The Lawrence Regional is here, and Dave Van Horn didn’t leave anyone hanging long on the pitcher Thursday.
“We’re going to go with Gaeckle,” he told reporters, naming right-hander Gabe Gaeckle his starter for Friday’s NCAA Tournament opener against Missouri State in Lawrence, Kansas.
A lot of Hog fans were probably penciling in Hunter Dietz, but the situation shifted during the SEC Tournament. First pitch is 5 p.m. on ESPNU.
Van Horn said the thinking behind the decision, and it came down to two things — a close competition between two capable pitchers and concern for Dietz’s health.
“We have two guys who have kind of fought for that position,” Van Horn said. “We just feel like anytime we can get Dietz a little more rest after he took that liner on the leg last week, another 24 hours might be a good thing.”
Dietz took a hard liner off his leg in Hoover, and that kind of injury doesn’t always cooperate with a tight postseason timeline.
Van Horn’s not going to push a guy back before he’s ready, especially when the other option in that competition’s already running hot.
Gaeckle’s Earned This Moment
That option is Gaeckle, and the California native’s given Van Horn every reason to hand him the ball for an opener this important.
In the SEC Tournament quarterfinals against Texas, he was dominant with six scoreless innings, three hits allowed, one walk and nine strikeouts in an 8-1 Arkansas win.
It wasn’t just one outing either. Gaeckle’s been building toward this kind of performance over his last several appearances.
When a starter’s trending upward heading into the NCAA Tournament, most coaches will ride that momentum.
Van Horn’s doing exactly that.
On the full season, Gaeckle’s logged 67⅔ innings with a 3.99 ERA, 80 strikeouts and 75 hits allowed.
He’s walked 32 batters on the year, but the Texas start showed he can command the zone when the lights are brightest. Nine strikeouts against one walk in a postseason-caliber setting is a performance that earns trust.
A Rubber Match With Stakes
The Razorbacks know Missouri State well at this point. This’ll be the third meeting between these two programs this season.
The Bears took the first one in a chaotic extra-inning slugfest, 15-14. Arkansas responded convincingly in the rematch, winning 12-4 less than a month later.
Now it’s a tiebreaker, and it’s at the NCAA Tournament.
The Hogs enter as the No. 2 seed in the regional. Missouri State comes in seeded third.
That 15-14 loss earlier in the year is a useful reminder the Bears can put up runs in bunches, which makes Gaeckle’s ability to miss bats especially valuable in this matchup.
Why the Timing Works
Dietz’s injury creates a short-term adjustment, but it also opens a door for Gaeckle to step into a bigger role than he might’ve otherwise gotten.
Sometimes a change forced by circumstance turns out to be the right call for reasons that go beyond the injury itself.
If Dietz heals up enough to contribute later in the weekend, Van Horn still has that card to play.
Starting Gaeckle on Friday keeps both possibilities alive without rushing anyone back before they’re physically ready.
Winning the first game makes everything that follows far more manageable, and Van Horn’s betting that a pitcher who just dominated in the SEC Tournament is the right man to make sure that happens.
We’ll find out tomorrow evening if it was the right one.
