Dave Van Horn shares emotions of being atop SEC West picture despite injuries

The Arkansas baseball team is on the verge of an SEC title, the top dog in the SEC West picture and sporting a one-game lead in the overall SEC standings with only three games left to play.

It has taken quite a bit for the Razorbacks to get to this point.

“It’s interesting because the way this season has gone as far as the injuries and you have high expectations when the season starts, you lose one of your best pitchers, you lose a reliever, and still finding ways to win games,” coach Dave Van Horn said.

The injuries Arkansas has withstood this season might have gutted other teams.

Right-handed pitcher Jaxon Wiggins was lost for the season in late February, needing Tommy John surgery. A few weeks later top reliever Koty Frank suffered a torn lat that ended his season.

Star second baseman Peyton Stovall hasn’t played since late April and was ruled out the rest of the way just this week with a torn labrum.

So Van Horn is rightly viewing this season’s accomplishments and its spot atop the SEC West picture as a big deal already, with or without an SEC title this weekend.

“We’re just, man, I feel great about where we’re at,” Van Horn said. “I’m so proud of our team, how they played all season long with all the adversity and ups and downs of the injuries. But one thing, and I say it all the time, they show up every day and play hard. If we win it, awesome. If we don’t, awesome. Let’s just move on and get ready for the postseason.”

Arkansas leads Florida by one game in the SEC standings, LSU by a game and a half and Vanderbilt by two games.

The Razorbacks will take on the Commodores in Nashville, Tenn., while Florida will travel to No. 19 Kentucky and LSU will travel to Georgia. There are still a lot of ways the league standings could break over the next few days.

Van Horn is happy to be atop the SEC West picture going into the final weekend given everything his guys have gone through. But he sure isn’t talking to his team about it.

“I haven’t talked one time with our team about winning the West or winning the overall, even when it got close in the last 10 days,” he said. “I haven’t even brought it up. Don’t even talk about it.

“Obviously it’s hard to do. I’d love to do it. I’m not going to fall over if it doesn’t happen.”