FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas and Missouri State aren’t into changing baseball coaches.
The Razorbacks have had two coaches since 1970 with Norm DeBriyn and Dave Van Horn. Keith Guttin has been Missouri State’s coach since 1983.
So including tonight’s Arkansas-Missouri State game at Hammons Field in Springfield, Mo., the Razorbacks and Bears will have 3 coaches in their last 57 matchups over 41 seasons.
“You don’t really see that very much any more with the way guys move around,” Guttin said. “But Norm and Dave are two legends down there in Arkansas, and I’ve just happened to stay here for a while. So it’s all good.”
DeBriyn and Van Horn are Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame inductees. Guttin is a Missouri Sports Hall of Fame inductee.
Combined, the three have 3,672 victories as NCAA Division I head coaches with 1,362 at Missouri State for Guttin since 1983, 1,161 at Arkansas for DeBriyn and from 1970-2002 and 1,149 for Van Horn since 1995 at Northwestern (La.) State, Nebraska and Arkansas.
The Razorbacks are 36-20 against Guttin’s Bears in a series that includes Arkansas winning 2 of 3 in a super regional in 2015 and Missouri State winning 2 of 3 in a regional in 2018.
“Whenever you play Arkansas, whether it was Norm DeBriyn or now Dave Van Horn, you know you’re playing a really good team that’s talented and well-coached,” Guttin said. “That’s regardless of what year or who’s coaching them. That never changes.”
The Razorbacks (30-10, 11-7 SEC) are ranked No. 6 in the USA Today coaches’ poll, but they bring a three-game losing streak — their longest of the season —into tonight’s game after being swept at Georgia last weekend.
More from WholeHogSports: Diamond Hogs fall 1 spot in poll after being swept at Georgia
The Bulldogs beat the Razorbacks 6-5, 7-3 and 9-8. Georgia scored five runs in the ninth inning of the series finale on Saturday to overcome an 8-4 deficit and won on a grand slam by Connor Tate and a home run from Parks Harber in the last two at-bats.
Being swept at Georgia adds a sense of urgency for the Razorbacks to win a mid-week nonconference game.
“After you lose like we did [Saturday] and lose three in a row on the road, it would be nice to gain a little momentum before [Texas] A&M comes in,” Van Horn said of resuming SEC play against the Aggies on Thursday night at Baum-Walker Stadium. “Because A&M is playing really well right now.”
Texas A&M (25-15, 9-9), which plays Sam Houston State tonight, has won its last four SEC series against Ole Miss, Auburn, Missouri and Kentucky.
Missouri State (22-16, 11-4 Missouri Valley Conference) is 9-2 in its last 11 games with MVC sweeps of Bradley, Illinois-Chicago and Belmont and two losses to Missouri — 10-1 at home and 7-6 on the road.
The Bears started 12-5 before being swept at East Carolina — ranked No. 14 in this week’s coaches’ poll — in a three-game series, which began a seven-game losing streak for Missouri State.
“I think we’re playing better,” Guttin said. “We started off OK on the season. Then we went to East Carolina and got swept by a good ballclub, and that put us in a funk for about two weeks.
More from WholeHogSports: Razorbacks have injuries up and down their roster
“We’ve kind of been working our way out of it. So I certainly feel a little bit better now than I did a few weeks ago.”
Missouri State sophomore center fielder Spencer Nivens is batting .369 with 10 home runs and 38 RBI. He hit a two-run home run in the Bears’ 6-4 victory at Arkansas last season.
“He’s had a good season both at the plate and in center field,” Guttin said. “He’s kind of a team leader by example. Just a solid player.”
Freshman right fielder Zach Stewart is batting .321 with 8 home runs and 42 RBI for the Bears.
“He’s a guy we thought could come in and impact the team offensively,” Guttin said. “He hasn’t disappointed. He’s been as advertised.”
Van Horn’s Razorbacks are 20-10 against Missouri State since 2003 when he replaced DeBriyn.
“The Missouri State-Arkansas game is usually a good mid-week game,” Van Horn said. “It’s usually very competitive.
“Obviously, I think Missouri State plays hard. They have a good program. They work at it.”
Van Horn thought highly enough of the Missouri State program to hire Nate Thompson as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator in 2018 after he was an assistant for Guttin from 2015-17.
“I have a lot of respect for Nate,” Guttin said. “The job he did here and the job he’s doing there.”