LITTLE ROCK — Confidently, “send” was engaged hours before the first pitch in the final game of the College World Series.
Nothing that happened Thursday night on the field in Omaha was going to affect the premise that rewarding Dave Van Horn for his team’s accomplishments would have a far better outcome than the last time the Arkansas athletics director handed out a contract extension and pay raise for postseason success in a major sport.
New A.D. Hunter Yurachek is dealing with a coach proven to be a winner over the long term in the SEC and on the national scene; his predecessor overreacted to the results from one game.
Jeff Long raised Bret Bielema’s salary to $4 million per year and extended his contract through 2020 less than two months after Arkansas pummeled an inept Texas in a minor bowl game in December 2014 and went so far as to guarantee the football coach a soft landing if things didn’t work out.
Whatever the reason, the Bielema-coached Razorbacks did not compete consistently in the SEC and he was gone after three more seasons with a paycheck of $320,000 per month.
Yuracheck can’t go wrong when he sits down to discuss the future with 57-year-old Dave Van Horn, whose $775,000 per year contract extends through 2021. Whatever the details of an enhanced contract, no Razorback fan will object. This team has united even the most casual fans, including a neighbor who said Thursday morning he sat through two baseball games start to finish for the first time in his life.
In football parlance, Van Horn’s teams have gone toe to toe with the best in the baseball-stout SEC, played in a New Year’s day bowl games three times since 2004, and reached the finals of the College Football Playoff this year.
“Arkansas’ superb season is to be savored, regaled as the embodiment of consistency with contributions from many, and celebrated for convincing the masses that Arkansas is officially a national baseball power under Van Horn,” was written Monday.
During the last four years, only 2017 champion Florida and TCU have been to Omaha more often than the Razorbacks and there is no reason to believe the Razorbacks’ run will be short-lived.
Start with the fact that infielder Casey Martin and outfielder Heston Kjerstad are the only teammates in the country on the first unit of the National College Baseball Writers’ Association All-American team. The last time that Arkansas had at least two on the Freshman All-American team was in 2011 and first baseman Dominic Ficociello was the only first teamer. The next year, Arkansas won two games in Omaha before losing twice to South Carolina.
Add center fielder Dominic Fletcher, a Freshman All-American in 2017, and the 2019 lineup includes three solid hitters with double-digit home runs.
Although unbeaten Blaine Knight will be almost impossible to replace, Isaiah Campbell might well return for another year, plus Matt Cronin, Kole Ramage and other good arms are available.
Talent duly noted, documenting Van Horn’s influence on the team is more difficult, but his viewpoint certainly resonates with his players. Turning them loose the other day for some R&R was a clear sign of trust and his tone after the 5-3 loss Wednesday night was perfect.
He refused to call the loss devastating, adding. “Nobody’s dead, you know?”
Unconventional at times, there is no doubt he is both in charge and decisive. Following his gut, Van Horn will change pitchers during a count as he did Wednesday and Thursday night.
And, maybe this is a reach, but an unorthodox move he made vs. Texas Tech felt more like a message than a strategy.
Leading the Red Raiders 5-2 in the seventh, Arkansas had runners on first and second with no outs and cleanup hitter Luke Bonfield at bat. The senior’s attempt to bunt the first pitch was weak and redshirt junior Hunter Wilson was in the batter’s box for the second pitch.
Sans an injury, when is the last time a utility player with little power replaced a .300 hitter with 26 home runs in 200-plus games at Arkansas?
The company line would be that Van Horn made the move because Bonfield couldn’t get the bunt down, that the manager was determined to get the runners into scoring position and that Van Horn might have let Bonfield swing away if the situation occurred earlier.
Wilson bunting foul with two strikes is irrelevant and the personal preferred interpretation is that Van Horn was reminding his players that baseball is a team game, that every run counts and that no lead is safe.
However Van Horn delivers his message, athletes heed and understand, and communication between coach and players is part of winning.