Dave Van Horn: Loss to South Carolina was a 'game of missed opportunities'

The South Carolina Gamecocks and Arkansas Razorbacks played a thriller in Hoover for the SEC Tournament and, in the end, it was Dave Van Horn and the Razorbacks who walked away with a loss.

Following the game, Dave Van Horn met with the media. There, he admitted that he feels like Arkansas wasn’t able to capitalize on the opportunities it had during the game.

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“On our side, kind of a game of missed opportunities,” Dave Van Horn said. “We had a couple of chances to blow it open. Instead of a two-run inning, maybe three or four, one hit away. That was disappointing. Give them credit for pitching out of a couple of jams.”

In the end, South Carolina beat Arkansas 6-5. The game was tied going into the ninth. That was when the Gamecocks added a couple of runs. When the Razorbacks tried to respond in the bottom half of the inning, they were able to add one run but couldn’t tie it to force extra innings.

On the other side, Dave Van Horn acknowledged that when Arkansas’ pitchers made mistakes, South Carolina jumped on their opportunities. For him, that was the difference in the game.

“On the other side, as far as our pitching, we hit a guy, hit a two-run homer. Hit a guy, hit a two-run homer. First inning, two quick outs and two walks, base hit, he’s behind in the count. Throws a fastball, 2-0, base hit, they score a run,” Van Horn said.

“Free passes are — at this time of year when everybody plays good, they’ll come back and get you, and they got us today.”

With the loss, Arkansas is heading to the losing side of the bracket in Hoover. That means the Razorbacks are going to play Kentucky on Thursday morning, looking to keep their SEC Tournament hopes alive.

Dave Van Horn credits pitching, defense for Arkansas’ 2024 success

Throughout the 2024 season, Arkansas has been one of the best teams in the country. That’s something that Dave Van Horn believes comes down to the Razorbacks’ pitching and defense.

“We can pitch a little bit. We went through a little bit of a slump the last couple of weekends, had some injuries, had some tired arms,” Van Horn said.

“We play really good defense for the most part. We don’t make too many mistakes. And for the most part, we throw strikes… The guys show up every day, they play hard, we appreciate their effort.”