Before the start of the Fayetteville Regional, Arkansas head baseball coach Dave Van Horn discussed the opponents his raised backs would face in the opening round of the tournament. One of the teams in their region, Louisiana Tech, features a former Razorbacks player, Ethan Bates.
Before Arkansas takes the for its opening game on Friday against Southeast Missouri State, Van Horn shared a few thoughts on his former player
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“What a great kid. I mean, he’s not a kid anymore; he’s full grown man,” Van Horn said. “He came in here and struggled a little bit, but we could see it in him. You know, he really wanted to play — ended up going Navarro Junior College after his third semester here and did well there. They started pitching him. We had talked to him about pitching [but] that wasn’t his first love.”
“We knew Ethan had a great arm and had power from the left side, as a hitter. And when he got to Tech, it’s all come out, as an older player and confident; he’s been lights out. [He] is definitely one of the best two-way players in the country.”
Bates has been a star for Louisiana Tech this season, spending the majority of his time at DH. Over 62 games, he has a batting average of .343, 86 hits, 74 RBIs, and a third-best on the team with fifteen home runs in 251 played appearances. He is also seeing significant action out of the bullpen, sporting a 3.50 ERA with a 2-2 record. Bates has appeared in 35 games as a pitcher for Louisiana Tech, primarily as a closer, earning 17 saves with 52 strikeouts against 19 walks and 17 earned runs. His opposing batting average of .178 only trails starting pitcher Sam Bordersen, who is Louisiana Tech’s ace starting pitcher.
Van Horn calls Arkansas’ regional a ‘true regional’
The Razorbacks will be hosting Kansas State, Louisiana Tech, and Southeast Missouri State in the Fayetteville Regional of this year’s college baseball championship tournament.
Heading into the opening round of the tournament, Van Horn shared his thoughts on Arkansas being the No. 5 overall seed, along with how he views this year’s regional in terms of proximity.
“You know, as far as what the websites say and all that on seeds, it doesn’t matter to me,” Van Horn said. “It’s great being a top-eight; it doesn’t matter one or eight to me— anywhere in between. So, [I’m] excited about that.
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