Passion for fishing brings Arkansas together ahead of Tennessee Matchup

Left fielder Charles Davalan by his own admission was never the biggest fisherman, but equally passionate about fishing tactics as he is baseball just 24 hours before the most important game of the season.

“Lost my bait this morning,” Davalan said. “I guess I didn’t put the hook on right. But yeah, I lost my bait this morning. I wasn’t too happy about that.”

Kozeal, who split his childhood between Omaha, Nebraska, and rural Sargent, Nebraska, takes pride in his fishing skills. He gave the scouting report on his teammates’ abilities.

“Some guys have gotten a lot better than others,” Kozeal said. “Some are still learning. Brent’s gotten really good. V’s (Wehiwa Aloy) unbelievable, he’s a patient fisherman. Kuhio, if he feels anything on the end of the line, he just sets the hook about as hard as he swings the bat.”

Fishing abilities aside, Arkansas using the newfound hobby as a way to come together as they chase the elusive title. In the age of the transfer portal, coaches are always trying to get a group of new college kids to pull in the same direction as quickly as possible.

“We noticed it in the fall and you always discuss it with your team,” coach Dave Van Horn said about the togetherness. “With all that goes on in the offseason with the portal and new guys, a lot of guys drafted, guys coming in that weren’t here, somehow some way we got to get you guys to kind of gel and like each other and care about each other.”

With school out, there’s a lot of downtime between the regional and the Super Regional, When the Razorbacks take the field for the first game, it will have been 6 full days since the Hogs took the field against Creighton.

Not constantly thinking about baseball and having something to get away to could prove beneficial as the run to the College World Series continues,

“Going out during the day and not just sitting on your couch all day helps,” Kozeal said. “Can also help the mind. You’re not always so tense and focused on baseball, maybe you get away from the game a little bit and that helps some guys.”

No matter what happens this weekend, they’ll be no reports of friction that come tumbling out years later. The team may be in different spots in their fishing journey, but their baseball journey culminates in a series against Tennessee with a spot to Omaha on the line.

“It’s also a fraternity,” Van Horn said. “They’re hanging out, they get to know each other, they’ve become good friends in there, I really believe that.”

First pitch between Arkansas and Tennesee is set for 4 p.m. Saturday and will be broadcast on ESPN.

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