FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas and South Carolina have played four games on three days this season. None have had ideal weather conditions.
The temperature was pleasant - in the 70s at first pitch - for the Gamecocks’ win over the Razorbacks on April 12 in Fayetteville, but uncharacteristically high winds gusted to 40 mph out of the south, which made it difficult for the ball to travel out of Baum Stadium.
A cold front moved through and caused severe thunderstorms that postponed the series the next day. On April 14, the teams played a doubleheader with a gusting north wind and a temperature that barely topped 40 degrees.
The final scores that weekend were 3-2, 2-0 and 3-0.
“They were tough conditions to hit in that weekend,” South Carolina coach Mark Kingston recalled. “It was very cold, very rainy most of that weekend.”
When the teams met again at the SEC Tournament last month, the tournament had been delayed earlier in the day because of rain, which pushed the start time back to 9:45 p.m. A combination of the rain, high humidity and late-night dew made for slick playing conditions at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.
Arkansas committed five errors and South Carolina committed one error in the Razorbacks’ 13-8 win on May 23. It was part of 17 errors in four games that day played on the new playing surface at the Hoover Met.
“It was a new field, wet field, dew, we played late games - you’ve just got to get used to it, honestly,” said Casey Martin, Arkansas’ third baseman who had two errors and hit two home runs in that game. “The dirt was a little different and we hadn’t got to practice on it. We had been practicing on other fields at high school complexes.”
“That field was very dewy and soaked,” Arkansas hitting coach Nate Thompson said. “I think that had a lot to do with the issues for both teams, defensively, in that game.”
Conditions should finally be good for the most important games between the Razorbacks and Gamecocks this season. The teams open a three-game super regional at Baum Stadium on Saturday.
According to the National Weather Service, temperatures will be warm, winds light and conditions clear and dry for the two guaranteed games - Saturday at 5:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. There is a slight chance for rain on Monday at 6 p.m. when the teams would play a winner-take-all Game 3, if necessary.
“To me it should be a much different series,” Kingston said. “The weather will be warmer. I would guess the ball will carry much better, so I would guess you will see a little bit more offense this weekend.”
The ball carried well during the Fayetteville Regional last weekend with Arkansas, Southern Miss, Dallas Baptist and Oral Roberts combining to hit 24 home runs over the first five games. Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said the weather contributed to the high-scoring regional in which each team scored at least nine runs in a game.
“It’s still the same dimensions, so I think it has to do with the temperatures, I think it has to do with the wind,” Van Horn said following a win over Southern Miss. “…I think it is playing a little smaller than normal, but it really has to do with the weather.”
The warmer conditions are more ideal for pitchers, too.
“There are different adversities…now you have heat instead of cold,” Arkansas pitcher Blaine Knight said. “But I’d much rather be sweating to death than freezing to death.”
Chances are that sentiment is shared by every player in summer’s pastime.