The Arkansas Razorbacks wasted no time punching their ticket to Omaha, Neb., and the College World Series by sweeping Tennessee in the first two games of a best-of-three series over the weekend. Dave Van Horn’s swatters handled things in the typical, business-as-usual fashion that we all have come to expect.
Consistent – the one word that captures DVH’s persona and the team’s performance best. He is such a rock, always solid, always leading by example, always looking out for his playas, always doing the right thing, even when no one is watching. Never getting ahead of himself, never losing his temper (not often, anyway), never, ever whining, and winning, constantly winning. His PhD-level baseball acumen is off the charts, and Arkansas is beyond lucky to have such an outlier running the show. The only real query is – once you win the whole enchilada this year, coach, will you return for a couple more cracks at it? We’d surely love to have you back, back again.
It has been so nice playing within the friendly confines of Baum Walker Stadium the past two weekends. The place is such a jewel and should be recognized even more-so than it already is. To say that it provides the home team with an advantage is an understatement. The Razorbacks have won there at an impressive clip and obviously feel at ease playing on the sacred sod; yet winning has less to do with the fancy weight rooms and training facilities or dimensions of the field, and much, much more to do with the droves of fans who show up like clockwork and create a carnivalesque atmosphere, rain or shine.
The tradition of allowing coolers fulla cold refreshments (to be enjoyed responsibly, of course) and snacks into the general admission area beyond the centerfield fence is brilliant and may be one of the last places in the country one can do so.
BBQ grills sunk into concrete provide space to bring and cook their own meat, and many are piled high with succulent goodness come gameday. But beware, the Hogpen’s rep precedes itself and garners at least a PG-13 rating by the Motion Picture Association of America, so plugs for tender, young ears are advised.
Once again, it was a complete team effort by the Hogs. Both contests saw only two Razorbacks go without a base knock each game, as they doubled Tennessee’s hit production – 20-10. Saturdaze game, despite the tight score, 4-3, never felt that close. The Vols tacked on a last-inning solo homer to draw within one, but Gabe “I Ain’t no Common” Gaeckle settled down and retired the rest of the side to nail down the victory. He and Zach Root kept the heralded Tennessee offense in check all evening, limiting them to just a coupla hits, while hanging up eight Ks on the strikeout board. Root, particularly, seemed to have his best stuff, cranking up his heater up to a season-high – 97 mph – to go along with his usual nasty slider and big-league change up.
Things were less nerve-wracking on Sunday in the 11-4, series-clinching dub; but still maddening, as Vol’s coach, Dave Vitello, pulled every bush league trick in the book as the lead grew. Sadly, it is par for the course for him and his team, and it was nice to see them lose. I guess hearing WOOOOO PIG SOOIE over and over is enough to drive folks to delirium. Either that or it coulda been those five taters, including the grand salami by Logan Maxwell, who does nothing but rake and has finally rebounded from a strained hammy and is back to hitting lasers to all fields on the reg. Also, Justin Thomas, Jr., is heating up and slugged his 10th homer of the year, the eighth Razorback to reach double-digit dongs this season. Not bad for the nine-hole hitter.
The Arkansas offense scored 41 runs on 51 hits – 13 of them big flies – while the pitching staff retired 59 hitters via strikeouts in five postseason games, thus far.
LSU next, huh? Is that the best the NCAA could do? I mean, really? Both teams have spent most of the year ranked firmly inside the Top 10 and have already played once. I woulda liked them to spread the SEC’s upper tier a little further apart, but there’s no sense in begging for respect now. Poor, lowly Arkansas always gets the short end of the stick when it comes to conference athletics and is still treated like the new kid on the block, despite arriving in the league a scant 34 years ago.
Make sure to rest up this week and drink plenty of fluids, cuz all hands will be required on deck to see this ship through the Omaha fog.
WooPig!!