FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas can play its way into a first-round bye and into the double-elimination portion of the SEC Tournament with a big weekend at Georgia.
The No. 20 Razorbacks (31-19, 15-11 SEC) wrap up the regular season with a three-game series at Georgia (25-26, 9-17), starting at 6 tonight, with plenty on the line. Arkansas, which is 17-5 in its past 22 games, hasn't lost a series of at least two games since dropping 2 of 3 against No. 1 LSU on March 19-21.
Today’s game
No. 20 ARKANSAS AT GEORGIA
WHEN 6 p.m. Central
WHERE Foley Field, Athens, Ga.
RECORDS Arkansas 31-19, 15-11 SEC; Georgia 25-26, 9-17
SERIES Arkansas leads 28-20
PITCHING MATCHUP Arkansas: Trey Killian (RHP, 2-3, 4.98 ERA). Georgia: David Sosebee (RHP, 3-3, 3.23)
RADIO Razorback Sports Network. Not all games will be carried by affiliates. Check local listings.
INTERNET SEC Network Plus
SHORT HOPS Arkansas center fielder Andrew Benintendi (.412 average, 17 home runs, 49 RBI) leads the SEC in hitting by 26 percentage points and is tied for second in the nation in home runs. … The Razorbacks have won four in a row against Georgia by a combined score of 20-4, including two shutouts (8-0 and 2-0). … Arkansas freshman Keaton McKinney is 4-0 in his past 10 starts since a 9-0 loss against Loyola Marymount on March 8. … Arkansas is fifth in the SEC in hitting (.293), 11th in pitching (4.19 ERA) and second in fielding (.979). Georgia is 10th in hitting (.270), seventh in pitching (3.95) and ninth in fielding (.972).
THE WEEK AHEAD
TODAY at Georgia, 6:05 p.m.
FRIDAY at Georgia, 6 p.m.
SATURDAY at Georgia, noon
SUNDAY off
MONDAY off
TUESDAY SEC Tournament
WEDNESDAY SEC Tournament
Georgia, which currently holds the final spot for the 12-team SEC Tournament, is desperate for a season-ending run that could propel the Bulldogs into an NCAA regional.
"Obviously we're going to go down there to try to win the series, but we know we're going to get their best shot," Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said.
Arkansas, fifth in the SEC, can finish anywhere between second and seventh in the conference. The Razorbacks, who won six consecutive SEC series before splitting two against Tennessee last weekend, need to break into the top four to avoid Tuesday's single-elimination round of the SEC Tournament, which would propel them into Wednesday's double-elimination round in Hoover, Ala.
If Arkansas can pick up two games on Texas A&M (17-9 SEC), which is at Ole Miss this weekend, the Razorbacks would tie the Aggies in the standings and hold the head-to-head tiebreaker for seeding purposes. The Razorbacks also can surpass Florida (17-10 SEC), which hosts Auburn this weekend, and East leader Vanderbilt (18-9), which is at Alabama, but they cannot get past SEC leader LSU (19-7).
Arkansas started its lengthy road trip with a 6-2 victory at Creighton on Tuesday. Georgia rallied for a series victory at Kentucky last weekend by winning the final two games, 12-3 and 6-1, to give themselves a shot at qualifying for the SEC Tournament.
"They're the 12th seed right now and it's in their ballpark on senior weekend," Van Horn said. "We know we'll have our hands full, but I like this little trip. ... We're going to be on the road for 10 or 12 days, and I think the players are excited about getting to Georgia."
The Bulldogs threw a one-hitter in a 6-0 victory over Georgia Tech on Tuesday before an NCAA season-best crowd of 18,792 at Turner Field in Atlanta to extend their winning streak to three games.
"It's a big momentum builder for us because we've been on a roll, beating Kentucky and beating [Georgia Tech]," said Georgia first baseman Daniel Nichols, who hit a three-run home run against the Yellow Jackets.
Georgia is trying to stay ahead of Tennessee (8-18) and Mississippi State (8-19), who play each other this weekend in Knoxville, Tenn., for the last spot in the SEC Tournament.
Van Horn and pitching coach Dave Jorn are shuffling the weekend pitching rotation behind junior Trey Killian (2-3, 4.98 ERA), who will face Georgia right-hander David Sosebee (3-3, 3.23) tonight.
Freshman Keaton McKinney (5-1, 3.12), who started the Razorbacks' 5-2 victory over Tennessee on Sunday, is scheduled to face left-hander Ryan Lawlor (5-6, 3.31) in Friday's 6 p.m. game.
Arkansas right-hander Dominic Taccolini (6-3, 4.24), who posted his first two saves Sunday and Tuesday, might be held back to start the SEC Tournament opener.
"Right now we'll go with Killian and McKinney and Saturday will be TBA," Van Horn said. "We might hold somebody back if we can't move one way or another in the standings. It just depends on the situation."
Neither team has announced its starter for Sunday's season finale.
Van Horn would like to see the Razorbacks start to peak heading into Hoover next week.
"We still have some work to do," he said. "We've won a lot of series in the league, but for the mental part of our game, I think it would be big to go down there and win a series on the road."
Sports on 05/14/2015