Hogs all business in Starkville series
Posted on Thursday, May 15, 2008
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Arkansas’ approach for its final SEC series at Mississippi State is simple.
The Razorbacks need to avoid watching the scoreboard and take care of business on the field.
Win the series, and Arkansas (32-20, 13-13 SEC ) most likely advances to the SEC Tournament for the seventh consecutive year. But that might not be as easy as it appears.
Mississippi State (21-32, 7-20 SEC ) is in last place in the SEC and already has been eliminated from postseason play. But the Bulldogs won’t be lacking motivation for the three-game series that begins tonight at Dudy Noble Field.
Mississippi State Coach Ron Polk announced his resignation earlier this season, and this will be his final series with the Bulldogs, complete with a tribute before Saturday’s game. A large crowd is expected, with many of his former players planning to attend the send-off for Polk, whose 1, 370 career victories rank seventh all time among college baseball coaches.
Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn has stressed to his players this week the importance of remaining focused amid all the hoopla. The Razorbacks are 26-33 all time against Mississippi State, which defeated Memphis 4-1 on Tuesday to end a three-game losing streak.
“We know there’s going to be a lot of people at Mississippi State to see [Polk ] coach for the last time, but we can’t get caught up in everything,” Arkansas third baseman Logan Forsythe said. “We have to go down there with the right attitude and right mindset to get the job done.” Arkansas brings a five-game winning streak into tonight’s game that includes a sweep over South Carolina at home last weekend. The Razorbacks surpassed South Carolina in the SEC standings and are in control of the eighth and final spot for the SEC Tournament, which begins May 21 at Hoover, Ala.
Four teams — Alabama, Florida, Kentucky and Ole Miss — are tied at 14-13 and in fourth place ahead of Arkansas. The Razorbacks hold the tiebreaker over Florida and Ole Miss in head-tohead meetings, but they would lose a tiebreaker to Alabama.
Georgia has already clinched the No. 1 seed for the SEC Tournament, but little else is certain. There are numerous variables that will affect the bids, especially with Arkansas and Vanderbilt being short a conference game because of a rainout, and any other rainouts this weekend could further complicate the formula for deciding the tournament field.
“We’ve got to block everything out and keep doing what we’ve been doing,” Van Horn said of the various scenarios facing Arkansas. “We’ve got to concentrate on Mississippi State, which may be down, but they still want to finish on a high note. Throw in the fact that Ron is leaving, and they’re going to be highly motivated.” Forsythe has led Arkansas ’ resurgence with the quality of play that was expected from the preseason All-SEC selection. The junior from Memphis has been outstanding defensively at third base, and he went 6 of 11 at the plate with two home runs against South Carolina.
Casey Coon is healthy again and back in left field, and freshman first baseman Andy Wilkins had a hot bat last weekend after missing 20 games with a pulled muscle in his ribcage. Wilkins hit. 500 in the series against South Carolina and had a key two-run double that helped complete last weekend’s sweep.
“When we sputtered offensively, it was because we had injuries,” Arkansas hitting coach Todd Butler said. “I thought at the beginning of the year we’d have a very good offense, and you saw signs of it last Friday night when we beat South Carolina.
“ We’ve got guys healthy now, and, hopefully, we will continue to click.” Arkansas’ pitching rotation is tentatively set with Justin Wells going tonight, followed by Cliff Springston on Friday and Dallas Keuchel on Saturday. But Van Horn said the Razorbacks could alter their plans in an effort to win games and secure a berth in the SEC Tournament.
“If we need someone like Dallas to come in in relief to help us win a game, that’s a possibility,” Van Horn said. “We’re going to do whatever it takes.” At stake for Arkansas The Arkansas Razorbacks are eighth in the SEC overall standings heading into their series this weekend at Mississippi State, but they still have some work to do to ensure a bid for the SEC Tournament, which takes only the top eight teams. Here’s a look at the scenarios that could play out depending on how the Razorbacks do in Starkville, Miss.: ARKANSAS SWEEPS SERIES The Razorbacks would clinch a spot in the SEC Tournament and be no worse than the seventh seed. ARKANSAS WINS 2 OF 3 The Razorbacks would ensure themselves a bid, barring weather-related cancellations of games involving other teams fighting for a spot in the tournament. ARKANSAS WINS 1 OF 3 The Razorbacks would finish 14-15 in conference play, so at least one of the teams currently a half-game ahead of them — Ole Miss, Kentucky, Florida or Alabama — would have to get swept and finish 14-16 for Arkansas to get in the tournament. Or South Carolina must lose 2 of 3 at home against Tennessee and finish 14-16. ARKANSAS IS SWEPT At 13-16, Arkansas would need South Carolina to lose all three games against Tennessee and finish 13-17, a half-game behind the Razorbacks, to make the tournament.
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