FAYETTEVILLE - Tonight the Arkansas Razorbacks play their las regularly scheduled nonconference game of the season hosting the nearby rival Missouri State Bears of Springfield, Mo.
Game time is 6:30 p.m. at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Hereafter the Razorbacks play strictly SEC series Friday through Sunday at Auburn, May 13-15 vs. Vanderbilt at Baum-Walker and finally May 19-21 at Alabama in Tuscaloosa leading into the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala.
Arkansas and Missouri State have played some classics in their rivalry including in NCAA Regionals with Keith Guttin in his 39th year coaching the Bears vs. Dave Van Horn, Arkansas’ coach since 2003, and Norm DeBriyn before him from 1970-2002.
“I think it’s a good rivalry,” Van Horn said. “It’s a couple, three hours away and we always see them when we’re out recruiting. We recruit a lot of the same kids. We get into Missouri. I’m sure the Missouri schools don’t like that, but we have to. I think Coach Guttin and his staff have done a great job. They get to play in that Double-A ballpark now. I think that’s really helped them attract some really good talent. They’ve had some great teams.”
Guttindoesn’t appear to be fielding one of his better teams at 21-19 but his Bears are hot. They had won seven straight before dropping Sunday’s finale of a Missouri Valley Conference series at Indiana State after beating the Sycamores Friday and Saturday.
The Bears hit .297 as a team led by left fielder Spencer Nivens, .363, four home runs, 33 RBI; first baseman Mason Greer, .356, six home runs, 40 RBI; catcher Drake Baldwin batting .338, eight home runs, 38 RBI, shortstop Walker Jenkins, .330, four home runs, 13 RBI and third baseman Grant Wood, four home runs and 13 RBI.
Arkansas, 34-10 overall and ranked fifth nationally by D-1 Baseball and leading the SEC West at 14-7, floundered some lately losing 2 of 3 in a SEC West series at Texas A&M, escaping the University of Central Arkansas, 2-1 on a 10th-inning wild pitch in a nonconference game at North Little Rock and losing 4-2 in last Friday’s first game of a 3-game SEC West series against Ole Miss at Baum-Walker.
However on Kendall Diggs’ ninth-inning 3-run home run the Razorbacks beat Ole Miss, 6-3 Saturday and Sunday on home runs by Michael Turner and Chris Lanzilli and clutch relief pitching by Zack Morris and Brady Tygart beat Ole Miss, 4-3 to win the series 2 of 3.
Diggs was in the lineup as the DH because DH Brady Slavens played first base with freshman first baseman Peyton Stovall idled by an injured finger.
Sophomore right-hander Will McEntire, 1-0, 1.13 earned run and fine starts the last three midweek games, is expected to start for Coach Dave Van Horn’s Razorbacks tonight.
The SEC Office Monday in Birmingham, Ala. honored Razorbacks center fielder Braydon Webb as SEC Player of the Week after slashing .571/.600/1.071 with two home runs and four RBI against UCA and Ol Miss, and honored relief pitcher Brady Tygart as SEC Freshman of the Week after pitching five scoreless innings in two games against Ole Miss, winning Friday and saving Sunday’s game for middle reliever Zack Morris.