Dave Van Horn impressed with Arkansas ace Hagen Smith early in Fayetteville Regional vs. Kansas State

The Arkansas Razorbacks jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the Fayetteville Regional on Saturday night vs. Kansas State. They’ve got ace Hagen Smith on the mound, one of the best pitchers in college baseball history. He looked sharp as usual in the first few innings, shutting down the KSU bats through the first five innings. In the fifth inning, Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn shared his thoughts.

His offense was able to put a couple runs on the board in the top of the fifth. What did he see? “Well, we just did a good job of getting on base. Getting a bat on the ball. Didn’t really square anything up that inning. But we got some to drop. But we hit some balls hard earlier. Most of our rallies have started with two outs. And we have six hits. But I feel fortunate to get a couple of runs right there,” Van Horn explained.

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What has he been seeing from his pitcher Hagen Smith on Saturday night? “Well, he’s competing hard like he always does. His stuff’s pretty good. And you know, they’re getting a second look at him now. This is what, you know, he’s gotta pick it up a notch. But he’s been really good,” Van Horn noted.

Shortly after the interview, the Wildcats bats got hot in the bottom of the fifth inning and they took the lead, taking a 3-2 advantage over the Hogs. Then, they blasted a three-run shot to make it 6-2. Coming into Saturday’s game, Smith had only given up 13 earned runs all season. Just into the sixth inning of the Fayetteville Regional vs. KSU, he’d already allowed six.

Arkansas pitcher Hagen Smith had a rough outing

Arkansas entered the night with a 34-3 record at home this year. And it was certainly an uncharacteristic showing from Hagen Smith. In what could be his final appearance in a Hogs uniform, Smith finished with seven strikeouts, allowing six earned runs, four walks, and four hits in just five innings. After the fifth inning, Hogs head coach Dave Van Horn decided to send Smith to the bench. It was a bad time to have his worst start of the season, but it’s still been an amazing career for the Razorbacks’ great.

The Razorbacks will face an elimination game against SEMO on Sunday at 1:00 PM EST in the Fayetteville Regional. The winner of the Fayetteville Regional will go on to face the winner of the Charlottesville Regional in the Super Regionals. Virginia defeated Mississippi State on Saturday night, winning 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth inning in thrilling fashion.