Arkansas faces tough final two series to end regular season
The No. 5 Arkansas Razorbacks currently sit atop the SEC West with a 17-7 conference record and 40-9 overall record, but nothing they've faced so far this season compares to the final two series.
Arkansas is set to host a surging 14th-ranked Mississippi State team this weekend, and it will travel to College Station to take on No. 3 Texas A&M next weekend before the SEC Tournament starts in Hoover, Alabama.
While Mississippi State has been down in recent years, the Bulldogs are red-hot with three straight SEC series wins. Both the Aggies and Bulldogs are two teams pushing to overtake Arkansas in the division standings.
"If I looked at all the teams in the SEC right now, I think all the coaches would say the two teams you don’t want to play are Mississippi State and Texas A&M," Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said Thursday. "Those would be in the top three or four, and we play both of them. That’s just the way it is."
The first of the two teams Arkansas will face, Mississippi State holds an overall record of 32-16 and are 14-10 in the SEC, which is good for third in the SEC West behind the Razorbacks and Texas A&M.
The Bulldogs aren't as formidable at the plate as the Aggies, but they are still batting .285 on the season, which is better than Arkansas' .271 team average. Mississippi State is also getting on base more than the Hogs with a team on-base percentage of .397 compared to Arkansas' .390.
"A few weeks ago, they probably said you didn’t want to play Arkansas," Van Horn said. "Now they’re probably saying, ‘Yeah, Arkansas, they’re just getting by. They got their wins and they don’t score enough runs and once you get past Hagen you’re in good shape.’ Hey, it is what it is. Don’t hide it. That’s what I talked to our guys about."
On the mound, Arkansas holds a clear advantage over the entire conference with a team ERA of 3.36, but Mississippi State isn't far behind at 4.16, which is good for fourth in the SEC.
The Bulldogs are led by Friday night starter Khal Stephen, a transfer from Purdue who has been credited with four wins and one loss in his last five starts. His ERA during that span has been 3.85 and he's struck out 39 batters in that time as well.
Stephen has had a tough last two weekends, giving up four runs to Vanderbilt on April 26 and three to Alabama on May 3, but he has five games in which he hasn't allowed an earned run this season.
The Hogs will also have to deal with the Bulldogs' Saturday starter Jurrangelo Cijntje, an ambidextrous thrower who has struck out 88 batters so far this season. In 12 starts, he's only allowed more than three runs twice — five to Texas A&M and four to Vanderbilt.
"Well, they’re both really hard throwers," Van Horn said. "You’ve just got to stay in the zone. They’re awfully good. That’s as good a 1-2 punch in the league, the way I look at it. At least statistically, Stephen has been getting after it on Fridays and Cijnte’s been doing great on Saturdays. Real, real well. Yeah, we’ve got our hands full and we know it."
Texas A&M, on the other hand, has been one of the hottest-hitting teams in the SEC this season, ranking second in the league in team batting average at .314 with 113 home runs in 49 games.
The Aggies are second in on-base percentage in the SEC at .437 and they are slugging .596, which is good for second in the conference behind Tennessee.
Offensively, A&M can score runs in bunches at times. The Aggies have scored more than 10 runs on 22 occasions this season, including 19 scored against Georgia on April 27 after falling behind 9-0 in the first inning.
Arkansas will begin its tough two-series stretch Friday. Junior ace Hagen Smith will be on the mound with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT. The game will stream on SEC Network+.