Van Horn Points to Missed Chances in Razorbacks’ Win Over Bears

Arkansas baseball finishes homestand with win as Van Horn notes missed chances and Peyton Lee delivers strong outing before SEC play.

Arkansas Razorbacks infielder Carson Brumbaugh against Northern Colorado. | Arkansas Communications

Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn walked away from Wednesday night’s 9-4 win with one main takeaway — the score could’ve been much bigger.

“That was probably the only thing that was a little disappointing today, is that we left a lot of runners out there,” Van Horn said. “We could have put together some really big innings.”

Even with the Razorbacks finishing an 18-game homestand on a win over Northern Colorado, the missed chances stood out. The Razorbacks improved to 16-6, but left several runners stranded and hit into three double plays.

“We did hit a couple of balls hard with runners in scoring position that were caught, but at the same time we still left a lot out there and they know it,” Van Horn said. “That was probably the only thing that bothered me a little bit, is we should have scored seven or eight more runs.”

While the offense left room for improvement, the pitching staff gave the Hogs exactly what they needed, starting with freshman Peyton Lee.

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Lee turned in five scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and three walks while striking out six. He faced the minimum through three innings and didn’t allow a hit until the fifth.

“I felt great,” Lee said. “I just wanted to throw it down the middle, give my defense a chance to work and get us out of some innings.”

The outing marked a strong bounce-back after his last appearance, and Van Horn saw clear progress.

“It just seemed like he was a lot better than he was the last couple of times out as far as strike zone command, throwing it where he wanted it,” Van Horn said. “He had a little slider working today, spotted his fastball.”

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Bullpen finishes job despite late trouble

Lee had to adjust at times, but stayed composed.

“When he got in trouble, he was kind of throwing the fastball kind of arm side up and out, but he corrected it a couple of times,” Van Horn said. “It was good to see him just go out and pitch with a little bit of confidence.”

Arkansas followed Lee with clean innings from Tate McGuire and Cooper Dossett before running into issues in the eighth.

Freshman Joey Lorenzini struggled out of the bullpen, allowing three hits, hitting a batter and balking without recording an out as Northern Colorado scored four runs.

The Hogs quickly turned to Luke Cornelison, who shut things down over the final two innings.

“He did a great job because we were kind of to the point where we didn’t want to throw maybe someone that possibly could throw on Friday,” Van Horn said. “For him to come in and get us six outs and do it with 32 pitches, that was big.”

Cornelison mixed pitches effectively despite dealing with an injury.

“It was bleeding and I couldn’t throw my curveball today,” Cornelison said. “I had to switch up a grip in the pregame trying to figure out how to throw it, and it worked out pretty good.”

Van Horn liked how the freshman attacked hitters.

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Razorbacks build lead early at plate

“He just pounded the zone, threw a couple of nice curveballs as well, changeups to the lefty, fastballs in and out,” Van Horn said. “It was good.”

Even with missed opportunities, Arkansas still built a comfortable lead through steady production across multiple innings.

The Razorbacks struck first in the opening inning when Zack Stewart and Carter Rutenbar delivered two-out RBI singles after a pair of walks.

They added to the lead in the third when Reese Robinett drew a bases-loaded walk, then pushed the advantage to 5-0 in the fourth on Kuhio Aloy’s hard-hit ball that scored two runs.

Christian Turner added another highlight in the fifth with a two-out triple.

“I think Damian might [get] me in a straight race, but I think I got him in base running,” Turner said. “I feel like I’m a little bit faster on base running than a straight run.”

Arkansas extended the lead again in the sixth and seventh innings. Camden Kozeal scored on a wild pitch, and Damian Ruiz came through with a two-run double.

Ruiz finished 2 for 3 with two walks, one run and two RBI while setting the tone at the top of the order.

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Late rally by Bears trimmed margin

Northern Colorado didn’t threaten until late, but took advantage of its chance in the eighth inning.

After Lorenzini ran into trouble, the Bears strung together hits and capitalized on free bases to score four runs.

“We got some knocks, got a walk — you know how great innings set up,” Anderson said. “Against a great team like this with great pitching like this, it’s tough to set up an inning.”

Still, Arkansas kept control of the game and closed it out behind Cornelison to secure the win.

Now the Razorbacks shift their focus to SEC play, heading on the road to face South Carolina beginning Friday.