Top 10 Games of the DVH Era

[Charlie]

Since we are entering DVH's sixth season I have been thinking about the Dave Van Horn era, now that it covers a nice round five years. Thinking about the state of the program, to everything that has happened the last five years, the changes the stadium (not to mention the fan base) has gone through.

I decided to compile a list of the top 10 games of the DVH era. This is not meant to be a list of the 10 most important games, although some of them were important. It's based mostly on entertainment factor and my own biases.


10. March 21, 2007 | Centenary | “Big Man”
Dave Van Horn has been thrown out of more than one game in his five year Arkansas career. But the rant he unleashed on the third base umpire in this game will live on forever in the memories of Razorback fans. After Centenary poured on 8 runs in the first inning, DVH was tossed from the game and then let loose on the offending umpire, placing the phrases “you wanna put your face in mine,” “you’ll never do it again, big man,” “what do you make, five dollars an hour?” and “you and your joker boy over there” firmly in Razorback lore. The Hogs went on to win an absolute slugfest 16-14.

9. April 10, 2004 | LSU | The Hogs might be for real
Arkansas was just 20-11 on the season and unranked when they traveled to Baton Rouge to face the #2 LSU Tigers. The Hogs won the Friday night game 11-8. The Saturday game went back and forth and was tied at 8 at the end of nine innings thanks to a laser from Blake Parker in right field to Brady Toops at catcher to cut down the potential winning run. The Hogs plated 3 runs in the top of the 10th and the Tigers managed just 2 before Jay Sawatski shut the door. The Hogs would win again on Sunday to complete the sweep of the Tigers in Alex Box Stadium.

8. May 24, 2007 | South Carolina | Domination
While Nick Schmidt and Duke Welker turned in great performances in the 2007 SEC Tournament, it was Jess Todd who turned in one of the most dominating pitching performances in Arkansas baseball history. A day after staff-mate Schmidt held Alabama to just 2 hits over nine innings, Todd shut out the 9th ranked South Carolina Gamecocks for eight innings. He struck out the first nine batters, all swinging, in rout to a 17 strikeout performance that set both SEC Tournament and Arkansas records.

7. April 14, 2006 | Kentucky | Never Leave Early
A near-sellout crowd showed up for a SEC matchup of two top 20 teams, but most of those fans departed with the Hogs down 9-4 in the ninth inning. Those that remained got to see one of the most remarkable and unusual comebacks in Razorback history. Four walks, a hit batter and a costly throwing error gave the few thousand faithful a great reward.

6. April 12, 2005 | Oral Roberts | The Longball
When the Razorbacks play Oral Roberts in Tulsa, Hog fans routinely make up more than half the crowd. The vocal Hog fans that made the trip in 2005 were treated to quite a game, as the Hogs belted a school-record eight home runs. Danny Hamblin hit three, Blake Parker hit two, and John Henry Marquardt, Jake Dugger and Ben Tschepikow each added one.

5. June 4, 2005 | Texas | The Making of Nick Schmidt
In his freshman season, Nick Schmidt won eight regular season games, but it was his performance against Texas in the Austin Regional which gave the glimpse of what was to come from the future first round pick. Schmidt pitched a complete game and struck out 8 Longhorns in one of the best games of 2005.

4. April 2, 2006 | Tennessee | Deep Fly Ball to Left-Center
The series in Knoxville in 2005 was filled with controversy, and included Eli Iorg of Tennessee being ejected for hitting Arkansas first base coach Matt Deggs with a baseball, and Matt Deggs being ejected shortly after. There was plenty of bad blood going into the series in 2006, and the teams split the first two games of the series. The wind was gusting out and the two teams combined to hit 11 home runs, most of them lofted into the windtunnel in left-center field. Tennessee scored three runs in the 8th inning to take a 11-10 lead. In the bottom of the 9th, Blake Parker blasted a solo shot high off the batter’s eye to tie the game, and two batters later, Craig Gentry hit a two run shot to win the game, 13-11.

3. March 23, 2007 | Vanderbilt | The Two-Bag Tag
It was one of the most anticipated games in Arkansas baseball history. The 9th ranked Hogs hosting the top ranked Vanderbilt Commodores. The Friday night game would feature Nick Schmidt against future top pick David Price. Neither pitcher got a decision, though, as the game went back and forth and was eventually settled when Dave Van Horn sent Sean Jones home from second base on a deep sac fly off the bat of Logan Forsythe in the 10th inning.

2. June 12, 2004 | Florida State | The Hogs are Going to Omaha!
It had been 15 years since the last time the Hogs had played in Omaha and Fayetteville was buzzing in the second week of June. There was a line outside the ticket office and fans walking around with fingers in the air looking for baseball tickets for the first time ever. The Hogs were hosting traditional baseball power Florida State in a televised series on ESPN. Jake Dugger led off the game with a home run, Charley Boyce had a strong outing that cemented his legendary status, and Jay Sawatski closed the game out with a strikeout.

1. June 6, 2004 | Wichita State | The Slam
Before June 6, 2004, Brady Toops was just another player for the Arkansas Razorbacks. A very good defensive catcher, one of Norm DeBriyn’s upper mid-western recruits that had had a solid career behind the plate. When he stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the top of the 9th, with the Wichita State Shockers up by 2 runs, he became an icon. Chuck Barrett’s radio call of the play, in which Toops took the first pitch of the at-bat and planted it just beyond the left field wall, has become iconic. And whether they were in the stadium or elsewhere, most Arkansas fans know where they were when Brady hit “the slam.”

[The Kid]

I like this list Charlie.In my opinion I would switch #1 and 2.

[Dale]

Great job!! A lot of great memories there!

[®2 gwaH ytraPa]

Outstanding list.

No way you swap #2 and #1...#1 had to happen or #2 couldn't have happened.

[Bruinstyle2001®]

2 additional games i thought of while looking through Charlie's list:

10-inning Vanderbilt game in 2005 that ended with a Tschepikow walk-off single (first loss for Vandy that year while leading after 6 innings)

10-inning Alabama game in 2006 that ended with a string of walks and a hits to complete a comeback win -- after we couldn't buy a hit off Wade LeBlanc

[Charlie]

bruinstyle2001 said:

2 additional games i thought of while looking through Charlie's list:

10-inning Vanderbilt game in 2005 that ended with a Tschepikow walk-off single (first loss for Vandy that year while leading after 6 innings)

10-inning Alabama game in 2006 that ended with a string of walks and a hits to complete a comeback win -- after we couldn't buy a hit off Wade LeBlanc

Those are good ones. It was hard to narrow it to 10, no doubt. And of course the games that stick out in my mind aren't necessarily the ones that stick out in the minds of everybody.

Everybody should list any of their favorites that didn't make my top 10.

[HogRyder]

dpdale said:

Great job!! A lot of great memories there!

Yes, really great memories. Some that I forgot until I read them about them.

[Bruinstyle2001®]

After looking back through your ten again, thought I would add two more from the same weekend.

Friday and Sunday of opening SEC weekend of 2005
Nick Schmidt and Shaun Seibert pitched absolute gems against South Carolina on the road to help us win the first SEC series. Showed they were a talented freshman duo and that there was hope of a regional appearance and contending for the SEC crown.

[Hoggfather]

Awesome list...its fun to look at it and remember either being at them or listening on the radio...

I can tell baseball is in my brain..."Save a Horse , Ride a Cowboy" came on the radio the other day and you know what the first words out of my mouth were....



GOOODY!