HOOVER, Ala. — Arkansas will begin the SEC Tournament as a sixth seed when it takes the field today against Mississippi State.
That’s one seed higher than in 2009, when Arkansas got on a postseason roll and advanced to the College World Series for the sixth time.
The Razorbacks (39-17) are hoping for a similar postseason surge when they meet the seventh-seeded Bulldogs (34-21) in the second of four first-round games at Regions Park. Arkansas and Mississippi State will play 30 minutes after a 9:30 a.m. game between Kentucky and Ole Miss.
Ryne Stanek (6-3, 2.96) will start today for the Razorbacks, who took 2 of 3 from the Bulldogs in SEC play earlier this season at Starkville, Miss.
“We haven’t seen Mississippi State in a while but they’re playing well, obviously,” Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said of the Bulldogs, who swept a three game series against Kentucky to end the regular season. “I’m sure they’re coming into the tournament with a lot of confidence.”
Arkansas is also on an upswing with four consecutive victories, including a three game sweep at Tennessee last week. That’s a reversal from three weeks ago when Arkansas dropped consecutive SEC series to South Carolina and Auburn at Baum Stadium.
Arkansas is 19-15 since starting the season 20-2.
“We want to win the tournament, but it’s not the most important thing in the world,” Van Horn said. “We don’t want to hurt anybody or burn some arms out there. But our guys are confident right now and they’re excited about going.”
Arkansas’ turnaround in 2009 began when the Razorbacks went 2-2 in the SEC Tournament, including an 8-5 victory over Florida in a first-round game. Arkansas then won an NCAA Tournament regional at Norman, Okla. and a super regional at Tallahassee. Fla. before advancing to Omaha, Neb., site of the College World Series.
Arkansas went 2-2 in the College World Series with a team that included then-freshman infielders Bo Bigham and Tim Carver, who are now senior starters for the Razorbacks.
“We’re kind of facing the same thing as we did in ’09,” said Carver, who is second on the team with a .317 batting average. “I don’t even remember winning a game in May that year, then we got to the postseason and started fresh, then just kept going. Me and Bo, we try to instill in the younger guys that we can get there [Omaha] if we just come ready to play every day.”
Arkansas and Mississippi State will try to advance today without using DJ Baxendale and Chris Stratton, their top pitchers. Stratton beat Baxendale in a head to-head meeting earlier this season. Both pitchers will likely throw in second-round games, where SEC Westchampion LSU could face the winner between Arkansas and Mississippi State depending on today’s results.
Baxendale was named SEC pitcher of the week after he pitched eight scoreless innings in an 8-0 victory Thursday at Tennessee.
“We’re not ready to bring back DJ yet. He needs a little rest,” Van Horn said. “He threw 115 pitches last Thursday and he threw a lot of pitches the previous Saturday [against Auburn]. He’ll probably pitch Game 2 for us, whether we play on Wednesday or Thursday.”
The SEC Tournament expanded from 8 to 10 teams and starts a day earlier in anticipation of Missouri and Texas A&M joining the conference next season. Division champions LSU and South Carolina received first-round byes and will begin play Wednesday. The new format also calls for the two highest seeds from each side of the bracket that win today to receive a bye Wednesday. That means Arkansas wouldn’t have to play until Thursday if the Razorbacks beat Mississippi State and ninth-seeded Ole Miss upsets fourth-seeded Kentucky.
Mississippi State had 14 hits and beat Kentucky 11-3 Saturday to complete a three-game sweep over the Wildcats. The Bulldogs are 11-4 over their past 15 games, which represents the team’s best stretch to close a regular season since 1989.
“I feel like we can compete with anybody in the country,” Mississippi State Coach John Cohen said. “The whole thing is trying to get on a roll in tournament play.”
Mississippi State took the series opener 11-2 over Arkansas on March 23 after getting to Baxendale for 9 hits and 8 runs in 3 innings. Arkansas won the second game 8-0 behind Stanek and clinched the series with an 8-5 victory in 11 innings over the Bulldogs.
Arkansas then lost three of its next four SEC series, starting with a three-game sweep at LSU.
“Looking back, if we’d won one or two more games here or there, we’d been right there trying to win the [SEC] championship,” Van Horn said. “The only championships we can win now is this tournament, a regional, a super regional and a national championship. We’re good enough.”
TODAY’S GAME ARKANSAS VS. MISSISSIPPI STATE
WHEN Today at approximately 1 p.m.* WHERE Regions Park, Hoover, Ala.
RADIO RSP statewide radio network, which includes KQSM-FM, 92.1 in Fayetteville; KURM-AM, 790, in Bentonville-Rogers; KASR-FM, 92.7, in Conway; KHGG-FM, 103.1, in Fort Smith; KABZ-FM, 103.7, Little Rock; KXJC, 950 AM, Forrest City; KELD-FM, 106.5, in El Dorado, and KOMT-FM, 107.5, in Mountain Home. Not all games will be carried by affiliates. Check local listings.
INTERNET www.arkansasrazorbacks.com (go to Razorvision link)
PITCHING MATCHUP Mississippi State: Brandon Woodruff (0-2, 3.46 ERA); Arkansas: Ryne Stanek (6-3, 2.96) SHORT HOPS Arkansas has eight shutouts on the season, the most since 1986 when the Razorbacks also posted eight shutouts. The school record is 13 shutouts that was set in 1977. ... Matt Reynolds leads Arkansas with a .347 batting average that includes 7 home runs and 41 RBI. Tim Carver (.317) and Dominic Ficociello (.314) are also hitting over .300 for the Razorbacks, who have a team batting average of .283. Arkansas’ ERA is 3.00. ... Mississippi State is batting .253 and the Bulldogs have an ERA of .264. ... Mississippi State leads the series with Arkansas 44-37.
At a glance WHEN Today-Sunday WHERE Regions Park, Hoover, Ala.
TV CSS/Sports South INTERNET secsports.com TODAY’S GAMES Kentucky vs. Ole Miss, 9:30 a.m.
Arkansas vs. Miss. State, 1 p.m.* Florida vs. Auburn, 4:30 p.m.
Vanderbilt vs. Georiga, TBD *Game will begin 30 minutes after Kentucky vs. Ole Miss game, which starts at 9:30 a.m.
Sports, Pages 15 on 05/22/2012