Everything Dave Van Horn Said After Arkansas’ Regional Win Over Missouri State

Arkansas needed a big fifth inning to get past Missouri State 9-5 in the Razorbacks’ first game of the Lawrence NCAA Regional.

Afterwards, Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn talked about the game, how the Razorbacks responded after a slow, pitching performances from Gabe Gaeckle and Ethan McElvain, and confirmed Hunter Dietz will get the start at 5 p.m. Saturday against Kansas. Here’s everything he said in the post-game press conference.

Dave Van Horn, Head Coach

Opening statement…

“It was pretty much the game we thought we were going to have. We knew it was going to be tight and that we were going to have to score. Missouri State got off to a great start. I was really proud of Gabe Gaeckle for hanging in there. He gave us four innings. He didn’t have great stuff and didn’t have great command, but he gave us four, and they scored three. The rest of the bullpen did a nice job. Steele came in and gave us six outs. I think Parker Coil got us four, and then McElvain got us five, and it was enough. Good job by the offense hanging in there. I thought their starter, Max Knight — this was the third time we’ve seen him this year — that’s the best he’s done against us. He was really good. He was landing all his breaking stuff. Not so much the fastball, but the breaking ball was really good today, and he gave them a chance to get a lead. So that was a really good win for us.”

On difference at the plate in fifth inning…

“I thought we did a really good job with two strikes. We got a couple big hits with two strikes, put the bat on the ball and made them field it. A minute ago, someone asked about the mood in the dugout. Well, it wasn’t great. It was kind of quiet. But we kept talking to them, saying we had plenty of time. It was huge for Gaeckle to get us four innings. We gave them the third run. We booted a ball, the runner advanced from second to third, and they basically safety-squeezed him in. That was a little frustrating, but the guys made up for it. They put the bat on the ball and drove in runs. Like Stewart, with two strikes, chopped the ball to first and drove in a run. I think that tied it or gave us the lead — I don’t remember. Just little things like that. We kept fighting. That’s what I liked.”

On Gabe Gaeckle’s pitch count in first two innings…

“He threw 33 pitches in the first. He gave up a hit to the big center fielder on a fastball. He put a good swing on it. It probably caught too much of the plate. That was tough, because we could’ve gotten out of there with one run, but all of a sudden we’re down two. They’re going crazy over there, and our guys were frustrated. But for him to get through the second, third and fourth with 85 pitches — he was gassed. It’s humid out there. He could’ve gone back out, but that wouldn’t have been good. That was great for Steele to come in. We knew we were going to have to use three or four guys today to win the game, and it worked out.”

That's the 233rd strikeout of Gack's career

Passes Kevin Kopps for 8th most by a Hog pic.twitter.com/drvrhxpRIM

— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) May 29, 2026

On TJ Pompey’s diving catch…

“The line drive he caught was starting to sink, and he kind of found it in his glove. If the ball gets by him, that’s two in, probably runners at first and third with two outs, and who knows what happens there. All of a sudden, we’re down a lot. He made that play, we came in, and I think we scored a run. He also caught that short-hop ball. Then, with two strikes, the center fielder again, we kind of had the shift on. Pompey moved over, and they hit it right at him. He made that play. He had a really good day in the field, and we needed it.”

On McElvain’s availability for Saturday…

“We’ll just see how he feels tomorrow. I think he threw 22 pitches. He’s a big old boy. He’s OK.”

On Damian Ruiz starting the offensive onslaught in the fifth inning…

“He got the big hit to get that thing rolling. He hit a ball extremely hard. They had that little shift on for him, but he split them, kind of up the middle through the six-hole. We needed it. His first at-bat, he was really frustrated. I know he struck out on curveballs earlier and was really frustrated, but for him to get that hit was big. I think that was off the new pitcher, so that was his third at-bat. He got us rolling.”

On past experience leading to success against Missouri State’s relievers…

“We’ve seen most of their guys. The games we’ve played against them have been crazy. The first game, we lost in extra innings when they walked us off with that home run. I think it was 13-12 or whatever the score was. Then the game we beat them in Fayetteville, it was like 2-2 going into the eighth or something, and we scored eight runs. I don’t remember exactly, but we kind of opened it up. The point is, we saw a lot of pitchers. They didn’t see some of our relievers, but they’ve got a really good lineup. You look at the numbers, the home runs, the batting average, the experience, the size — there’s a lot to that offense.”

On impact of Gaeckle’s experience in Friday’s game…

“I think he’s had some great days and some really frustrating days, so he’s learned how to handle it a little bit. Last week, he was incredible. He threw everything for a strike and used everything. Tonight, we could see early that this wasn’t what we were hoping for. That was maybe in the first inning. But after that, he gave us what he had and gave us a chance to stay in the game. It could’ve been 6-0 or 7-0 before we had a chance to get him out, really. But he showed his stuff, got a little bit better and gave us a chance to win. I told him that in front of the whole team. I appreciated his effort.”

On scoring nine runs without a home run…

“I don’t know about the first games — I heard there were some home runs — but the ball usually travels better during the day than it does at night. The wind picked up and started blowing in from right. Early, it may have been blowing in from left lightly, but the ball wasn’t carrying great. We felt like we were going to have to steal some bases, manufacture a little bit and advance runners, and we did that.”

On Arkansas fan support at game…

“We’re underneath where they were, so we don’t hear them the same way. You hear them, but you don’t hear them. We know they’re there. I thought the fans who were here made some noise. It was definitely loud. It didn’t really feel like a home game to me, but I didn’t feel like we were at a disadvantage. We appreciated all the support.”

On Missouri State’s Bryce Cermenelli…

“He kills us. Let’s just say it. The guy wears us out. People were wondering why I walked him. Then I strike the next guy out, and the ball goes to the backstop. It was crazy. He’s just a good hitter. This is his fifth year in college. He’s got really good bat-to-ball skills. His batting average is good, and he’s hard to strike out. He can bunt a little bit. We just can’t seem to get him out.”

On Hunter Dietz starting Saturday…

“That’s the plan, to pitch him tomorrow night, unless something crazy goes on with his leg or whatever. He seems to be feeling good. He’s moving around well and has no complaints. I feel like he’s ready to go, so that’s who we’ll go with.”

On facing Kansas…

“Very good team. They were in our regional last year. We didn’t face them, but you could see from the stands or our offices, where we watched them play, that they’re physical. They added to it. They got a couple key guys back, and they can hit the ball over your head with the best of them. They’ve been really good here. They had one rough weekend here against West Virginia, but other than that, they’ve been great. I’m sure it’s going to be super loud, and we’ve got our hands full. We know that.”

On Maika Niu’s 4 RBI game…

“He had a great day. I loved his last at-bat, when he got on top of that high fastball and hit it the other way. They had just scored two runs and had some momentum, and for us to score a run there and get it back up to four takes a little bit out of you. Even the ball where he got jammed, he hustled down the line. It would’ve taken a throw where the first baseman led the pitcher, but he had to kind of slow down to catch it, and Niu beat it. He hit the ball hard three out of four times. He had four RBIs. That was the main thing. He drove in runs.”

Have a ballgame, Maika!

↪️ 4-for-4, 2 2B, 4 RBI pic.twitter.com/KkDPFTc9B6

— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) May 30, 2026

On Pompey’s diving catch providing a spark of life in the Razorbacks’ dugout..

“Yeah, no doubt. When I say down, it’s not like they were defeated. There was just a lot of concern. Not much was going our way, except for that play Pompey made on that line drive. Then we scored a run, made it 3-1, got their starter out and had the six-run inning. That was a big inning for us.”