Van Horn: 'We’re prepared for what we’re getting into'
Arkansas baseball head coach Dave Van Horn and his Razorbacks (41-16) learned their seeding and draw for the NCAA Tournament regionals on Monday.
The Diamond Hogs earned the No. 3 national seed — just the second time to be a top four seed in program history — and they will face 4-seed Santa Clara on Friday at Baum-Walker Stadium. Also participating in the Fayetteville Regional will be 2-seed TCU and 3-seed Arizona.
After earning a share of the SEC regular season title while facing a gauntlet of a schedule and battling through numerous injuries, Van Horn said he thinks his team is prepared for the postseason.
"I think we’re prepared," Van Horn said Monday. "We’re not going to be shocked by the talent level of anybody that’s coming into the regional. We know Arizona is going to be good just from them playing in the (Pac-12).
"We’ve seen TCU. Our opponent is going to be the one we probably know the least about and that’s why we have to dig in. Santa Clara, they score runs. We’ve watched that. We’re prepared for what we’re getting into. It’s just a matter of how we handle it."
The team Van Horn and his staff know the least about is 4-seed Santa Clara (35-18), who won its first ever West Coast Conference baseball tournament championship with a 6-0 win over Portland on Saturday. The Broncos are led by fourth-year head coach Rusty Filter.
Senior outfield Michael O'Hara leads Santa Clara as a Second Team All-West Coast Conference selection. He slashed .323/.418/.453 with 11 doubles, three triples, three home runs and 37 RBIs on the season. Junior Efrain Manzo was an honorable mention for the conference awards and he led the team with 67 hits, 19 doubles, 17 home runs and 54 RBIs on the year.
Van Horn and his staff don't know much about the Broncos yet, but they will soon.
"Just found out who we were playing," Van Horn said. "They won. They’re from the Northern part of California. I know that they’re a champion. They won. They won something. They’re a championship team. So all I know is probably just a little bit more than most people know about them, what popped up on the board. We’ll look into them right now."
Santa Clara and Arkansas have met just one time on the diamond, which resulted in a 1-0 win for the Razorbacks on March, 17, 1995.
A familiar face, 2-seed TCU (37-22) will travel to Fayetteville after winning the Big-12 Conference Championship. The Horned Frogs defeated the Razorbacks by a score of 18-6 back in February at the College Baseball Showdown.
"What a really talented team," Van Horn said of TCU. "Older team. Veteran team. Good mix of speed and defense. Power. Just following scores, and I follow most of the teams in our region. We felt like we’d get somebody from the area. Wasn’t sure it would be TCU.
"But they’ve had a great year. I did watch them win the Big 12 championship game yesterday. I watched most of it. We all had a thought they might be heading this way. They’ve had a super year."
TCU finished at No. 32 in the RPI rankings and it has an 8-9 record on the road. Junior infielder Brayden Taylor is the star of the show for the Horned Frogs, as he slashed .305/.430/.650 and led the team with 68 hits, 21 home runs and 59 RBIs. The All-Big 12 First Team selection had four hits in five at bats during the Feb. 18 win over Arkansas.
The Razorbacks own a 48-20 lead over TCU in the all-time series and they are 27-2 against the Horned Frogs in Fayetteville.
Arizona, the 3-seed, earned an at-large bid after earning a 33-24 record on the year. The Wildcats have a 4-14 record on the road and they were 12-18 in Pac-12 play.
"You know, I’ve watched them I’d say parts of their games two or three times throughout the season, just because they were on, late game I’m at home," Van Horn said of Arizona. "I’m looking through scores and I see they’re still playing. They look very physical to me, a little older team.
"I know Tennessee played them, I think to open the season and I think Arizona beat them out there in Arizona somewhere in a tournament. So I don’t know a whole lot about them. I know that league out there is awfully good. I know they were a team that had to wait to see if they got in and they got in, so I’m sure they’re extremely excited to be playing."
All-Pac-12 selection Chase Davis leads Arizona and he had a .369 average with 16 doubles, two triples, 21 home runs and 74 RBIs this season. Right behind him is another All-Pac-12 player in Kiko Romero, who slashed .347/.442/.711 with 17 doubles, four triples, 19 home runs and a team-best 86 RBIs.
Arkansas has a 3-4 all-time record against Arizona and the last meeting resulted in a 1-0 win for the Razorbacks on Feb. 21, 2018, at the Tony Gwynn Classic in San Diego.
While the field for the Fayetteville Regional is no cakewalk, Van Horn said his team is in the right mindset entering the week.
"We did what we needed to do to get where we are today," Van Horn said. "I hope they take a little time to sit back and realize what a good season we’ve had and that we’ve put ourselves in position to play here as long as we win.
"But I think the mood’s good, you know? I mean some of our goals at the beginning of the year were obviously to get to this point and have an opportunity and continue to play in a regional and here we are."
The best part of it all is that Van Horn's squad will be playing at Baum-Walker Stadium, where they posted a 30-4 record this season.
"It’s always good to be at home really," Van Horn said. "I mean, especially since we’ve been on the road for 11 days straight and just driving back in, after we got in our cars at the airport the other day it was nice to be here and regroup a little bit and let these guys have some freedom yesterday and today.
"And then have team practice the next couple of days and then obviously a Thursday workout that is structured time wise. But it’s really good to play at Baum-Walker in front of our fans, who are extremely loyal. They show up and it ought to be an exciting weekend."
Per the NCAA website, the Razorbacks and Santa Clara will have a 2 p.m. CT first pitch and it will be streamed on ESPN Plus. Arizona and TCU are set for an 8 p.m. CT first pitch on ESPNU.