College World Series 2022: Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn reacts to beating Auburn
By Adam Spencer
Published:
Dave Van Horn and the Arkansas Razorbacks are still alive in the College World Series, having eliminated SEC West rival Auburn 11-1 on Tuesday night.
Will McEntire pitched a gem of a game for the Hogs, and Peyton Stovall led the way at the plate, recording 5 hits and 3 RBI.
After the game, Van Horn praised McEntire’s efforts, along with the dominance of his entire team (via 247Sports):
“Just a really well-pitched game by Will and gave us an opportunity to build on a lead. Obviously offensively we got some big hits, big two-out hits. And we didn’t put it away completely after the fourth, but we felt really good because of the way Will. He was throwing the ball down and mixing his pitches, getting them to look for the cutter a little bit and then he’d throw the fastball and vice versa. Just really did a great job. I thought we played outstanding defense behind him. And he knows that he can throw the ball around the plate and we’re going to field it most of the time. Just a good win for us.”
As for Stovall’s big day at the plate, Van Horn said it’s nice to see the slugger playing loose and having the pressure off his back:
“He had unrealistic expectations of him because he was a guy that turned down a lot of money. … He wanted to go to college. And he just felt a lot of pressure. Social media and everything else and you read everything and preseason this, preseason that. It’s hard putting that on kids that haven’t even seen a college arm yet. And he’s been really good the last month. And like Michael (Turner) said, even his takes are good. He was out front. He’s not an out-front type hitter. He’s pretty balanced. Stays back, and he’s doing it now. He’s starting to hit for power, hit for average, taking his walks. And we’ve really been able to see the future the last month. It’s been fun.”
Wednesday sees the Hogs facing another important game. They’ll take on Ole Miss at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN in a must-win game. Beat the Rebels twice and the Hogs will advance to the final series.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
