OMAHA, Neb. -- Dave Van Horn can finally take off that horse collar.
Making his fourth trip to the College World Series as a coach, the Arkansas mentor had yet to see his team win a game at Rosenblatt Stadium, going 0-for-6 in two trips with Nebraska and his first with Arkansas five years ago.
The Razobracks jumped on second-seeded Cal State Fullerton early and gave Van Horn his first win in Omaha as Arkansas knocked off the Titans 10-6 in Saturday's opening game of the 2009 College World Series.
The Razorbacks will face LSU on Monday night, after the Tigers beat Virginia 9-5 in Saturday's nightcap. Virginia will drop into the losers' bracket to face Cal State Fullerton.
Arkansas got to freshman Noe Ramirez early, and Andy Wilkins hit a three-run homer to cap a five-run fourth inning that put the Razorbacks in command.
The Arkansas trio of Scott Lyons, Wilkins and Zack Cox came through in the clutch all afternoon, as the heart of the Razorback batting order brought home all 10 runs with hits, nine of those coming with two out in the inning.
Things came apart for Ramirez in the fifth, as he was pulled by coach Dave Serrano after loading the bases with a walk in the fourth inning. Lyons grounded a single into the hole on the left side of the infield, and Wilkins -- who is batting .593 in the postseason -- followed with his 19th home run of the season.
That was more than enough for Arkansas ace Dallas Keuchel, who pitched six strong innings and allowed just five hits before Mike Bolsinger came on in relief.
Virginia didn't look like a team making its first College World Series appearance, as they battled the Tigers tough until the end. The Cavaliers took a 4-3 lead in the fifth when Steven Proscia hit a solo homer and Keith Werman stroked a single to left.
LSU responded in the bottom of the inning in a big way when Sean Ochinko smashed a three-run homer to left to put the TIgers ahead to stay. Ryan Schimpf added a two-run homer in the eighth after Virginia had cut the lead to 6-5 to put the game out of reach.
The other half of the bracket meets today, with North Carolina and Arizona State hooking up at 1 p.m. and top-seeded Texas meeting Southern Miss at 6 p.m.
Great seats to all the games at the 2009 College World Series are available now at Ticket Express -- where no College World Series game is ever sold out.
College World Series Schedule, Results
(All times CDT)
Saturday, June 13
Game 1 -- Arkansas 10, Cal State Fullerton 6
Game 2 -- LSU 9, Virginia 5
Sunday, June 14
Game 3 -- Arizona State (49-12) vs. North Carolina (47-16), 1 p.m.
Game 4 -- Texas (46-14-1) vs. Southern Miss (40-24), 6 p.m.
Monday, June 15
Game 5 -- Cal State Fullerton (47-15) vs. Virginia (48-14-1), 1 p.m.
Game 6 -- Arkansas (40-22) vs. LSU (52-16), 6 p.m.
Tuesday, June 16
Game 7 -- Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 1 p.m.
Game 8 -- Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, June 17
Game 9 -- Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6, 6 p.m.
Thursday, June 18
Game 10 -- Winner Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 6 p.m.
Friday, June 19
Game 11 -- Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 9, 1 p.m.
Game 12 -- Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 10, 6 p.m.
Saturday, June 20
Game 13 -- Winner Game 11 vs. Loser Game 11, 1 p.m.
Game 14 -- Winner Game 12 vs. Loser Game 12, 6 p.m.
(NOTE: If only one "if necessary" game is played, it will be at 6 p.m.)
Monday, June 22
Championship Game 1 -- Bracket winners, 6 p.m.
Tuesday, June 23
Championship Game 2 -- Bracket winners, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, June 24
Championship Game 3 -- Bracket winners, 6 p.m. (If necessary)
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