Hogs ready for CWS opener

OMAHA, Neb. Arkansas' team bus rolled along Interstate 80 East and finally reached Rosenblatt Stadium early Thursday morning. Upon first seeing the home of the College World Series, freshman catcher James McCann couldn't help what happened next.

The hair on the back of his neck reacted, and he surely wasn't alone.

"I got chills right away," McCann said. "Being able to walk in there for the first time is something I'll always remember."

Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn intentionally took his team by the stadium two days before its CWS-opener Saturday against Cal State Fullerton.

He has experienced the nerves that can result from one's first trip to Omaha. And considering none of his players have competed in the event, Van Horn felt a quick trek to the corner of 13th and Bert Murphy Avenue was necessary.

"It is hard (to focus)," Van Horn said Thursday afternoon. "It's all about being comfortable and playing well on the field. We spun by Rosenblatt today just so we could get a visual of that. We walked in, stayed three or four minutes and left.

"I wanted them to get that over with. Hopefully come Saturday morning, the jitters are out and they're just ready to play baseball."

Senior Ben Tschepikow finally got to see the inside of the stadium. He traveled to an American Legion tournament in Omaha after his junior year of high school.

But his Lindsey Dodgers team wasn't able to secure tickets after getting to Rosenblatt.

"It was so awesome," Tschepikow said. "You can tell there's so much tradition in the stadium."

Junior pitcher Dallas Keuchel said many of the players joked about the yellow, red and blue seats denoting different sections in the stadium.

"They were laughing and saying, 'How many more different colors of seats can they get in this place?'" Keuchel said.

Same Field

Van Horn was asked earlier in the week if he had superstitions, like so many other baseball coaches and players. He responded emphatically: "Oh yeah, a bunch of them."

Thursday, though, Van Horn drew the line. Arkansas practiced for two hours in the afternoon at East High in Bellevue, Neb., located minutes south of Omaha. The Razorbacks worked out at Roddy Field in 2004, as well.

So was Van Horn worried about practicing at the same field before being thrashed by Texas in the 2004 CWS-opener?

"I am superstitious, but not to that extreme," Van Horn said with a laugh. "We lost because Texas was a lot better than us, bottom line."

The Hogs warmed up, took infield practice, split up for some individual position work and hit Thursday afternoon. Several youth teams showed up to watch Arkansas practice, and the Razorbacks signed autographs for about 10 minutes after their workout.

"This is one of the best parts about being here," Tschepikow said, writing his name on baseballs as he spoke. "We're just so excited about being here."

Draft Stories

Keuchel didn't find out he was drafted Wednesday by the Houston Astros from the organization. He actually found out by text.

And he didn't even know which team had selected him in the seventh round when he flipped open his cell phone.

"All my friends were writing and saying, 'Congrats, Dallas,'" Keuchel said after Thursday's practice. "I was a little confused. Finally, my advisor called and told me everything. The feeling set in right there. I wasn't worried about it until then.

"But I definitely got excited about it then. It's been a dream of mine. I called my parents at work, and my mom started crying."

Tschepikow, drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 17th round, actually heard about his being selected from teammate Tom Hauskey.

"I was walking into my apartment waiting to go to the field," Tschepikow said, "and he said, 'Tschep, you been talking to any people?' I said, 'Yeah, a couple teams.' And he said, 'Well, you got picked up.' I was proud and excited."

He was even more thrilled when he found out the Royals picked senior Scott Lyons in the 15th.

"Hopefully we can get going to the same team and be a tandem up the middle like we have been this season," Tschepikow said.

Omaha Talent

Van Horn was asked by an Omaha-area reporter, doing a story on sophomore pitcher and Omaha native Sam Murphy, about recruiting the city. Van Horn said he talked to Omaha high school coaches often.

The former Nebraska coach recruited the city heavily while in Lincoln, obviously, and doesn't plan on stopping any time soon.

"I was up here this spring recruiting, and I plan on coming back," Van Horn said. "It's only about six hours from Omaha to Fayetteville. It's a good sell. They can go six, seven hours away and play in the SEC. They can get home in a day, and parents can get there to watch games."

Short Hops

The Major League Draft finished Thursday and two more Razorbacks were selected junior pitcher Mike Bolsinger and senior catcher Ryan Cisterna. The Oakland Athletics selected Bolsinger in the 33rd round, and the Anaheim Angels tabbed Cisterna in the 34th. ... Arkansas pitching coach Dave Jorn sported a new haircut Thursday, a mohawk given to him by several of Arkansas' pitchers. ... The Kiwanis Club of Bellevue provided the Razorbacks with a cookout Thursday night complete with steaks, chicken and halibut.