Van Horn’s Razorbacks Victorious vs. Hoosiers

By Chris Mycoskie

The last time Arkansas and Indiana met in baseball, Dave Van Horn was a student-athlete for the Razorbacks. Arkansas won that game on March 21, 1982, by a 5-3 count. Nearly 40 years later, with Van Horn now in his 20th season as the team’s head coach, the Razorbacks beat the Hoosiers 5-2 to complete day one of the Karbach Round Rock Classic.

“I do remember that we played them my junior year,” Van Horn said. “That was a long time ago.”

Arkansas starting pitcher Connor Noland earned his first win of the season, allowing one run over six innings. He struck out 10 Hoosiers, allowed two walks, and scattered five hits, throwing 86 pitches.

Noland started seven batters with an 0-2 count. Only one of those seven reached base, as Morgan Colopy tripled in the 5th. The other six struck out.

“The biggest thing as a pitcher is getting ahead,” Noland said. “You want to put (the hitters) at a disadvantage, where they’re swinging at things that aren’t in the zone. Get them in situations where they’re not in a comfortable position, where they’re defensive and taking swings that they normally wouldn’t take.”

Offensively, Robert Moore drove home the first and last runs for Arkansas. His RBI single up the middle in the first plated Cayden Wallace. In the 7th, a single through the right side allowed Wallace to score again.

In between, graduate transfer Michael Turner provided some fireworks. The Arkansas catcher earned his fifth career triple. The first four were tallied over the course of four years at Kent State. The latest came in the fourth inning, scoring Brady Slavens.

Indiana’s lone run came on the first career RBI for freshman Josh Pyne. The third baseman doubled to right center in the 5th to score the aforementioned Colopy. The Hoosiers fell to 0-4 on the young season, as they were swept at Clemson prior to the Karbach Round Rock Classic.

“We’ve squared off with a bunch of good teams,” Colopy said. “We’ve shown improvement each day. I’m excited to see where we’re going.”

Both teams return to action Saturday in Round Rock. Indiana faces Louisiana at 11 a.m. Central, followed by Arkansas vs. Stanford at 4 p.m. Live video streaming is available via FloBaseball.TV with David Saltzman and Mike Hardge providing the call.