Dave Van Horn praises Logan Maxwell for battling injuries, helping Arkansas get back to Omaha

Dave Van Horn is proud of the way that Logan Maxwell battled back from injury to be a key part of Arkansas‘ run to the College World Series. Maxwell had been dealing with a hamstring injury that limited him at times this year but showed up when needed over the weekend.

Arkansas took care of business in a Super Regional series against Tennessee to reach Omaha for the 12th time in school history. That included a grand slam from Maxwell in Game 2 on Sunday, which the Razorbacks would go on to win 11-4. Van Horn spoke after that game about the journey that Maxwell has been through this season and why he never gave up on him.

“He had a really good fall when he got here and then he hurt his leg kind of at the end of fall ball. We dealt with it all offseason,” Van Horn said. “Felt like he was gonna be OK and then he tweaked it again. It changes our lineup, because I like that left-handed bat there after the right-handed hitter. He’s just a tough out. He fouls off pitches. He can bunt. He’s just kind of that guy. He can hit left-handed pitchers. You don’t have to move him because of left-on-left situations.

“To have him fight through it, he really wanted to play. This is his last season and he wanted to get healthy. He rehabbed hard and he’d be up front with me if it was bothering him. I’d always talk to him during the games, ‘You all right? You good?’ I could have put in another outfielder for defense that may be a little faster than him, but I just felt like I wanted him to be on the field when we won.”

Prior to this season, Logan Maxwell spent the first three years of his college career playing at TCU. He has since gone on to lead the Razorbacks with a .360 batting average along with 59 hits, 13 home runs and 35 RBI.

That type of production is why Van Horn wanted his star out of the field for this most recent Super Regional series against the Vols. He’ll hope that Maxwell can continue that as the team heads to the CWS.

Arkansas plays its first game against a familiar SEC foe as it takes on LSU. First pitch for that matchup is set for 6 p.m. CT on Saturday.