At Rush Hour on Bases, Dave Van Horn Had Traffic Cop Ready
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — When rush hour arrived Sunday afternoon at Baum-Walker, Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn had a cop ready.
Ben Bybee started against Tennessee and lasted 3.1 innings until it got a little too heavy in the fourth inning.
Van Horn already had his plan and Dylan Carter was ready. and the Razorbacks got a 7-2 win to sweep the Volunteers.
"The plan was to go to Carter if there was what we call in the dugout some traffic on the bases there," Van Horn said later.
It got that way in the fourth inning when the Vols loaded the bases when Bybee hit the leadoff batter and walked two more. Carter has dealt with that.
"He has experience with that," Van Horn said later. "It’s not going to get him all uptight. So that’s kind of what we did."
The result worked out pretty well.
"Really, really gutsy performance by Dylan Carter," Van Horn said.
Carter hung in for 4.2 innings before being replaced by Christian Foutch.
"We’re trying to shrink that game, and (Carter) was the guy," Van Horn said. "We didn’t think he could finish it. We weren’t planning on that. And he almost did. So great job by him."
Foutch inherited runners on base, then struck out the first batter he faced.
"It's huge," Van Horn said. "he just went out here and pitched. He didn’t get all carried away or worried about what was going on on the bases. He knew we had the lead, and he didn’t need to worry about those runners. He just needed to attack the hitters, and that’s what he did."
The No. 5 Hogs return to action at Baum-Walker Stadium on Tuesday night for a midweek matchup against UCA.
First pitch is set for 6 p.m. and will be streamed on SEC Network+.