Freshmen making difference for Razorbacks this season

Once upon a time there was a time when freshmen rarely — if ever — saw much playing time in the world of big-time college athletics.

In football, for instance, championships teams often had a handful of fourth-year juniors and fifth-year seniors that made the difference. Same story in basketball, although players started leaving earlier there than they did in football.

Today if you have a bunch of those experienced type players, you aren’t playing for a championship and not likely to have a job. It’s a sign you aren’t recruiting very well.

Every championship coach the last 10-12 years has talked about they recruit players to their sport and expect them to contribute immediately.

Dave Van Horn knows all about that these days.

As the Razorbacks have climbed to either No. 2 or No. 3 in the the polls, depending on which one you believe, freshmen Casey Martin and Heston Kjerstad have played a gigantic role.

“I guess what’s been fun to watch is that they really haven’t gone into that severe slump,” Van Horn said Tuesday night after the pair led a comeback in an 11-7 win over Missouri State. “Even when you start to think, ‘Oh there goes the freshman, he’s starting to fade a little bit,’ bang, they’ll have a good day and bounce back.”

Neither has gone through a sustained slump. Both have been big keys in the Hogs’ 28-10 start to the season. They have avoided the mental pitfalls mainly.

“They’ve both done a nice job mentally of hanging in there because this is a tough league,” Van Horn said. “It can beat you up a little bit.”

Older guys like Carson Shaddy and Eric Cole have helped.

“One thing that helped me out a lot was just being able to be around guys that have had hundreds of at bats in the SEC,” Kjerstad said. “They all bring important information to help me out and everyone else in the lineup.”

The each had four RBIs against Missouri State. Martin was 2-for-3 with a double, home run, walk and hit by pitch, while Kjerstad was 3-for-4 with a home run and sacrifice fly.

“I felt pretty comfortable tonight,” Martin said. “I saw the ball really well and just stuck with my approach.

“A lot of stuff Shaddy’s been telling me … stay through the middle, deep breaths and basically tell myself what kind of player I am before I get into the box.

“It really helps and shows what kind of leader he is on this team.”

That’s made a difference all season.

It should also signal fans in the other sports that don’t be afraid to have high expectations for freshmen.

As we said earlier, talent trumps experience these days.

It is for Arkansas baseball.