Arkansas baseball's unpredictable run at 2017 SEC Baseball Tournament
In most seasons the SEC Tournament does not mean a whole lot for Arkansas, which was eliminated the tournament by Texas A&M on Saturday.
Usually, the only benefit for the Diamond Hogs is to position themselves better in the NCAA Tournament — something this year's team didn't really need.
In 2017, Arkansas was on the bubble to be a regional host, and for a team that had not hosted a regional since 2010, it was hungry to host. A couple of wins in Hoover would solidify it, and that’s exactly what the Razorbacks got.
Second Round- vs. 5-seed Mississippi State (4-3 L)
A game originally scheduled for 8 p.m. on Day 2 in Hoover ended up being the 9:30 a.m. first pitch on Day 3 because of typical Hoover weather conditions moving game times.
Arkansas opened the morning with a two-homer from Luke Bonfield in the first inning and another run in the second. Starter Trevor Stephan worked six innings and allowed a run in his final inning of work.
The Razorbacks would fail to score again after the second inning and the Bulldogs tied it in the eighth inning. Arkansas watched the bullpen implode in the ninth as two more runs scored for Mississippi State. The Bulldogs' pitching shut down the Arkansas batters in order to end the game, sending the Hogs to an elimination game.
Second Round (Elimination Game)- vs. 8-seed Auburn (12-0 W) (7 innings)
Later in the day, Arkansas was back on the diamond trying to stay alive against Auburn.
Chad Spanberger started the evening with a solo home run, then added a two-run homer and then a grand slam. He became the first player in SEC Tournament history with three home runs in a game and he had seven RBIs total.
Jax Biggers a hit two triples in the game, tying a school record.
Arkansas also threw the tournament’s first-ever no-hitter as Dominic Taccolini, Matt Cronin, and Josh Alberius held Auburn off the scoreboard and did so while walking seven Tigers and striking out seven. It was Arkansas' first no-hitter since 2006 against Oklahoma State.
Third Round (Elimination Game)- No. 5 Mississippi State (9-2 W)
Arkansas finally got some rest and played the late game against the Bulldogs on Friday.
The Razorbacks started with a Spanberger double, which was cashed in for a run one batter later. Mississippi State responded in the second with the tying run. A scoring lull took place over the next three innings until Arkansas blew it open in the sixth with six runs, all started with a solo home run from Dominic Fletcher.
Two more runs scored for Arkansas in the ninth and the Razorbacks advanced to the semifinals. Spanberger hit a pair of doubles and Biggers recorded another triple, which was his third of the tournament.
Semifinals- No. 1 Florida (16-0 W) (7 innings)
The hot bats continued into the semifinals as the Razorbacks chased Florida starter Brady Singer after one inning in which he allowed seven runs and he failed to record an out in the second.
Spanberger continued to swing for the fences and hit two more home runs, pushing his total to five in the tournament. Eric Cole and Dominic Fletcher also homered in the game.
The Razorbacks scored two or more runs in five of the seven innings and Florida used seven pitchers, none who went longer than 1 ⅔ innings. Kacey Murphy threw a two-hit complete game as Arkansas picked up its largest margin of victory in the SEC Tournament.
Championship Game- No. 2 LSU (4-2 L)
Arkansas was back in an unusual, but not unfamiliar spot, as it reached the championship game for the fourth time in school history and the first since 2007.
The Razorbacks started the scoring with a solo home run from Eric Cole, his second in as many games. Starter Kevin Kopps worked three clean innings before LSU added three runs, chasing Kopps out of the game.
LSU added another run in the sixth to take a 4-1 lead but Arkansas had one more chance to score. The Razorbacks put two runners on with no outs, but just one run touched home plate as a groundout stranded the tying run at second base.
The Tigers won their 12th SEC Championship and Arkansas fell in its fourth appearance still looking for its first title. Luckily, four years later, the Diamond Hogs secured one in 2021.
Spanberger was named the SEC Tournament MVP for his 10 RBIs, three doubles, five home runs and 26 total bases. Spanberger, Luke Bonfield, and Kacey Murphy were all named to the SEC All-Tournament team.
Arkansas managed to earn a regional host spot, but it eventually fell to Missouri State in a 3-2 loss in the Regional final.