Arkansas Razorbacks coach Dave Van Horn's complete press conference after sweeping a doubleheader against the McNeese State Cowboys on Saturday at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark.
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00:00 - I mean, it was a good day.
00:01 It was a long day and, you know,
00:04 it was probably good for us to play doubleheader.
00:06 We feel like there's probably a couple coming down the road.
00:10 You know, played a good amount of our position players.
00:14 And we had a lot of pitchers do really well today.
00:19 So, you know, the first game,
00:22 we had Smith on a pitch count.
00:24 And when it got to it,
00:27 that's why we didn't send him out for the fifth.
00:29 It was kind of like, you know, he's pitching next Friday.
00:32 We're trying to get him.
00:34 We just don't want to overdo it
00:36 because he's going to be on one less day.
00:38 So, you know, it seems like a long time ago,
00:42 but he ended up throwing the ball, you know, fairly well there.
00:46 And I thought the second game, you know, Brady,
00:48 he would probably tell you, and you saw it,
00:50 he just didn't command his fastball like he did last week.
00:53 Last week, it was great.
00:56 Today, he used that breaking ball a lot.
01:00 And fastball was, you know, I think in the third inning,
01:04 he got it going a little bit better,
01:05 but his pitch count got up there in the fourth,
01:07 and obviously we got him out.
01:09 So it was good to see Cody Frank come in
01:12 and get us some quick outs.
01:14 He got two outs on two pitches,
01:16 and then gave us two more innings,
01:19 kind of slowed him down a little bit.
01:20 And felt like we hit some balls hard,
01:23 you know, kind of the breaks of the game.
01:25 You know, they get a base hit,
01:26 they're about ready to take the lead two to one,
01:28 and the ball hits their runner.
01:30 And, you know, we came in and, you know,
01:35 just kept getting them out.
01:38 And then we finally put together that four-run fifth,
01:40 and felt pretty good about it after that.
01:42 So it's good to see the bats break loose late in the game.
01:45 And I don't know, I feel like I'm bouncing back
01:48 to get different games, but it was, you know,
01:52 it was good to see some guys swing the bat pretty good there,
01:54 especially towards the end of the second game.
01:57 - Hold up, still one.
01:58 Just your thoughts on how he played today.
02:01 - Yeah, I mean, obviously he just hit,
02:03 and, you know, he's real close to being in the field.
02:08 I don't feel like I'll play him tomorrow,
02:11 but maybe Tuesday in the field.
02:14 And again, I'll see how he feels tomorrow in the morning
02:18 after running around the bases a lot,
02:20 'cause he was on base a lot.
02:22 It was really good to see him swinging the bat
02:23 the way he did.
02:25 You know, he got tested his first bat in that first game,
02:30 and when he had to run full speed
02:31 to beat out that base hit,
02:33 and a little nervous as it was,
02:35 got down the line, got him infield hit,
02:37 and then he had a nice single on a changeup.
02:40 He really stayed through it
02:41 in the first inning of the second game.
02:44 And then obviously the home run,
02:47 I mean, that was really, really pretty swing.
02:51 Stayed back and used his hands,
02:52 and kept it right inside that foul pole.
02:56 And I thought he looked really good.
02:58 Looked like he hadn't really skipped a beat.
03:01 - But he had five RBI for you today,
03:02 and they all came with two outs.
03:03 What did you think about the way he hit
03:05 in those crucial situations?
03:06 - Yeah, it was great.
03:07 You know, he got a base hit to left,
03:10 and I don't even remember which game.
03:11 It might've been the first game when he singled the left
03:14 with a runner on third, two outs,
03:15 and I know he got another hit with two outs,
03:18 and drove in a run.
03:20 And then obviously, you know,
03:21 he took a pitch, I think, to get the count to two-two,
03:26 and then he laid off a borderline pitch.
03:29 It was a ball, and then he got in a pitch
03:30 he could handle, and he hit it about
03:31 as far as you can hit it.
03:32 And, you know, that's when we kind of caught our breath
03:37 a little bit.
03:38 We had a five run late, or a four run late,
03:40 whatever it was, it's time.
03:41 And he had a good day.
03:43 - Up until you got those two home runs in the fifth,
03:45 would you say it had been kind of a frustrating day
03:47 offensively for you?
03:49 - Yeah, it was a little bit frustrating.
03:50 You know, we knew what we were gonna get into
03:52 with their first two pitchers.
03:53 You know, the first guy is, he's just,
03:56 he's really hard to hit if you're left-handed.
03:58 It's just, I won't go into it too much,
04:02 but he's a really good change-up,
04:03 and his break of all the way he throws it,
04:05 it's just different.
04:07 And the reliever they brought in,
04:09 almost the same type of guy,
04:11 like the right-handers hit him better.
04:12 That's why I was bringing in right-handed hitters
04:14 for my lefties to try to hit those guys a little bit.
04:19 But yeah, I mean, he's one of those guys
04:21 that can frustrate you.
04:22 And we did just enough, obviously, to win.
04:26 And then, you know, the second game,
04:28 a little frustrating as well early,
04:30 'cause basically what we were getting
04:31 is fastballs and change-ups.
04:34 And then he started spinning a few sliders,
04:36 and, you know, we struck out too much second game.
04:40 I think our guys would tell you that.
04:41 Yeah, it's a little, 4.35 o'clock,
04:45 it's not real easy to see the ball,
04:48 compared to, say, in the middle of the day,
04:49 or when the sun goes down and you're just under the lights.
04:53 It's just, it's different.
04:54 You know, it's tough for both teams.
04:56 But I thought McNeese played really hard,
04:58 and they were in both games, really.
05:01 I mean, the first game, obviously,
05:03 they were in it 'til the end.
05:04 In the second game, you know,
05:06 I think we got out of a jam there,
05:09 and then Cody got us out of a jam.
05:11 But they had a chance early to score some runs on us.
05:13 - Obviously, Gacko's come through for you
05:16 in big spots before,
05:17 but it seems like he just keeps getting better and better
05:19 in these high-leverage spots,
05:20 just through a month of the season.
05:21 What have you learned about his makeup
05:22 and just how he handles these situations?
05:24 - Yeah, I mean, he brings a lot to the table,
05:26 especially late in the game,
05:27 'cause he's a really good athlete,
05:29 and he can field his position.
05:30 You know, a lot of times late in the game,
05:32 they're going to try to bunt on you, do some things,
05:34 try to find a way to win.
05:36 Obviously, he's thrown a lot of strikes,
05:38 keeping the ball in the mid-90s,
05:39 got a good breaking ball, and he's using his changeup.
05:43 I guess what I found out about him,
05:44 I mean, we like him back there, we trust him.
05:46 He doesn't seem to get rattled,
05:48 and that's two or three times already
05:51 that she would have brought him in,
05:52 tight games with bases loaded.
05:54 And he's done a great job, of course.
05:58 - I'm sure power's not the only thing
05:59 you're concerned about,
06:00 but good to see you guys show some of that pop
06:02 in the lineup, especially with Jones and Alloy there
06:04 in that inning.
06:05 Just how encouraging is that to see
06:06 kind of what the ceiling for this offense can be?
06:08 - Yeah, I mean, we haven't even come close.
06:10 We've frustrated because we know
06:12 that we get everybody healthy,
06:14 trying to figure out who to play a little bit.
06:17 Left field's kind of been up and down,
06:18 and Lovich has done a nice job,
06:21 and Jones has hit some home runs,
06:23 and Edmondson, he's had his moments, too.
06:27 Center field's been a little frustrating
06:29 because it's really good defense, but not much offense,
06:31 and we feel like there's more there.
06:34 We think that we've won a lot of games,
06:39 and we haven't played great.
06:41 We've played good, we've pitched really good.
06:44 We know the hitting's going to get better
06:46 as we get more at bats,
06:48 and you guys just gain a little bit of confidence,
06:52 but getting Stovall back can solidify some things.
06:56 We should have turned a couple of double plays today
06:57 that we didn't turn, and those will cost you.
07:01 You got to turn those things.
07:03 - Stovall back, but Nolan also had a good day.
07:07 Peyton Holt had a great day.
07:08 Just how encouraging is it,
07:09 as the guys are getting healthy,
07:11 that competition's still going on,
07:13 and everyone's kind of finding their own way to contribute?
07:15 - Yeah, it's a good situation.
07:20 You never have enough.
07:23 You can say, "Well, you got all those great arms.
07:24 "What are you going to do?"
07:25 You always find yourself needing one more,
07:27 and it's usually the way position player-wise.
07:30 You got guys that are good,
07:31 but they're not all swinging at the same time,
07:35 so you can go to the next guy,
07:36 and you can pick a guy up a little bit,
07:40 but it's nice to have options.
07:42 It's good to see some guys healing up a little bit.
07:45 It's a long season.
07:49 We got a lot of games to play.
07:51 - The pitch count for Hagen has been very gradual right now,
07:55 early in the season, and it's obviously working as well.
07:57 Does that take maybe a bigger step next week
08:00 with Missouri and SEC?
08:02 - He would have thrown 90-plus today
08:05 if we were playing Friday.
08:09 Whatever.
08:11 We're trying to give him a little bit of a break
08:15 because he has less time to get ready.
08:19 So, yeah, next weekend, he'll be whatever we need,
08:24 whatever he looks like it needs to be done.
08:26 We're not going to probably throw him 100 pitches
08:29 or much over it, but if that's what it took
08:32 and he feels good, then he can go that.
08:34 Depends on the weather.
08:35 It depends on a lot of things.
08:36 - So you got Dillon Carter up in the bullpen.
08:40 I mean, is the downside of the run rule
08:41 that you didn't get to bring him in
08:42 to a low-stress situation?
08:44 - Yeah, I felt bad.
08:44 I mean, we told Diggs to get a hit,
08:47 but we told him not to hit a home run.
08:48 I'll be honest with you, we did.
08:50 And then we kid him.
08:51 We said, "Okay, just go ahead,"
08:54 and he crushed that ball.
08:55 We knew it was going right.
08:55 We left it by it, but yeah, Dillon, he's got good stuff,
09:00 and if it's a leveraged situation,
09:02 I don't have a problem putting him in
09:03 even though he hasn't pitched in 10 months
09:06 because I've seen him throw to our guys,
09:08 live hitting, and he's held his own out there.
09:11 But yeah, so he got hot, hot,
09:15 so I don't know if he'll be available tomorrow.
09:18 He'll definitely be ready to go on Tuesday, if not.
09:21 - Matt, I think my question is for you.
09:25 - Coach, Brady Tiger continues to be consistent
09:30 on Saturday after Saturday.
09:32 What does that say about him
09:33 that you can throw him out there
09:34 and he can give you four to five innings of shutout ball?
09:37 - Yeah, he's been really good,
09:39 and I'm sure he'd tell you if he was sitting up here
09:41 that he didn't have his best stuff today.
09:44 It was all about command.
09:44 His stuff was good.
09:45 His breaking ball was amazing.
09:47 You know, last week, like I said,
09:49 he could spot that fastball to his glove side at will.
09:51 It was easy for him, not so much today.
09:54 It's just the way the game works,
09:56 and your body works, your mind works.
09:57 It's hard to repeat everything,
09:59 but you know, he's so good at working out of a jam.
10:02 He got himself in a jam, he got himself out.
10:06 I think a little bit of that experience
10:08 that he gained two years ago
10:09 when he was finishing games early in the season for us
10:12 is really helping him as a starter.
10:14 You know, I think that Smith's the same way.
10:17 If he gets into a jam,
10:18 he's really good at getting out of them,
10:19 and he's had a lot of experience coming in
10:21 and closing games and finishing games.
10:23 So yeah, he's been, Tiger's been really good.
10:28 - Hudson White, too, also a couple hits in the first game.
10:30 What have you seen out of him?
10:31 Is there a change in his approach
10:32 after struggling the last couple of weeks
10:34 or just one of those days
10:35 where he was able to put the ball and find the gaps?
10:37 - Probably a little bit of approach,
10:39 but more than anything, you know, this game's so mental.
10:42 You know, you just, you gotta get over,
10:44 and sometimes you just gotta just say heck with it
10:46 and quit worrying about everything.
10:48 And you know, I saw him a little freer today.
10:50 It was really good to see him,
10:51 especially drive that ball into right center.
10:54 That was a big hit for us.
10:54 That was another two-out RBI,
10:56 I think in the first game.
10:58 So yeah, if we can get them all going, it'd be nice.
11:02 We can get it going by next Friday, about six.
11:06 - Thanks, Eric. - Okay.
11:07 - Matt, go ahead, one more.
11:08 - Yeah.
11:09 - The play where the line drive hit the base runner,
11:11 how much of a turning point do you feel like that was
11:14 and how fortunate did you feel to get out of that inning?
11:16 - Yeah, I mentioned it at the beginning.
11:17 I mean, it's luck of the game, you know?
11:18 Then we come in and line into a double play
11:20 that would have been a double down the line.
11:21 I mean, crazy things happen.
11:23 Yeah, I mean, that's probably gonna score two
11:26 on that one for sure, but probably two,
11:29 and they're gonna have the lead and still be hit,
11:30 and we'll be down two to one.
11:32 Yeah, I mean, I don't know if it was a turning point.
11:36 I think we were gonna score some runs,
11:37 but it definitely changed the middle of that game.