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Arkansas baseball coach Dave Van Horn described his Razorbacks as being calmly excited Monday after they learned which teams would fill out the bracket at this weekend’s Fayetteville Regional held at Baum-Walker Stadium.
The Hogs are the No. 3 overall seed in the tournament behind fellow SEC members Vanderbilt at No. 1 and Texas at No. 2.
It was somewhat of a surprise that Vandy nabbed the tournament’s top seed, but with everything else basically equal, it’s hard to argue with that designation going to the winner of last week’s SEC Baseball Tournament.
Three other SEC squads earned national seeds — No. 4 Auburn, No. 6 LSU, and No. 7 Georgia. Other SEC squads hosting regionals are No. 10 Ole Miss and No. 14 Tennessee.
If the Vols and Razorbacks win their Regionals this weekend, they would meet in the Super Regional for a three-game series at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Van Horn wasn’t overly concerned with the Razorbacks’ seeding as long as his Hogs landed in the top eight, which guarantees a program a host role through the first two rounds of the tournament as long as the squad advances.
Advancing can be tough in the NCAA Tournament, even as a host team like the Razorbacks. Arkansas also hosted the first-round of the tournament the last two seasons, but failed to make it to the Super Regional with TCU and Kansas State upsetting the Hogs in the friendly confines of Baum-Walker Stadium.
Van Horn and the Hogs will attempt to turn that trend on its head this weekend. The Razorbacks (43-13) open play at 1 p.m. Friday in Baum-Walker Stadium. The second game between Kansas (43-15) and Creighton (41-14) is at 7 p.m.
When hosting a Regional, Van Horn prefers playing the early game for a variety of reasons. First his Hogs won’t have to sit around all day waiting to play. Playing the early game also gives his Razorbacks the optimal amount of rest going into Saturday’s games. Also playing the early game reduces the possibility of weather delays pushing the contest late into the night or perhaps postponing the game until the next day.
By the weekend, the rain is supposed to clear out of Northwest Arkansas, but Van Horn said there is a possibility the teams will be forced to practice indoors prior to the tournament with thunderstorms forecast for Thursday.
No doubt the Razorbacks are itching to play again after a lackluster showing last week in the SEC Baseball Tournament at Hoover, Ala.
The Razorbacks were one-and-done in their appearance at the SEC Baseball Tournament, falling 5-2 to Ole Miss last Friday.
Uncharacteristically, the Hogs had a few flubs in the field, which allowed Ole Miss to take command of the game early. Arkansas had been an excellent defensive team until those lapses. No doubt Van Horn will emphasize that nonchalant play can’t be tolerated if this Hog squad is to reach its goals for the season.
Van Horn said it has been decided how the Razorbacks will deploy their pitching staff this weekend, but that he is not ready to make that information public, just yet.
Fayetteville Regional
Friday, May 30
1 p.m. — Arkansas (43-13) vs. North Dakota State (20-32)
7 p.m. — Kansas (43-15) vs. Creighton (41-14)
Streaming: ESPN+
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