When the NCAA baseball brackets came out before last week’s regionals, Arkansas fans could only sigh when they saw that if everything played out like it has, Ole Miss would be coming to town.
Dave Van Horn knew getting this team back to Omaha for another College World Series was not going to be easy.
He probably would have preferred someone from a different conference, but has refused to complain about being the only team in the SEC to draw a conference opponent in a Super Regional.
Many fans just shrug and consider it the Hogs’ luck.
Oh, the fans are optimistic. Eddie in Clarksville has probably already predicted victory, but most are, for lack of a better term, cautiously optimistic.
It’s those pesky Rebels that keep this from being an overwhelming crisis of over-confidence. They were the only league team to come into Baum-Walker and win a series, taking the last two games of the series back at the end of March.
Arkansas has ace Isaiah Campbell starting Saturday morning’s opening game. Van Horn likes to start fast in these short series and that’s the best way to go against the Rebels. He did slow down the Rebels back in March.
But if Ole Miss’ bats get hot as they have done at the end of the season, well, things may get really interesting quick.
The key to this all-important series that sends one team to Omaha is going to be whether the Razorbacks can get their bats going. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Rebels are going to be able to get runs on the board.
The Hogs had some mysterious lack of production at times at the end of the season while Ole Miss has appeared to be on a hot streak at the plate.
The Rebels pushed 23 runs across in the five games with the Hogs this season, including the SEC Tournament. Arkansas scored 20 runs in the five matchups with the Rebels this year.
The numbers say we may be looking at some close games.
Two well-matched teams that are very familiar with each other means there are few surprises between the two teams. Both coaches know what the other wants to do and tends to do.
How is it going to play out?
You’ll get no prediction from this corner. We’re talking baseball here. There is some strategy and decision-making to do and Van Horn is about as good as it gets in that area.
As he says frequently, though, baseball is a funny game. It’s a game of inches at times … literally.
Which is why this series on the road to yet another trip to Omaha should be a good one
