FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn received a call last fall from his former assistant Rob Childress, Texas A&M's baseball coach, who was eager to discuss the new lower-seamed college baseball that was going to be put in use this season.
"He said they were losing 100 balls a day because they were hitting them out of the park and there was a lot of construction going on behind the field, and he said they can't get them back or they're in the mud," Van Horn said. "He said, 'I don't know if we're this good or the balls are that great.' But he knew that they could hit."
TODAY’S GAME
ARKANSAS AT NO. 1 TEXAS A&M
WHEN 6:30 p.m. Central
WHERE Blue Bell Park, College Station, Texas
RECORDS Arkansas 22-16, 7-8 SEC; Texas A&M 34-3, 11-3
RADIO Razorback Sports Network. Not all games will be carried by affiliates. Check local listings.
INTERNET arkansasrazorbacks.…
PITCHING MATCHUP Arkansas: Trey Killian (RHP, 1-2, 3.74 ERA); Texas A&M: Grayson Long (RHP, 7-0, 2.12)
SHORT HOPS Arkansas will play it second series against the nation’s No. 1 team this weekend. LSU was ranked No. 1 when Arkansas hosted the Tigers on March 19-21 in Fayetteville. LSU won the series, 2-1. … Arkansas center fielder Andrew Benintendi leads the NCAA with 14 home runs. … Arkansas won both of Trey Killian’s starts against the Aggies in 2014, 3-2 in a series opener at Baum Stadium on May 9 and 4-0 at the SEC Tournament on May 20. … Seven Razorbacks are hitting .300 or better, led by regulars Benintendi (.356), Tyler Spoon (.343), Bobby Wernes (.343) and Clark Eagan (.319). … Arkansas is sixth in the SEC in hitting (.298), 13th in pitching (4.33 ERA) and third in fielding (.978). Texas A&M is second in SEC hitting (.316), first in pitching (2.07) and eighth in fielding (.971).
THE WEEK AHEAD
TODAY at Texas A&M, 6:30 p.m.
SATURDAY at Texas A&M, 7:35 p.m.
SUNDAY at Texas A&M, 3 p.m.
MONDAY off
TUESDAY off
WEDNESDAY off
THURSDAY off
TODAY’S GAME
ARKANSAS AT NO. 1 TEXAS A&M
WHEN 6:30 p.m. Central
WHERE Blue Bell Park, College Station, Texas
RECORDS Arkansas 22-16, 7-8 SEC; Texas A&M 34-3, 11-3
RADIO Razorback Sports Network.
INTERNET arkansasrazorbacks.…
Apparently the Aggies were just that good. They've been college baseball's biggest hit this spring, winning their first 24 games while vaulting to No. 1 in the polls and to the top of the SEC standings, a half-game ahead of defending College World Series champion Vanderbilt.
Van Horn and the Razorbacks (22-16, 7-8 SEC) open an SEC series at No. 1 Texas A&M (34-3, 11-3) today at 6:30 p.m. central at Blue Bell Park in College Station, Texas.
"It's always interesting playing them because there's a lot of mixed emotions," Van Horn said. "I want to win the game, that's my job. But on the other hand, I don't want to hurt him, you know?"
Childress, who was the pitching coach for Van Horn with the USA Collegiate National Team last summer, and his top assistants are all from the Van Horn coaching tree. Aggies assistant coach Will Bolt was a four-year infield starter at Nebraska (1999-2002) for Van Horn when Childress was an assistant with the Cornhuskers, and assistant coach Justin Seely was a starting outfielder at Nebraska in 2001-02 when Van Horn was leading the program to its first two trips to the College World Series.
"It's fun to watch them have success, not necessarily fun playing them," Van Horn said.
The Aggies are solid across the board. They lead the nation with a 2.07 earned run average, rank No. 5 with a .317 batting average and are tied for No. 4 with 42 home runs.
"They've found a lot of different ways to beat you," Van Horn said. "They'll beat you with pitching and defense, and they'll beat you with power. They can hit some home runs."
Childress and the Aggies played sterling defense to edge Abilene Christian 3-2 on Wednesday to tune up for Arkansas.
"I expect a war," Childress said. "Their offense is going to be a challenge for our pitching staff."
Junior right-hander Trey Killian (1-2, 3.74 ERA) will start for the Razorbacks tonight against Texas A&M right-hander Grayson Long (7-0, 2.12).
"Right now they're No. 1 in the country, so we know they've got a talented lineup and they're pitching pretty well, so we're just going to have to go down there and battle and hopefully get a big series win," Killian said.
The Aggies haven't lost a series, with their losses coming in the series finale at Alabama (6-2), the middle game against Missouri (3-2) and the middle game against Mississippi State (3-2). They are 26-2 at Blue Bell Park, the former Olsen Field, which re-opened in 2012 after a $24 million renovation.
Arkansas has won six of its past seven games and three consecutive SEC series.
"Our confidence is high and we're feeling pretty good," said center fielder Andrew Benintendi, who hit his NCAA-leading 14th home run in Wednesday's 15-3 rout of Stephen F. Austin.
"They can always really pitch, and they've got the guy I think leading the nation in home runs coming in," Aggies infielder Blake Allemand said. "We're expecting a great series. We've got to come in and play our best baseball if we want to come away with a series win."
Childress also noted that it appears Arkansas' rotation is taking shape with Keaton McKinney settling in as the Sunday starter.
"He threw a complete game last week against Kentucky," Childress said. "Their two front-line guys are outstanding, and they've got a difference maker in Zach Jackson out of the bullpen."
The Aggies, who are hitting an SEC-best .315 in conference play, have three of the SEC's top six hitters. Nick Banks leads the league with a .407 average, while Mitchell Nau (.382) ranks fourth and Logan Taylor (.378) is sixth. Taylor's .440 batting average in league games ranks fourth.
Van Horn said he talks often to Childress but the two have limited conversation the week of their series.
"There's not going to be a lot of chit-chat," Van Horn said, noting that Childress agreed to show him around Blue Bell Park on Thursday. "It's just like, yeah, that's great. I'll take a few pictures and we'll get ready to play, and then Sunday after the game we'll shake hands like we always do."
Sports on 04/17/2015