Rogers' Around the Bases

Arkansas makes case for NCAA Regional host

5/29/2011 12:29:07 AM

After winning the SEC Western Division during the regular season, Arkansas entered the conference tournament hoping to seal up an NCAA Regional host. Time will tell if the Hogs actually accomplished that goal this week, but they certainly didn't hurt their case.

The Hogs began the tournament with a tough loss to Alabama, but bounced back on Day 2 with a 7-2 victory over Mississippi State. The Hogs responded again with a win over Alabama in an elimination game before bowing out to Vanderbilt on Saturday in a hard-fought 3-2 contest.

The Hogs now sit at 38-20, two wins shy of the 40-win mark. However, coach Dave Van Horn believes the Hogs have a strong hosting resume.

"We had a pretty good season. Look at the competition we play each week, and consider the fact we lost several one-run games and went 4-5 against the Big Three of Vanderbilt, Florida and South Carolina in the regular season," he said. "We put together a good resume and won the SEC West Division."

Going deeper into the Hogs' hosting resume, they entered the day with an RPI of 14, fourth best in the SEC. And following the loss to the Commodores, are 8-8 vs. RPI Top 25, 17-15 vs. RPI Top 50 and 22-15 vs. RPI Top 100. Again, not great, but the Razorbacks have some additional bullet points in their direction, including the ability to draw 10,000-plus fans to their ballpark.

The Razorbacks are in the mix for a host site with teams such as Southern Mississippi, Oregon State and Clemson.

Now they'll wait to learn their fate.

PERFECTGAME.TV