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Dave Van Horn reveals Arkansas did not consider walking Jared Jones before walk-off

On3 imageby: Dan Morrison06/19/25dan_morrison96
Dave Van Horn, Arkansas
Jun 18, 2025; Omaha, Neb, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Dave Van horn walks through the dugout after falling to the LSU Tigers at Charles Schwab Field. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Hindsight will always be 20-20. At the same time, when a team loses the way Arkansas lost to LSU in the College World Series, there are going to be plenty of questions that fall on managerial decisions. After the game, Dave Van Horn then had to answer for the choices he made for the Razorbacks.

Perhaps the biggest decision and, it turns out, mistake, that Van Horn made was to pitch to LSU star Jared Jones in the ninth inning. He’d, ultimately, walk-off the Razorbacks with a single, completing a devastating comeback for Arkansas.

There was a base open when Jared Jones came up. Despite that, after the game, Dave Van Horn explained that he didn’t consider intentionally walking him before he hit the walk-off hit.

“I mean, right-on-right,” Dave Van Horn said. “I don’t think so. We didn’t feel like it was something we needed to do. Hindsight is 20-20. We could talk about all the ifs and buts until we’re sick of each other.”

Jared Jones has proven to be a stud at LSU. This season, he has played in 66 games and has 22 home runs and 76 RBIs on a .330 batting average. He also has a .423 OBP and a .630 slugging percentage for a 1.053 OPS. He had also made some noise the inning prior by hitting a solo shot to tie the game in the eighth inning.

In the game against Arkansas, Jared Jones had played well going into the eighth inning, with a hit already on the day. Then, in the eighth inning when Arkansas’ Gabe Gaeckle had been dealing, he was able to tie the game with a solo shot. After the game, Jared Jones broke down what happened on that play.

“I hadn’t been seeing Gaeckle very well this week,” Jones said. “He struck me out 5 times, I think, in 5 at-bats. It was all on sliders. My approach is always to be on time for a fastball. I was lucky enough to get one in the zone and put a good swing on it to tie the game there in the [eighth].” 

Dave Van Horn got a response out of his offense in the top of the ninth inning, taking a two-run lead. However, the pitching woes continued for Van Horn and the Razorbacks in the bottom of the ninth. A Luis Hernandez double tied the game and brought Jared Jones to the plate to face Aiden Jimenez. That’s when Van Horn trusted his pitcher to get Jones. It didn’t work out, though, and the Razorbacks were eliminated because of it.