
Van Horn had praise for several freshmen, including infielder Casey Martin, who was named SEC Freshman of the Week on Monday.
"He's really done a good job of just being a spark for us offensively," Van Horn said. "He's a guy I feel like in the future will be a 20-plus stolen base a year guy."
Martin hit .444 in five games last week, raising his average to .414. The Lonoke product has a .793 slugging percentage that ranks sixth in the SEC and is the highest among league freshmen.
"It just seemed like we put Casey out there and he just continues to score runs, drive in runs and be a force," Van Horn said.
After a 2-2 trip to the West Coast the week before and the games on five consecutive days last week, the Hogs have two days without practice before beginning preparations for Kent State (6-3).
The Razorbacks rank sixth in the country and second in the SEC with a 1.78 team ERA. They are No. 27 in the nation and seventh in the SEC with a .308 batting average, and their 17 home runs rank ninth nationally and fourth in the SEC. The Hogs are on a better home run pace than in 2017, when they had 15 home runs through 13 games and wound up with an SEC-best 83.
The team's .968 fielding percentage, which ranks No. 161 nationally, has Van Horn frustrated.
"We've made too many errors," he said, indicating not many of the blunders have come on tough plays. "We've got to clean that up, and I think we will."
Van Horn said the weekend rotation would feature junior right-hander Blaine Knight (2-0, 0.53 ERA) and sophomore right-hander Isaiah Campell (1-1, 1.88) on Friday and Saturday, but his Sunday starter is undecided. Junior left-hander Kacey Murphy (1-0, 0.00) is a possibility, along with freshman right-hander Bryce Bonnin (1-0, 0.00), who threw five scoreless innings in Thursday's 11-0 victory Dayton.
The Razorbacks threw all freshmen in the two-game sweep of Dayton by a combined 29-1 score, with Bonnin, Caleb Bolden, Hunter Milligan, Zebulon Vermillion and Kole Ramage not allowing an earned run on 14 hits with 2 walks and 22 strikeouts.
Jackson Rutledge, a 6-8 freshman, closed Knight's 4-0 victory over USC with three scoreless innings, then got the victory Sunday with a clean eighth inning.
"He's going to be a dude, isn't he," Van Horn told the crowd. "He's a big ol' boy. I still mess with him, but I probably won't next year."
Junior Keaton McKinney, who experienced soreness in his medically repaired right elbow after his start on opening weekend, will work a bullpen session this week, Van Horn said.
Sports on 03/06/2018