Dave Van Horn reveals plan for handling Vanderbilt's pitching

For the final weekend of the regular season, Arkansas is going to travel to Vanderbilt for an exciting series to end the season. There, Razorbacks head coach Dave Van Horn knows his team will need to be ready for Vanderbilt’s pitching.

Ahead of the series, Van Horn broke down his plan for handling the Commodore’s pitching, despite the Vanderbilt rotation being uncertain at this point.

“That’s what we’ve done,” Dave Van Horn said. “Just look at a couple of those right-handers and probably going to start the lefty — I think he’s available.”

There is a chance that Vanderbilt will be without multiple starting pitchers this series, including two lefties. Carter Holton is going to miss the series while Hunter Owen is questionable. Ahead of the SEC Tournament, Vanderbilt will likely be conservative to bring a healthy staff into the postseason.

“But, who’s to say? I would, unless they really already know what they’re gonna do, but I’m just assuming that they’re going to tell us later on today who they’re throwing Thursday and maybe leave it open after that. Maybe two of them, but, yeah, just do the best you can. You watch video and look at numbers and matchups and go play.”

After Arkansas’ last series, which saw the Razorbacks take two out of three from South Carolina, Dave Van Horn stressed the need for rest ahead of the Vanderbilt series. That was especially true for his scuffling lineup.

“It’s just the team,” Van Horn said. “They’re just pulling for each other and they fight now. That’s the way it works. Honestly, I kind of feel like our hitters are just a little bit tired. We got to back it off on our swings and we’re not gonna let anybody hit tomorrow at all. Lock the batting cages. They’re not hitting when I’m around anyway.”

Dave Van Horn on Arkansas’ rotation plan

Ahead of that series of Vanderbilt, Dave Van Horn explained Arkansas’ plan for its rotation. He also noted that ahead of the SEC Tournament, he and other coaches want to be cautious.

“I think you’ll see more teams [revealing their starting lineups] this week that don’t have injuries just looking at the standings and where everyone sits at today and save somebody for the tournament,” Van Horn said.

“We’ll start Hagen [Smith] on Thursday night and then leave it open for the next two days.”