Coach Chris Curry made his way back to Hayden Arnold as the University of Arkansas-Little Rock baseball team’s bus closed in on Montgomery, Ala., for the Sun Belt Conference Tournament last May.
Arnold, a Rison native, had no Division I offers before he went to a UALR camp during his senior season at Watson Chapel. Twelve pitches in, Curry extended a scholarship.
Four years later, Curry got to deliver good news to the Trojans’ ace once again: Arnold was the Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year.
It would have been rational for Arnold to leap from his seat in celebration.