Arkansas’ Mizzou Mollywhopping Hallmark of Really Good Team
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Let’s call a spade a spade. No.2 Arkansas played an SEC team in name only this weekend. Missouri was the only winless team in league play entering the weekend and leaves Baum-Walker 0-12.
The Razorbacks will not face another conference team the rest of the way with a pitching staff that gave up almost as many runs (51) as outs recorded (54).
“Really it was what we did at the plate,” coach Dave Van Horn said. “That was just really be relentless and not give up at bats.”
However, the Hogs’ dominance is still special and should be celebrated. It cannot be solely chalked up to the porous Missouri pitching staff. In the previous three weekends, Ole Miss, LSU and Texas all had their cracks at the same Missouri team.
The Tigers were without its Friday night starter Ian Lohse and top hitter Jackson Lovich, younger brother of former Arkansas outfielder Ross Lovich against Arkansas, but the difference is perhaps still negligible.
Despite Missouri still winless in SEC play, they weren’t complete pushovers in the first three weekends. LSU and Texas both required save situations in one of the games, with the closest call being a 7-6 defeat against LSU.
LSU outscored the Missouri by 13 runs, Ole Miss by 18, Texas by 20. Arkansas outscored them by 42 runs in just 21 innings. No save situation was anywhere in sight.
Most of those hits, runs and offensive outbursts will ring hollow at the end of the season as the two teams have very different ambitions.
Arkansas will look to return to Omaha for the first time in three seasons and Mizzou will look to pick off an SEC game somewhere along the line in the 18 remaining.
LSU and Texas may still be better teams than Arkansas, those scores will be settled in May with a pair of three-game series, but Arkansas’ approach never changed.
When the Hogs gave up early runs in both games of the doubleheader, Arkansas took its walks and worked the count. When Arkansas was up by 10 runs, they did the same things.
“You don’t want to go give up at-bats because you’re in a hurry or you’re up 10 or 12 runs,” Van Horn said. “You don’t want to change too much. You gotta just keep doing it the way you’ve been doing it. That’s why you got a big lead in the first place. They went about it very professionally.”
Professional. The kind of professionalism that allows a team to win 11 straight SEC games, the longest streak in school history.
“It’s pretty easy when you’ve got some coaches that are really invested,” outfielder Charles Davalan said. “[They] are preaching everyday to have a good approach.”
Arkansas makes a compelling case for the No. 1 team in the country. You can only beat the teams in front of you. The 11-game winning streak also includes a two wins over an Ole Miss team that is now ranked in the top 10 as well as a sweep over Vanderbilt. The Commodores just swept the Florida Gators on the road.
It remains to be seen how the polls judge Arkansas’ resume against SEC newcomer Texas after No.1 Tennessee lost a series at home to Texas A&M. Both teams are 11-1 in league play. The Longhorns are 26-4 overall and is coming off a sweep of No.3 Georgia, while Arkansas is 30-3 overall.
Before the Hogs return to conference play, they’ll take on Arkansas State 6 p.m. Tuesday on SEC Network.
