Dave Van Horn shares how last season helped make this Arkansas team special
By Keith Farner
Published:
Dave Van Horn appreciates being back in Omaha, and at a Thursday press conference, the Arkansas baseball coach admitted that last season’s disappointment fueled this year’s team.
Multiple Razorbacks referenced the loss last season to N.C. State in the Super Regionals, when Arkansas dropped 2 straight after it won the opener.
“Really had a perfect season going. It was unbelievable. Won everything that was put in front of us. Won every series on the weekend. And then to lose those last two games by one run, both days, it was tough,” Van Horn said. “So it made this year, it was special, because kind of hurt from last year, honestly. This group is special because they didn’t want to be known as the team after the team that didn’t do a whole lot and faded at the end of the year. I don’t know. Just a lot of different personalities that came together.”
Then after the SEC Tournament loss, Van Horn noticed something about his players.
“When we got back from that trip from Alabama, we were gone for 2 weeks, a lot of times a coach can look at a team and look at the way they walk around, body language, you’re going we’re in trouble,” he said. “And we didn’t let that happen. They didn’t let it happen. And to me that makes them special.”
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
