AUBURN, Ala. -- Dave Van Horn won his 500th game as Arkansas' head baseball coach on Sunday, a milestone reached in the middle of his 13th season with the Razorbacks.
But Sunday's 6-4 victory over Auburn at Plainsman Park could prove to be a singularly pivotal one to the Razorbacks' season, pushing Arkansas over .500 overall and marking a second consecutive SEC series victory.
"This series win meant more to him than getting that 500th win," left fielder Joe Serrano said of Van Horn, "but after our season is over, and hopefully it won't be over for a long time, he's going to look back on today and be really proud."
Van Horn, 500-285 with the Razorbacks and 1,085-525 in 27 seasons overall, tried to deflect 500 talk, but it was mentioned by his staff in the post-game huddle.
"I've got great coaches and I've got great players and I appreciate everything they've done for me," Van Horn said. "Those wins get stuck by a name but realistically it's about the system, the program and the school. I'm just fortunate enough to be leading it."
Clutch hitting by Serrano, among others, also helped.
Serrano provided a key late-inning hit, as he did in Friday's victory, with a sharp single to right that gave Arkansas a 4-3 lead in the eighth.
Andrew Benintendi was 2 for 3, including a two-run home run just inside the right-field foul pole in the fifth.
The Razorbacks (16-15, 5-7 SEC) struggled offensively for most of the series, but a defensive substitution provided a critical and surprising boost for the offense in the ninth.
Tucker Pennell, a .171 hitter, drilled a two-run single to right to give Arkansas a 6-3 lead.
"He's had some good days with us as far as in the fall," Van Horn said. "We thought, man, he's going to be able to hit a little bit. He's going to be able to do some things."
It wasn't until Sunday that Pennell delivered with his biggest Arkansas hit.
"I didn't try to do too much," Pennell said. "I got on top of the ball and took my hand straight to the ball."
Pennell's increased his season RBI total from one to three with the single, and the two runs he knocked in gave Arkansas the breathing room it needed going into the bottom of the ninth.
Jackson Lowery picked up the victory, allowing one run on two hits to go along with one strikeout in 2 1/3 innings. He clawed out of a hole after loading the bases in the eighth but needed help in the ninth after Auburn once again loaded the bases as Lowery walked one and hit another.
Then Zach Jackson, who picked up a victory Friday, made a surprise entrance to pick up the save after giving up a run on a bases-loaded hit.
The teams combined for 22 hits and 13 walks, but stranded 25 runners, with Auburn (19-13, 4-8) stranding six in the final two innings.
"It was a crazy game. It really was," Van Horn said. "You just didn't know how it was going to go and we were running out of pitching."
Sports on 04/06/2015