Dave Van Horn happy to see John Bolton back following injury

Arkansas infielder John Bolton hit some health-related hiccups at the tail-end of the regular season and was forced to miss the team’s final game against Vanderbilt before also having to miss the Razorbacks’ first two games of the SEC Tournament.

However, Bolton made his triumphant return in the third game of the conference tourney run and even helped spark a late comeback effort vs. the Aggies on Saturday.

Of course, the Hogs fell short of that goal in the SEC Tournament semifinals and No. 10 seeded Texas A&M moved on thru to the title game, but afterwards, head Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn had positive things to say about Bolton’s performance after missing the last couple games. DVH began by singling out his efforts defensively.

“Yeah, he had a couple plays in the field. He made them. The ball came to the plate, made a perfect throw,” reviewed Van Horn.” At the plate I thought he looked really good, really sharp, strong. When he got hurt, he was really starting to swing the bat a lot better obviously, a lot more confidence, hitting balls hard against Vandy over there he swung the bat well and then he hurt his ankle, obviously.”

That recent surge in play for John Bolton appeared to pick right up where he left off, as Bolton laid aluminum on the ball at a necessary time when he doubled down the right field line to send one runner home and keep himself plus one more aboard in the top of the ninth inning when the Hogs were down 5-1 with their backs against the wall.

Even though the comeback bid ultimately failed, Van Horn loved the fight.

“I loved that inning. I loved the way we rallied,” the Arkansas coach said. “John Bolton’s at-bat, fouling off pitches and smoking one opposite field down the line, just did a great job there fighting to get to the next pitch.”

So he seems to think Bolton has come back into the lineup without missing a beat. Now, he’s hoping the graduate transfer will carry that momentum into the NCAA Tournament for regional play this week.

“It would be nice if he can take that into the next weekend and give us a little offense towards the end of our lineup.”

Of course, the Hogs host their own regional this weekend in Fayetteville, where No. 1 seeded Arkansas will play host to a trio of teams west of the Gateway Arch — Santa Clara, Arizona and TCU — starting on Friday.