HOOVER, Ala. — Regardless of how it does at this week’s SEC Tournament, Arkansas seems to be in good position to earn a top-eight national seed.

The Razorbacks are No. 5 in the latest HawgBeat Composite Poll and, more importantly, sit at No. 6 in the RPI. Coupled with an SEC West co-championship, that is a strong resume even with an 0-2 showing in Hoover.

Just one victory would virtually guarantee Arkansas home field advantage all the way up to the College World Series, but that isn’t the only thing head coach Dave Van Horn would probably like to see from his team this week.

Here are a few goals the Razorbacks should have for the SEC Tournament, whether or not they win any games, to ensure they enter the NCAA Tournament playing well enough to make it back to Omaha…

1. Fewer strikeouts

One of the most concerning aspects of Arkansas’ series loss at Texas A&M was the number of times its batters struck out. Over the three games, the Razorbacks racked up 44 strikeouts, including 18 in Thursday’s victory.

This year’s team has struck out at a much higher rate than any of Van Horn’s previous teams - 25.7 percent of at bats compared to 18.2-23.5 percent - and is only 29 away from breaking the single-season school record set in 2009.

However, the Texas A&M series was bad for even this year’s team, as the Razorbacks struck out in 41.5 percent of their at bats. They really need to cut that number down if they’re going to have success in the postseason.

2. Non-HR scoring production

Along those same lines, it seemed like the Razorbacks regressed back to their 2018 feast or famine philosophy. In addition to the large number of strikeouts, all 10 of their runs against the Aggies were scored via the long ball - five solo shots, a two-run homer and a three-run homer.

That was enough to win Game 1 of the series, but it really cost Arkansas in the second and third games when it couldn’t drive in runs despite numerous opportunities.

On Friday, the Razorbacks had the bases loaded with no outs and a chance to cut into a 5-2 deficit in the sixth inning, but they failed to even put the ball in play, as three straight batters struck out to end the threat. There was a similar situation in Saturday’s game, when Arkansas loaded the bases with one out and came up empty again.

Over those two games, Arkansas managed just one hit - a bunt single that didn’t result in a run - in 16 at bats with runners in scoring position. That is very unlike this year’s team, which was hitting .328 in those situations and has prided itself on being able to manufacture runs instead of having to sit around and wait on a homer.

Van Horn would probably prefer more doubles, hit-and-run opportunities and aggressive base running, things that lead to “crooked number” innings.

3. Solid start from Wicklander

After being very good to dominant as a starter most of the season, Patrick Wicklander might have hit the freshman wall in the last couple of weeks. In his last two starts combined, the left-hander has allowed seven earned runs on eight hits and five walks in four innings.

We won’t have to wait long to see how Wicklander responds to the back-to-back subpar starts as he is getting the nod in Wednesday’s game against Ole Miss.

For a team to make a deep run in the postseason, it really needs at least three dependable starting pitchers. The Razorbacks know what they’re going to get from ace Isaiah Campbell, but then depend on two freshmen.

While Connor Noland has been pretty good of late, they need Wicklander to get back to form and give them solid innings as a starter. It’s doubtful that he’ll go very deep against the Rebels considering he threw 44 pitches Friday, but it would be nice to see him pitch well in however many innings he stays in the game.

4. Another good outing by Ramage

Coming into the Texas A&M series, sophomore Kole Ramage was anything but a reliable reliever for Arkansas. He had a 7.66 ERA in 22 1/3 innings across eight appearances in SEC play.

When Wicklander came out of Friday’s game early, though, the right-hander came in and settled things down. Despite being charged with two earned runs in 4 1/3 innings, Ramage was phenomenal.

He struck out the first batter he faced to get out of a jam in the second inning and didn’t really give up much. The Aggies used three infield singles to score their first run against him. Their other run against him was a leadoff walk in the seventh after which he was relieved and turned into a run thanks to a hit off Marshall Denton.

In the sixth inning, Ramage had to work around a couple of errors that led to a bases-loaded situation. It resulted in a no decision, but he pitched well enough to keep Arkansas in the game.

The question with him now is can he sustain that success? Earlier in the season, he had a great 4 2/3-inning outing in Arkansas’ 15-inning win over Auburn that seemed to indicate he turned the corner. Instead, Ramage posted a 9.00 ERA over his seven outings between then and Texas A&M.

He is a guy the Razorbacks need to supply good long-relief innings out of the bullpen in the postseason.

5. Nesbit heats up again

A 3-for-3, six-RBI performance in the opening game of the Tennessee series gave Jacob Nesbit a .300/.373/.414 slash line and 39 RBIs in 41 games. Since then, though, the freshman third baseman has been in a massive slump.

He is just 4 for 38 (.105) with only two RBIs in 12 games. Van Horn moved him into the nine-hole against Texas A&M, but the move didn’t work, as he went 0 for 9 with five strikeouts.

Similar to Wicklander, Nesbit could be hitting that so-called freshman wall. Although the Razorbacks have a dangerous lineup without him, if they can get some production at the bottom of their lineup, they’ll be hard to beat.

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