The Hogs are 8-4. I was hoping for 9-3, but they just did not play well that second game. It was only Ole misses 2 win. Still, a SEC serries win on the road is no small thing.
This team has so many holes and marginal pitching at best, yet they win. Chalk that up to some gutty guys of course DVH. He is a master.
Such high level competition we will face in our remaining games, and then postseason trials. I feel tenuous at best going forward. We are surrounded by a bunch of hungry wolves, but we are Razorbacks. They better be at their best.
Yes we are finding ways to win against very good competition. We just need to continue to winning each series. We will get Brady back late this month which will probably allow Smith to permanently stay in the rotation.
Wood and Carter have gained tremendous experience and are now reliable bullpen arms,so all this that we’ve been through will strengthen this team down the home stretch…We need to hit the ball better if we’re going to really take the next step and be a dominant team.
If Mac can pitch like he is capable and Smith can rejoin the rotation once Brady is back we’re going to be a very tough team to beat.
The Hogs have started SEC play 8-4 or better for 6 straight seasons.
It is the best stretch of starting 8-4 or better in SEC play since LSU did it from 1991-1998.
The SEC is stacked this season, no doubt. But we have yet to play the four teams with the best SEC record thus far, nor UT, nor A&M. It won’t be easy continuing that .667 record.
I like what Dave Neal said at the opening of the game yesterday:
Arkansas is just doing “Arkansas things”
Very well said… I just hope we can keep doing them!!
I don’t subscribe and thus can’t read the whole thing, but I suspect D1 Baseball is expressing similar thoughts here:
Winning at .667 is very hard. That’s 20 wins in the season. If we get 17 or 18 we likely host a regional. What we did 2 years ago is really rare. Our schedule is incredibly strong.
Totally agree. Besting Ole Miss there was significant.
Pseudo RPI as per Warren Nolan today:
Kentucky
Virginia
Poultry
Corndogs
Hogs
Anchor Boys
Wake Forest
Wallets
Six SEC teams and two ACC (and NC State and BC are 9th and 10th). Next highest SEC team is Misery in 18th.
We don’t play the Jellycats or the Wallets, but we play Vandy and the Poultry. And that top-8 RPI goes a long way toward a national seed.
I see us probably ending up 17-13… That will definitely be worthy of us hosting a regional and by then we will have played as full strength as we’re going to be provided we can continue to stay healthy.
I’ll take 18-12 for $200
Vandy can go 9-9 during the remainder and make 20 wins.
Vandy has not played anybody yet. They’re about to play South Carolina Tennessee Kentucky Florida Alabama and then us
The article discusses all of the myriad things that have gone wrong, this year and last. He also notes that going on the road for the tournament is NOT the kiss of death. The conclusion:
Volatility is a constant in college baseball. Injuries happen, and with no Triple-A club to call up from, teams just have to weather the storm. Teams are at the whim of the RPI, a formula which is fairly simple on its face but can also confound all the same. Playing the sport at this time of year also means bad weather is a given and doubleheaders often feel more like the norm than the exception.
There are myriad reasons why things can go wrong in a given game, series or season, but when it comes to succeeding in the face of all of those things, no one in the SEC does it as well as Arkansas.
Rare coach who excels at finding great players.
Didn’t say it was impossible. Just saying less that .667 is still very good in the SEC. One team will often get 20 wins—usually the SEC winner. It’s still hard to do. It’s much easier if you happen to play the 3 or 4 worst teams in the league. Vandy is good. They might get 20 or this year. But they still play Fla, us, USC, and TN.
Danny, let’s not fool around and give our baseball program too much credit.
Agree…we have our work cut out for us.
But this is the SEC and that is to be expected. Makes it interesting, for sure.