Van Horn Has Three Words for What's Happening With Razorbacks Now

Arkansas scored 15 runs Saturday and Dave Van Horn summed up his team's turnaround in five words that every Hog fan needs to hear.

Arkansas Razorbacks TJ Pompey against Alabama Crimson Tide. | Arkansas Communications

Dave Van Horn wasn't sure exactly what had clicked for Arkansas in Alabama.

But he knew it when he saw it.

"Whatever it is, I'm liking it," the Razorbacks coach told the media after dismantling Alabama 15-6 on Saturday at Sewell-Thomas Stadium to clinch the program's first-ever road series win over the Crimson Tide.

It's a fair question to ask. What has changed?

Top-10 road dub: HUGE.
Tomorrow’s game: HUGE. pic.twitter.com/ChVXCbh5Pb

— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) April 12, 2026

The Razorbacks came in at 22-13 overall and sitting at 6-7 in SEC play, a team that had been inconsistent enough throughout the conference schedule to raise some eyebrows.

Then they went into Tuscaloosa and took the series anyway, capped by a Saturday performance that included another massive eighth inning and a five-run ninth that turned a close game into a statement.

Going into a hostile road environment against a ranked opponent and taking the series is one of the cleaner ways to prove yourself in the SEC.

The Hogs did exactly that this weekend, and they also jumped 11 spots in the RPI heading into the series to crack the top 50 — a sign that things were already trending upward before first pitch.

Cole Gibler Steps into Spotlight

Saturday's start belonged to Cole Gibler, a sophomore lefty making just his second career appearance in the starting rotation.

He carried a 3-0 record and a 2.57 ERA into the matchup, but this was a different stage entirely. Alabama countered with Zane Adams, a junior lefty who'd gone a career-high eight scoreless innings against these same Razorbacks in 2024 while striking out five.

Gibler held his own long enough for the offense to get going.

Arkansas scratched back in the third inning when Maika Niu grounded into a fielder's choice but Carter Rutenbar came home to tie it at 1-1 after Rutenbar had doubled to right to start the sequence.

Alabama pushed back with a Justin Lebron RBI single in the third and a Brennan Holt RBI single in the fourth to stretch the lead to 3-1.

Then the Razorbacks found their footing in the fifth. Rutenbar singled home Nolan Souza to make it 3-2. TJ Pompey then scored on a catcher's throwing error as the basepaths turned chaotic.

Ryder Helfrick followed with a sacrifice fly to hand the Hogs a 4-3 lead.

It was the kind of crooked-number inning built on opportunistic baserunning as much as clean hitting, and it flipped the momentum of the game.

Alabama Ties It Before Flood Gates Open

The Crimson Tide didn't go away quietly.

In the bottom of the sixth, Bryce Fowler hit a sacrifice fly to score Justin Osterhouse and level things at 4-4.

The tie held heading into the seventh with both bullpens trying to protect the stalemate.

Arkansas broke through again in the top of the seventh when Helfrick grounded out to short but Pompey came home to score, giving the Hogs a 5-4 edge.

That lead held just long enough for the eighth inning to arrive — and the eighth inning is where this series was fully decided.

TJ Pompey cannot be stopped pic.twitter.com/NPDTYXVqy2

— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) April 12, 2026

Pompey and the Offense Put Series Away

Camden Kozeal led off the eighth with a double to left. Damian Ruiz singled through the middle to score Kozeal and push the advantage to 6-4.

Kuhio Aloy singled. Reese Robinett laid down a bunt single to load the bases. Souza then flied out to center, but Ruiz scored on the play to make it 7-4.

Pompey then cleared the bases with a home run to left that plated Aloy and Robinett and turned a manageable deficit into a 10-4 Arkansas lead.

It was the kind of swing that ends debates about who controls a game.

The Crimson Tide made it slightly more respectable in the bottom of the eighth when Holt grounded into a fielder's choice and Eric Hines scored, but it was far too late.

The ninth inning only added to the final margin. Aloy singled to center to score Niu for an 11-5 lead. Souza then singled to right and two more Razorbacks came home to make it 13-5.

Pompey added another RBI single, and by the time Arkansas finished batting in the ninth they'd pushed it to 15-5.

Alabama's Caleb Barnett singled home a run in the bottom of the ninth to account for the final 15-6 score.

It's a performance that answered at least some of the questions that had been hanging over this team through a grind of a conference schedule.

Pompey was the engine that kept the offense churning throughout the series.

Alexander Peck, getting just his second career start at first base after not appearing in the starting lineup since the third game of the season against Texas Tech, also contributed as Van Horn mixed in fresh options alongside the veterans who've carried this roster.

The Razorbacks came in carrying a six-game road trip on their schedule with no home crowd to lean on and no margin for comfort.

They handled it by building leads and then widening them when Alabama pushed back. Whatever it is that's clicking right now, Van Horn's right to like it.

A road series win at Alabama is a meaningful benchmark for a program trying to right the ship in conference play, and the Diamond Hogs grabbed it and didn't let go.

With the series clinched heading into Sunday. It is a chance to get a sweep over a Top 10 team.

We won't know until May exactly what all that means.