FAYETTEVILE, Ark. — It’s probably not really far-fetched to believe Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn won’t bring up any of these meaningless polls Sunday.
Van Horn is probably more focused on Missouri. Having a path to the No. 1 ranking means absolutely nothing to him in April. He’s more focused on getting to Omaha in June because that’s the only time it matters to be at the top.
Tennessee, the team currently sitting at the top, lost 9-3 and 17-6 at home to Texas A&M on Saturday to drop its first series of the season.
Third-ranked Georgia also lost a series at sixth-ranked Texas, losing by scores of 5-1 and 7-4. The Hogs will play the Bulldogs next week on the road in Athens, Ga.
Diehard Razorback fans probably aren’t too excited over any rankings. They remember the past. The Hogs have gone pretty much entire seasons ranked at the top and not been there after the College World Series.
But it’s better to be there than not. As Van Horn has pointed out on several occasions in the past, that means you’re playing pretty well and winning games. That’s the goal in early April.
Assuming the weather holds up enough Sunday to play the pair of seven-inning games scheduled, the Tigers shouldn’t be a big obstacle. On paper, at least.
As we’ve seen, though, the games aren’t played on paper and baseball is one of those games where weird things happen at times. Pitchers still have to get the ball over the plate, guys in the field have to catch and throw, then put the bat on the ball.
Saturday’s first game was a 21-3 route for the Hogs. If we’ve learned nothing else about this team it’s that at times they can dominate a game from the mound and at the plate.
Other times it doesn’t look so good. Like Missouri State did a couple fo weeks ago, things can happen the Razorbacks will drop a 14-13 game in extra innings.
That’s exactly what they have to avoid this afternoon. First pitch in Game 1 is scheduled for 1 p.m. and it will be temperatures in the high 30’s and low 40’s.
But it will be a couple of important games. Arkansas hasn’t lost since the SEC opener against Ole Miss. Moving up in the polls is likely, but not something Van Horn is thinking about.
He knows it could happen if they win, which is all he cares about in these two games.
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