Baseball Dreams of Making Regional Nowhere Near as Dashed as Hogs Fans Think

Arkansas fans are in a bit of a tizzy these days.

Despite the fact the Razorbacks has won two of their last three, Hogs fans have suddenly lost faith in Dave Van Horn's ability to get his team to the playoffs regardless of his long history of success.

In their minds, the recent losing streak has all but eliminated Arkansas from contention. Nevermind that a pedestrian finish by the Razorbacks' standards down the stretch would give the Hogs 35 wins. Yes, that's a much lower number than what they are used to seeing heading into the NCAA Tournament.

After all, Van Horn puts up at least 40 wins like clockwork before the selection committee does its thing. However, even though it's way less success than usual, it's more than enough to get into regionals.

In fact, based on how things went down last season, 35 wins for an SEC team is plenty good enough to slide into a No. 2 seed.

Considering the name brand Arkansas carries in the college baseball world, that is almost a guarantee should the Hogs manage 14 more wins. For those doing the math, that requires getting a single win in each remaining SEC road series and an average of two wins at home.

Essentially that's .500 ball in SEC play and holding off the UAPBs of the world in the mid-week games. For the cynics, that might seem like a steep hill to climb, especially if fans don't show up in their usual droves and bring the type of frantic kinetic energy they used to bring just a few years ago from the stands.

However, it's very doable. Van Horn had to frustratingly face the perfect storm of four of his most relied upon veteran hitters suddenly swatting under .200 against SEC pitchers while his steady pitching staff fell apart as Gabe Gaeckle either lost confidence, is battling a minor injury he isn't owning up to, or is simply struggling with the pressure that comes with being under the Friday night lights in conference play.

His short stints threw off the entire pitching plan for those behind him, which, in turn, threw their games off as well.

This resulted in big, demoralizing losses that stacked up quick. However, Kuhio Aloy, Zack Stewart, Camden Kozeal (who needs to go back to his Cam persona and regain his mojo), and Reese Robinett aren't going to hit the ball on average 16% of the time in SEC play forever.

At least a couple, if not all four, will heat back up. The four of them went 2-for-8 against Little Rock. That's improvement, although it takes a closer look to see the true progress

Kozeal got on base three times after patiently drawing three walks. Aloy drew a pair of walks and scored a run.

Stewart went 1-for-2 with a walk by way of being hit by a pitch, and an RBI off a home run while scoring two runs. Meanwhile, Robinett went 1-for-3 with a double, a walk and three RBIs with a run scored.

STEW SHOT! 50TH OF HIS CAREER! pic.twitter.com/CeGFdpaytW
— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) April 8, 2026

Each found a way to contribute significantly while combining to get on base nine times, score four runs and drive in four RBIs while striking out once as a whole. It's not the type of production that gets people up off their couches during an SEC Nation highlight reel, but it's definitely what this team needs right now and the kind of game that can break a slump.

Before anyone says, well, it's just Little Rock, keep in mind the Trojans are in the thick of the battle for their conference championship and are also the team that almost single-handedly ended LSU's eventual national championship run in the Baton Rouge regional, something a loaded Razorbacks team didn't do last year in the NCAA Tournament.

Given how many losses the SEC is taking in mid-week games, nothing should be taken for granted

The question is whether the Hogs can draw enough steam off this win to steal a game from a red hot Alabama team in Tuscaloosa this weekend.

Van Horn is moving Hunter Dietz into the Friday night slot. He is the SEC leader in strikeouts with 69, which leads the Hogs by a mile.

Our Friday starter: LHP Hunter Dietz pic.twitter.com/NzBV9lfCWr
— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) April 9, 2026

The Hogs are gambling Dietz can handle the spotlight, thus taking a little pressure off a defense that has been prone to make errors at the worst times. It's a risk because his ability to sit hitters down in games later in the weekend greatly increased the odds Arkansas was going to avoid a sweep.

However, if Dietz can snag a win to start each series or at least eat up several innings, keeping the bullpen in a more comfortable rhythm, it could calm down the rest of the rotation and shape the Hogs back into the pitching staff Van Horn hoped it might be back in the fall.

"[Dietz] has got Friday night stuff, obviously," Dave Van Horn said. "There's a lot of interest in him for down the road because of his stuff, and he's left-handed, but what he's done is he can control the running game a little bit. He can get out of some jams. He can work back from a 3-0 count and get people out. Nothing that I didn't think he can do."

If Gaeckle's big issue was simply the pressure of Friday, he should regain confidence quickly on Sundays, giving the Hogs a huge weapon to close each series. He began his journey back to being himself by facing four batters in a scoreless inning of work that included a strikeout in a 7-0 shutout of Little Rock Tuesday.

He's not expected to work the mid-week slate much. It shouldn't be long before he's worked his way into the Sunday spot, and there's a chance he might even build himself back up to a No. 2 starter by season's end.

"[Gaeckle] just wants to help the team," Van Horn said. "There’s been no complaining. I think you saw that the way he threw the ball on Tuesday. He was in the mid 90s the whole inning, and I thought he pitched pretty good.”

If Arkansas can reach the postseason being able to trust Dietz as the opener, followed by a mentally refreshed Gaeckle with Cole Gibler and his team leading 2.57 ERA holding things down at No. 3, along with improved work at the plate by Kozeal, Aloy, Stewart and Robinett, the sky suddenly becomes the limit.

Arkansas evolves into "that darned team" much the same way Ole Miss was the year they clawed in with the last at-large and won it a few years ago.

As for making it, last season Oklahoma got in on the strength of playing an SEC schedule with 28 wins. The Hogs already have 21 and will easily surpass a bar that low.

So, while this is new territory for a lot of Arkansas baseball fans, settle in and learn once again to trust Van Horn. He is literally a living legend in his sport.

He has navigated difficult situations before. It's going to be an up and down ride, but it should be a positive one in the end.

It all starts with needing a win at Alabama. If that happens, if the Hogs squeeze out a single win, it's game on the rest of the season.

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