Forget “ practice makes perfect. ”

Just “ practice means something” suffices for these Razorbacks.

On the heels of Monday morning’s announcement of the NCAA Baseball Tournament’s 16 4-team Regionals, third-seeded Arkansas started readying Monday afternoon at Baum Stadium for Friday’s 3 p. m. (CST. ) first-round game with second-seeded Pepperdine in the Stanford Regional at Palo Alto, Calif.

To p - seeded host team Stanford and fourthseeded University of California-Davis also meet Friday in the double-elimination tournament that concludes either Sunday night or Monday with the winner advancing to one of next weekend’s eight Super Regionals.

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The Razorbacks (34-22 ) have been practicing since last Wednesday at Baum Stadium while sweating out receiving a Regional invite after failing by onehalf game to qualify for the eight-team SEC Tournament won by LSU last Sunday in Hoover, Ala.

Coach Dave Van Horn, Arkansas’ sixth-year coach now taking the Hogs to Regionals a sixth straight time, admitted “ it was no fun” he couldn’t assure his players last week they weren’t practicing in vain.

“ You are trying to keep them motivated, ” Van Horn said, “ while they are asking me, ‘ What do you think, Coach ? Are we going to get in ? ’ It’s a helpless feeling on my part. That’s the first time I have ever been in this situation. Hopefully we can learn a good lesson and look back and know it could have come down to one game and we let a couple slip away. ”

Freshman first baseman Andy Wilkins acknowledged the workouts since Wednesday had more maybe than certainty to them but should help now.

“ You are practicing, and it’s ‘ What are we practicing for ? Are we going to be in ? ’ We didn’t know, ” Wilkins said. “ So hopefully that will pay off. It’s a blessing to be picked to be in it. ”

They may seem like a country music band crashing a surfer’s party, the lone non-Californian team dreaming among a field of the Pac 10 ’s Stanford, Malibu based Pepperdine of the West Coast Conference and California-Davis of the Big West.

“ I’m ready to go out there and show these West Coast guys what a bunch of guys from Arkansas can do to them, ” said Razorback pitcher Justin Wells, a Bryant native and Texarkana College transfer.

Arkansas and Pepperdine do have a postseason past.

Pepperdine was the first team Arkansas ever beat in the College World Series when former coach No r m De Br iyn’s 1979 Razorbacks made the school’s CWS debut edging the Waves, 5-4. Those ’ 79 Hogs eventually finished national runnerup to California State-Fullerton, still the best baseball finish in Razorback history.

“ That’s good, ” Wells said of Arkansas’ past with Pepperdine. “ Maybe this luck can stay with us. ”

Arkansas has played Stanford three times, beating the Cardinal during the 1985 College World Series and losing to them in 1986 and 1995 Regionals.

The Hogs have never played UC-Davis making its Regional debut. Pepperdine (36-19 and at 14-6 second in the West Coast Conference ) is led by slugging junior outfielder Eric Thames,. 407, 13 home runs and 59 RBI, and likes to run (71 steals in 90 attempts including Bryce Mendonca’s 29 of 34 and Thames’ 11 of 12.

Four pitchers have started all but six Pepperdine games.

The Wave’s big four are righthander Nathan Newman, 7-4 3. 52 ERA, freshman lefty Scott Alexander, 7-4, 4. 44, freshman lefty Matt Bywater, 7-2, 4. 96 and junior lefty Robert Dickmann, 3-5, 5. 46.

Van Horn and pitching coach Dave Jorn ponder whether to start righthander Wells, 3-2, 6. 25 ERA, or lefthander Cliff Springston, 5-2, 3. 83 and excellent in his last outing at Mississippi State, against Pepperdine.

“ We are going to figure out more about Pepperdine whether we want to start Springston or Wells, ” Van Horn said Monday. “ That decision probably will be made by tomorrow. ”

Makes them no never mind who starts Game 1 as they’ll need all three to win the Regional say Wells, Springston and regular SEC starting lefty Dallas Keuchel.

“ As a team, we don’t feel it matters which starter it is, me, or Justin or Dallas, ” Springston, a junior transfer from Baylor, said. “ We are going to come out and do our best. ”

Most of the Razorbacks haven’t played in California, but Springston did while at Baylor.

“ I have but nothing as big as this, ” Springston said. “ I played a series at Long Beach my freshman year and last year I played at Pacific. It’s West Coast ball and they are always scrappy. ”

Van Horn said when you go West anticipate fast feet, sure hands and strong arms

“ West Coast baseball is solid, ” Van Horn said. “ They always play defense and pitch well. You see a lot of small ball on the West Coast. ”

The Razorbacks will practice today at Baum Stadium and fly Wednesday to the West Coast.