Diamond Hogs ready for road trip in NCAA Tournament
The Arkansas baseball team was on the team bus, headed from the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium and the SEC Tournament to the airport, when it got the news that it would not be a host.
The team was surprised, head coach Dave Van Horn said, that they didn’t do enough to host a regional as a top 16 seed. Instead, they’ll head to Lawrence, Kansas, to play in the Jayhawks’ regional.
“We were on the bus, you know we all showered and got on the bus and were headed to the airport when they posted the 16 sites,” head coach Dave Van Horn said Monday. “We were a little taken aback. We thought we were going to get one. You know, we had heard after we won the first two we were I good shape.”
Missouri State, a team Arkansas has played twice already this season, will be the Diamond Hogs’ first opponent, and the two will play at 5 p.m. CT on Friday. The Bears finished 34-19 and lost to Liberty in the Conference USA tournament.
The Bears are a mid-major team, but Van Horn and the Razorbacks have already seen what they’re capable of, as they beat Arkansas 15-14 in extra innings in Springfield. He said they’ve got a lot of respect for their first opponent.
“I think it’s almost intense, but friendly at the same time,” Van Horn said of the series between the Razorbacks and Bears. “Like, respectful. We respect them, they probably respect us. I have a lot of respect for that program, I always have. Coach Guttin, his staff, they’re always good, you know? Give them credit, they go out and they find guys.
“(They) get kids from Missouri, then they go out from there. Over the years they’ve better than the University of Missouri in that state. So I have a lot of respect for the program, I know our players do, I think the players see how we talk about them and how we prepare for them. They know that we have a lot of respect for Missouri State.”
Despite feeling like they got snubbed, Van Horn said the team isn’t taking a chip-on-their-shoulder mentality into the Lawrence Regional. Instead, they’re just going to go out and play some baseball.
“We’re not going to play that card,” Van Horn said. “I was just with the team when the site was announced and the guys seemed excited to just go play. Obviously we knew that we were going to be in a regional, we knew we were going to be on the road. I’m glad we’re in this area.”
What Van Horn mentioned is something Arkansas has in its favor, as the Lawrence Regional is a little under four hours away from Fayetteville. It’s better than going somewhere like Eugene, Oregon, or somewhere on the west coast.
“It gives our families and fans that are in this area a little better opportunity to get there. I haven’t been to Lawrence in a while. I know they have a full-turf field now, they’ve changed the dimensions a little bit and it’s a lot different, so I’m looking forward to that. But I don’t feel like it. We know what we need to do. We need to play well on Friday against Missouri State.”
The pitching situation is up in the air, according to Van Horn. They’re still monitoring ace lefty Hunter Dietz, who left Friday’s game after a 105 mph ball hit him in the foot. There’s no fracture, and he’s continuing to progress, but there’s no clear plan at this moment.
“He’s doing well, so we’ll still monitor that,” Van Horn said. “When he gets his bullpen session in the next couple of days, we’ll see where we’re at there and try to figure out how we want to handle it. Do we want to pitch him the first game? Do we want to give him another day’s rest? We’re still lining all of that up.”
Arkansas and Missouri State will play on Friday in Lawrence, Kansas, at 5 p.m. CT.
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