Dave Van Horn explains decision to pull ace Hagen Smith after 2 IP vs. Kentucky

A very terse Dave Van Horn joined the SEC Network broadcast with Arkansas trailing Kentucky in the early stages of their win-or-go-home SEC Tournament matchup Thursday morning.

Van Horn and the Razorback staff had just decided to yank ace starting pitcher Hagen Smith after just two complete innings vs. the Wildcats, a rare brief outing from the guy widely considered to be the top pitcher in all of college baseball. However, with the more important postseason games lingering on the horizon next week, Van Horn wasn’t about to put his foot on gas when it came to Smith’s usage.

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Plus, the superstar lefty just didn’t have his best stuff on Thursday, allowing several base runners in the bottom of the first inning which immediately turned into a pair of Kentucky runs thanks to a brutal half-inning of fielding.

So, when Van Horn joined the broadcast, of course the first question was about Smith and why the decision to pull him so early on in the game.

“He’s fine. Just wanted to get him out there and get him a start, and go from there,” Van Horn answered dryly.

The SEC Pitcher of the Year that many consider the best left-hander in the upcoming MLB Draft tossed 14 strikeouts versus Kentucky during their matchup on May 3 en route to a Razorback victory. But after those two runs in the first inning, Kentucky just seemed to have an answer for the ace this time around.

Van Horn moved on to Gage Wood after Smith, and then provided a similar response when asked about his plan Wood’s own usage.

“Yeah, we’re trying to get him some work and get him ready for next week,” said Van Horn, not revealing how long he expected Wood to go. But for him, the defensive mistakes were much more frustrating than an uncharacteristic start from Hagen Smith.

“You know, the first inning was not great, made two errors and handed them two runs. Other than that, the game’s gone pretty normal,” said the Razorback coach.

He also declined to use the early start as an excuse, as the broadcast asked if the 9:30 a.m. local start time was bothersome.

“I mean, it’s baseball. You play whenever they tell you to, and I don’t think there’s any secret to it,” he answered. “You got to get up a little bit earlier and you get ’em going.”