FAYETTEVILLE — On a sunny weekend in Starkville, Miss., Arkansas pounded a struggling Mississippi State team three consecutive games and flew back to Northwest Arkansas perched back atop the SEC.
The sweep was rewarded on Monday as the Razorbacks jumped three spots to No. 3 in the USA Today Coaches’ poll behind new No. 1 Wake Forest and LSU, the team they lead by a half game in the SEC West. Arkansas (36-12, 17-7) is tied with SEC East leader Vanderbilt, which hosts the Hogs in two weeks, atop the conference.
Even with three of eight starting position players out with injuries and a myriad of pitching problems, the Razorbacks just keep winning as the regular season winds down to a final pair of weekends.
Arkansas (36-12, 17-7) has been involved in four consecutive SEC sweeps, going 9-3 in its last 12 league games with sweeps of Tennessee, Texas A&M and Mississippi State and a three-game skid at Georgia.
Starting outfielders Tavian Josenberger (hamstring) and Jared Wegner (broken thumb) and second baseman Peyton Stovall (shoulder inflammation) could be back by the time the Razorbacks suit up on Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Baum-Walker Stadium against SEC East contender South Carolina (36-11, 14-9).
And maybe left-handed starter Hunter Hollan (6-2) can get back to form after three consecutive appearances of five innings or less that have raised his ERA from 2.81 to 4.15 as he battled shin splints.
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But in the meantime, the patchwork Hogs have just found ways to win, including outscoring Mississippi State 31-10 to improve to 11-1 in their last 12 meetings with the Bulldogs.
“The team’s kind of unreal to be honest with you,” said 21st-year Coach Dave Van Horn. “They just believe they can win and they just show up.
“They show up every day to play and they think they can win. If you don’t think you can win, you’re not going to win as many as you should. They did it this weekend.”
Van Horn said the Razorbacks are “obviously all happy with where we are” while trying to win each game and not worrying about the outcomes of other games.
A reconfigured lineup, with Brady Slavens batting cleanup and homering in each game, generally maximized its scoring chances, took advantage of numerous Bulldogs’ blunders and out-homered the home team 8-3 to notch the sweep.
“I think that kind of speaks to our team,” said outfielder Jace Bohrofen, who homered twice to take over the team lead at 13, one ahead of Wegner. “We have a lot of talented kids on the team.”
Bohrofen noted the Razorbacks aren’t the only team battling injuries.
“It’s all over the league, you know?” he said. “I know some other teams are banged up. But it’s how the guys come off the bench and help you. It’s kind of what they do when you don’t have your starters out there. I think we’ve done a really good job of just contributing and stacking quality at bats and having quality outings on the staff as well.”
The Razorbacks’ statistics don’t reflect a team battling for its second overall SEC title in the last three years. They rank 11th in the SEC in batting average (.282), seventh in earned run average (4.98), ninth in home runs (76) and slugging percentage (.491) and tied for sixth in fielding (.978).
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However, in league games only, the Razorbacks are tied for second in fielding (.984), fourth in earned run average (4.98) and first in double plays turned (24).
“That’s the first thing I talked about after today’s game, was that our defense was outstanding all weekend,” Van Horn said of what he told the players at Dudy Noble Field. “I thought we played super defense.”
Van Horn commented that because shortstop John Bolton had turned in tremendous defensive plays all weekend he was penalized for an error on a one-hop throw to Slavens at first base after ranging to his right and making a strong fielding play deep in the hole.
“I guess when you make two or three plays that are amazing like that on the weekend, they think you’re supposed to make them every time,” Van Horn said. “He knew he had to get rid of that ball extremely quick and he did and he short-hopped the first baseman and he didn’t pick it. They gave him an error. I think it was a hit.
“But we made play after play, double plays and just fielded all the ground balls. Bolton made some extremely tough come-and-get-it type plays that sometimes people take for granted. Those are really, really difficult plays. And slowed them down offensively.”
The Razorbacks are nearing the end of the school term with no more mid-week games and a stronger focus on preparing for the postseason.
“The guys are getting ready to finish up some school this week and now we’ve got South Carolina coming in that struggled at Kentucky,” Van Horn said, referencing the Gamecocks being swept in Lexington, Ky. “So I’m sure we’ll get their best shot next weekend.”