This is the first of a three-part series previewing the 2010 Razorback Baseball season.
Still riding high from their trip to the 2009 College World Series, Dave Van Horn and the Diamond Hogs seem stoked about their chances to repeat that success in 2010.
We can’t help but agree, and apparently so does the national pollsters who have the Hogs ranked anywhere from 15th to 23rd to start the season. That’s pretty high, but could have been even higher given Arkansas returns six position starters and 19 lettermen in 2010.
At last week’s Swatter’s Club Meeting, the overflow crowd heard Van Horn talk about the coming season, personnel and position battles, and overall expectations. The Head Hog hasn’t backed away from the expectations for this year.
“We gained some valuable experience (in 2009) going on the road to win a Regional, going on the road to win the Super Regional, and then having some success in Omaha. Those are things you can’t talk about, you have to experience it.”
The 2009 run to Omaha was a season-long roller coaster ride. The Hogs managed a murderous non-conference schedule pretty well, including sweeps against top 5 teams Arizona State and Oklahoma.
They started well in SEC play at 10-2, but then the wheels came off. A 4-13 finish — which included losing their last eight — left the final conference record at 14-15. The finish made the run to Omaha that much more improbable, but sweet nonetheless.
In many ways, 2009 was really setting up the Hogs for this year’s 2010 run. During several games down the stretch, and even in the postseason, Arkansas started six freshmen…SIX! That’s unheard of in the SEC.
Van Horn: “We’re looking to pick up where we left off and that was playing some pretty good baseball at the end of 2009. Our team is very confident. They’ve been around and they feel like anything less than a National Championship is a disappointment.”
In part two of this series next week, we’ll take a position-by-position look at the everyday players for 2010.