Dave Van Horn critical of Arkansas' pitching struggles in Fayetteville Regional elimination game

By the time Arkansas batters figured out SEMO pitcher Collin Wilma, the Redhawks senior had already pitched four innings of perfect baseball and trailed 4-0 while facing elimination in their own regional on Sunday.

Razorbacks slugger Peyton Holt got the Razorbacks on the board with a solo home run in the fifth inning, but on the other side of the ball, Arkansas pitchers Gage Wood and Jake Faherty struggled to keep command on the mound down the stretch.

“That was a big swing for us,” Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said of Holt’s hit. “Two outs after they just punched in three. [Starting pitcher Gage Wood] made a mistake during the inning before on an 0-2 pitch, got a base hit and they scored another run. We had a flip play at the plate, [Wood] needed to take the ball out with his hand. He had plenty of time. Just a couple of little mistakes there. But that was a good rally, it got their pitcher out of the game and you got to give him credit, man.”

The Razorbacks couldn’t add to their lead despite loading the bases and taking Wilma out of the game after 71 pitches and six strikeouts. He was replaced by Logan Katen who cleaned up Wilma’s jam before extending their lead by a run in the sixth.

Still, there’s a lot of baseball to be played — and being down four runs means Arkansas going to need something similar to their previous bases-loaded effort in the fifth.

“Let’s just keep playing, don’t try to do too much,” Van Horn continued. “Do your job and let the guy behind you do his job. You can’t panic and just play baseball.”

The winner of this matchup will advance to face Kansas State in the Fayetteville Regional final. Whether it’s Arkansas or SEMO, they’ll have to defeat the Wildcats twice to claim victory in the regional. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN+.

Arkansas did match up with Kansas State on Saturday afternoon where they fell to the Wildcats 7-6 on their home field. Before they’d receive a shot at redemption against K-State, they have an uphill battle to overcome against the Redhawks over the final few innings.

Catch the exciting finish to this Fayetteville Regional live on ESPN+ as the Razorbacks look to fight to keep their season alive heading into what they hope will be a long Sunday on the diamond.