With loss in College World Series, Dave Van Horn and Arkansas facing another postseason heartbreak
OMAHA, NE ― Dave Van Horn has built Arkansas into one of college baseball's best powerhouses. Under Van Horn, the Razorbacks have made the NCAA tournament 21 times with eight College World Series appearances. Van Horn himself has been named SEC Coach of the Year three times.
But there's one accolade still missing: a national championship. And the route to that feat got a lot harder with Arkansas' 4-1 loss to LSU on June 14 in its Men's College World Series opener at Charles Schwab Field to drop to the losers' bracket. The Razorbacks will face Murray State in an elimination game June 16.
Arkansas is one of the best programs nationally to never win a national title. Entering 2025, its 11 trips to Omaha without a title were fourth in the country after Florida State (24), North Carolina (12) and Clemson (12).
But Clemson hasn't made it to Omaha since 2010, and Florida State and North Carolina have been in and out of relevance. Arkansas has made five of the last 10 College World Series; meanwhile, in that span, Florida State has gone three times, North Carolina twice and Clemson not at all.
The Razorbacks' road to the title will be a long and difficult one. They'll need to win four games in four days to even advance to the championship series, then two of their final three should they stave off elimination. In the last 25 tournaments, 22 champions won their first game.
Van Horn should be familiar with one of the teams that didn't, though — 2018 Oregon State, the team that beat Arkansas in the championship series after three Razorbacks failed to catch what would've been a championship-clinching pop-up.
Since then, the postseason has been full of heartbreak. The 2019 team went to Omaha but lost two one-run games to get eliminated. The 2021 team was the No. 1 national seed and heavy title favorite but dropped a home super regional to NC State. The 2023 and 2024 teams both lost home regionals as national seeds. Only the 2022 team — the only Arkansas team since 2016 to not host a regional — did well in Omaha, making it to the semifinals.
"We need to move on from this one and get over it and not think too far down the road," Van Horn said. "We've just got to take care of business on Monday. We need to play good Monday because if we don't there's no Tuesday. ... These guys, they've come back and won games. They've done some great things this year. So that's what I told them. We've got a bullpen full of pitchers. We've got a bunch of hitters that can hit. They didn't have a good night. We need to move on and get ready for Monday."
Van Horn will face some tricky decisions with his pitching. He said the likely starter for the elimination game was Gage Wood. After that, he could turn to Landon Beidelschies, Aiden Jimenez or Colin Fisher. Starter Zach Root, who lasted just 1⅔ innings and threw 38 pitches, could return as soon as Tuesday. But relief ace Gabe Gaeckle, who pitched a career-high six innings out of the bullpen, likely won't be available until at least the semifinals, if Arkansas makes it that far.
WINNERS AND LOSERS: College World Series winners and losers: The best and worst from Day 2 in Omaha
In theory, if anyone has the pitching and offensive depth to make a run through the losers' bracket, it's the Razorbacks. Arkansas ranks top-15 nationally in on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS), home runs and ERA. While Root has been a solid arm, the Razorbacks have thrived all season without a true ace to the level of LSU's Kade Anderson, who threw seven innings of one-run ball in the opener. Instead, Arkansas has the sort of reliable relief options that every team longs for. And its starting lineup for the opener featured seven players with double-digit home runs.
"No one here is worried," outfielder Charles Davalan said. "We'll try to be ready by Monday and play hard."
The Razorbacks have won four games in four or fewer days once this season, when they swept Washington State on opening weekend. But the College World Series is an entirely different challenge, and it's one Van Horn will need to solve for the first time to finally get the monkey off his back.
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X @aria_gerson.
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LSU strands runner in first inning Jacob Morrison gets a big strikeout to get out of the early jam in the top of the first, as Jake Brown goes down swinging for the final out. Two of the first three outs for Morrison have been by the K, with the outlier being a groundout to second. LSU left Steven Milam at first in the inning after the Tigers' shortstop reached on a bloop single that fell in front of three Coastal Carolina fielders along the left field line. Anthony Eyanson heads out to the mound for the first time for LSU. Jacob Morrison opens CWS Game 2 with strikeout A great start for Jacob Morrison on the mound for Coastal Carolina as he gets Derek Curiel swinging on a 1-2 off-speed pitch for the first out of the game. He entered the afternoon with 102 strikeouts on the season. College World Series championship Game 2 underway Game 2 of the 2025 College World Series championship series is underway, as Jacob Morrison fires in a first pitch strike to Derek Curiel. Coastal Carolina is looking to extend the championship series with a win, while LSU is looking to close the deal with its eighth national championship. Pregame Jacob Morrison pitching stats In a must-win game, Jacob Morrison is getting the start for Coastal Carolina vs. LSU in Game 2 of the CWS championship series. Morrison earned the win vs. Oregon State, which included becoming only the third pitcher since 2011 to retire 16 or more batters in a College World Series game. He enters Game 2 with a 2.08 ERA on the season, which ranks fifth best among all Division I starters this year. Here's a full breakdown of Morrison's season stats entering Game 2: Anthony Eyanson pitching stats Anthony Eyanson earned a no-decision in his previous CWS start vs. UCLA, and enters Game 2 vs. Coastal Carolina with a 2.92 ERA on the season. Here's a full breakdown of Eyanson's season stats entering Game 2: Coastal Carolina baseball starting lineup vs LSU After being the away team in Game 1 of the CWS championship series, Coastal Carolina will be the home team in Game 2. Here's the starting lineup for the Chanticleers: Right-hander Jacob Morrison will start on the mound for Coastal Carolina. LSU baseball starting lineup vs Coastal Carolina LSU will be the designated away team in Game 2 of the CWS championship series against Coastal Carolina. Here's the starting lineup for the Tigers: Right-hander Anthony Eyanson will start on the mound for LSU. Skip Bertman visits LSU baseball in Omaha LSU baseball received a special visit pregame ahead of Game 2 vs. Coastal Carolina from former Tigers skipper, Skip Bertman. In his 17 seasons in Baton Rouge, Bertman built the LSU baseball program into one of the country's powerhouses and is responsible for leading LSU to its first five national titles. College World Series winners by year Leading 1-0 in the CWS championship series, LSU enters the day with the opportunity to win the national championship. Here's a year-by-year breakdown of who has won the College World Series since 2010: Click here to see all College World Series champions dating back to 1947. Most College World Series titles Among all Division I baseball programs, LSU ranks second for most College World Series titles, with seven. LSU moved into sole possession of second place with its 2023 CWS title. It had been in a tie with Texas. Here's a breakdown of where LSU ranks among all Division I programs when it comes to most CWS titles: REQUIRED READING: How many times has LSU won the College World Series? LSU baseball starting pitcher Antony Eyanson will get the ball for LSU in Game 2 of the College World Series championship series against Coastal Carolina. The UC San Diego transfer is having a career-high season with the Tigers this season, as he has posted an 11-2 record and a 2.92 ERA in 101 2/3 innings of work. Eyanson lasted just three innings in his CWS start vs. UCLA on June 16, as he gave up three runs on four hits. Coastal Carolina baseball starting pitcher With its season on the line, Coastal Carolina will hand the ball to its ace, Jacob Morrison, for Game 2 of the College World Series championship series against LSU. Morrison is undefeated this season on the mound with a 12-0 record in 17 starts. He holds a 2.08 ERA in 104 innings pitched with 102 strikeouts. Opponents are hitting .194 against Morrison this season. The 6-foot-8 right-hander is 1-0 at the College World Series this season, as he was awarded the win in Coastal Carolina's 6-2 win over No. 8 Oregon State. In that start, Morrison finished with seven strikeouts over 7 2/3 innings while giving up one run on five hits. REQUIRED READING: Coastal Carolina pitcher Jacob Morrison makes history in College World Series gem Big Mike arrives in Omaha LSU fans are notoriously known for their passion and fandom, as evident by their run in the Rocco's Jell-O Shot Challenge. But that also includes making a 13-foot, 15,000-pound fiberglass version of Mike the Tiger, LSU's mascot, that fans can tailgate in before watching LSU play in the College World Series. Noted by ESPN, the float was unveiled last week at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana as LSU left for the College World Series. It then took a 15-hour, 900-plus drive from Baton Rouge to Omaha. What time does Coastal Carolina vs LSU baseball start? Coastal Carolina and LSU baseball are scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. ET first pitch at Charles Schwab Field Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska in Game 2 of the College World Series championship series on June 22. What TV channel is Coastal Carolina vs LSU baseball on today? ABC will televise Game 2 of the CWS championship series between Coastal Carolina and LSU. Streaming options include ESPN+, ESPN's subscription streaming service and Fubo, which offers a free trial to new subscribers. Watch Coastal Carolina vs. LSU baseball live with Fubo (free trial) LSU vs Coastal Carolina baseball CWS Game 2 odds, predictions, picks Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of June 22 Cory Diaz of The Daily Advertiser, part of the USA TODAY Network, picked LSU to win Game 2 of the CWS championship over Coastal Carolina by a score of 3-1. Here's more: "Both offenses will struggle to consistently generate anything against Eyanson and Morrison as Game 2 in the series will be another low-scoring affair. LSU's bats will find a way to chase Morrison and ultimately do some damage against the Chanticleers' bullpen to score a couple of late runs to put the game away. The Tigers win the 2025 College World Series national championship." College World Series schedule The eight-team, double-elimination College World Series began on June 13 at Charles Schwab Field Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska. Both Coastal Carolina and LSU won their respective CWS semifinal games on June 18, meaning the "if necessary" CWS semifinal games on June 19 weren't needed. The best-of-three CWS championship series started on June 21 and continues through either June 22 or June 23, depending on if the series advances to the "if necessary" Game 3 or not. Here's a full look at the 2025 CWS schedule: Friday, June 13 Saturday, June 14 Sunday, June 15 Monday, June 16 Tuesday, June 17 Wednesday, June 18 CWS Finals
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