OMAHA, Neb. -- How hard it is to win here? Case study: Dave Van Horn hadn't.
The 48-year-old has accomplished a lot in 20 years as a college baseball head coach. He had scratched and clawed his way from Texarkana Community College. Won at the low Division I level at Northwestern State. He had taken Nebraska, a wind-blown, prairie-hugging, cold-weather baseball program to two College World Series earlier this decade. That coaching job was a modern marvel of college baseball.
It took thousands of innings and at least that many hours to get fans interested in watching the football power hit and pitch its way 70 miles down I-80 from Lincoln to Omaha to play for baseball's national championship. Then Van Horn found out how many light years he was away from a real breakthrough.
In this double-elimination tournament ,they call it "two [losses] and barbeque." With the ultimate home-field advantage, Nebraska under Van Horn went 0-2 here. Twice in 2001 and 2002.
He bolted for his alma mater Arkansas after that '02 season and led the Hogs back in the CWS two years later. Another skunk job. That's why Van Horn was easy to recognize Saturday afternoon as the most relaxed man in Rosenblatt Stadium. He finally won here.
"This," he said after his first CWS win, 10-6 over Cal State Fullerton, "is the first time I've actually enjoyed myself [here]."
Recap: Arkansas 10, Cal State Fullerton 6
Four trips and one win. It's something to build on for a guy who has won 860 career games. All those games and all those years, Van Horn might remember this one the most. In the first game of this year's CWS, Arkansas pulled the first upset. The second-seeded Titans had scored 64 runs in five previous NCAA tournament games. They outscored opponents 22-3 in the first three innings.
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"We happened is, we just got hot," Van Horn said.
Sometimes all this strategy stuff is overrated. Sometimes it's karma. The Hogs have no true ace on their pitching staff. Shortstop Ben Tschepikow hadn't played the position since high school. Inserted at short because of an injury, he made the all-SEC tournament team and followed up with three hits on Saturday. First baseman Andy Wilkins drove in five runs against the Titans and is hitting .666 in the tournament.
The reward is a long off day before playing a second-round game Monday night. Win that and the Hogs won't have to play again until Friday.
That's the difference between just getting here and winning. This year's bracket is littered with super powers. Texas is here for the 33rd time and has six titles. Arizona State is looking for its sixth. North Carolina has been to Omaha the last four years.
Arkansas has a fine postseason history (six trips to Omaha) but it is a piglet among the big hogs here in Omaha.
It's been seven years since Van Horn left Lincoln for Fayetteville. It shouldn't be that big a deal, but it is. The Nebraska folks weren't too pleased that he left after only five seasons. Even in baseball, they're used to loyalty. Tom Osborne lasted a quarter century as the football coach and left behind a few national championships.
"I didn't feel comfortable here," Van Horn said. "I was getting hammered [by Nebraska fans]. I didn't know what to do. In '01 getting there the first time was the greatest. By the time the game got here, the team was exhausted. I know I was from all the pats on the back and the hoopla."
Van Horn seemingly was reaching the point of chasing titles in the Snow Belt when he went back to his alma mater. It was a no brainer, really. Arkansas? SEC? Hello? Baseball matters there. Van Horn had to make it matter at Nebraska.
"I'm proud of that whole five years," Van Horn said. "It was probably the most exciting five years I've ever had because of the way it started and the way it finished. Nebraska and Arkansas at the time, they were the same program. Nebraska was maybe a notch above."
Van Horn has a legacy in Lincoln. Hawks Field at Haymarket Park is one of the finest in college baseball. It was built because of the momentum Van Horn's teams generated. Since he left the Huskers have been to another CWS (2005) and five regionals.
That momentum is also a big reason Van Horn left. His assistants on those Nebraska teams were Rob Childress and Mike Anderson. Anderson took over for Van Horn. Childress now coaches Texas A&M.
"If I knew that all three of us could stay coaching together, I would have stayed," Van Horn said. "I felt like I was opening the door for an opening."
Van Horn was too good to stay at Nebraska? The better question: Is he good enough to stick around in Omaha for nine more days? The championship series begins June 22.
