[00:00:01] Speaker A: You're listening to the Hog Sports Network daily podcast.
Now, here's your host, Matt Jones.
[00:00:09] Speaker B: On today's show, Bubba Carpenter in studio. We talk about this Arkansas LSU series, big series this weekend in Baton Rouge. We'll hear from Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn, LSU coach J. Johnson, what they have to say about each other's teams. But first, a word from Kendall King.
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[00:00:58] Speaker B: Bubba Carpenter in studio with us today. And usually when Bubba's here, we talk only baseball. But we're gonna, we're gonna start a little bit differently today. We're gonna talk about this softball ending. Yesterday at the SEC tournament, Arkansas beats Georgia 5 to 1 on a walk off grand slam by Briellis. And this was phenomenal. We're gonna play the video, then we'll get Bubba's reaction.
And had she been carrying a toothpick, the results would Ellie swings away deep left field. Her first swing is as grand as it gets.
That's why they didn't pitch to her the first three times.
They had to pitch to her now.
And Arkansas walks it off on a grand slam from the nation's best hitter.
A great call there from Kevin Brown on the SEC network. Arkansas beating Georgia yesterday five to one. So to set this up, they had not, and this has been the thing with her all year, they're just not putting the ball over the plate. They're either intentionally walking her or a lot of times they're doing the unintentional intentional walk, you know, and they finally had to put one over the plate because the bases are loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning. And Bubba's tee, this is the mark of a great hitter, is you just don't miss the pitch whenever you get it.
[00:02:30] Speaker C: Yeah, one swing all day and it was a grand slam. I mean, that's, that's awesome. I was looking at some of her numbers and 58 walks this year, 13 Ks. I mean, her slugging percentage is 1246.
She's averaging one home run every 4.3 at bats. That's pretty good because if you go back and like I saw someone put a comparison of her and Barry Bonds and they were, you know, they were talking about it.
He averaged one home run every 12.9 at bats.
So I mean, that's, that's a crazy percentage. I mean.491 average, 26 home runs, 72 RBIs in 50 games. It's crazy.
[00:03:10] Speaker B: The great thing about that video there is when she comes to the plate, they cut. And this is being played at Georgia. So, I mean, she walked Georgia off on their home field at the SEC tournament and they cut to a Georgia fan and she's kind of got her, her hands over her eyes because it's like they know who this is at the plate and they know what the reputation is. And the bases are loaded. You gotta, you gotta pitch to them now. And they obviously they didn't earlier in the day. This is incredible. I mean, 26 home runs, that's a school record. And again, she hasn't been pitched to a whole lot down the stretch. Also set the school record for RBI in a season. The SEC Player of the Year award comes out tomorrow. It's a no brainer that she's going to win it. And most people think that she's going to be the national player of the year. And if there was any doubt, I mean, this is the type of moment that solidifies those types of candidacies.
[00:04:01] Speaker C: Yeah, I thought, I thought it was awesome.
And I even, I broke down her swing and I'm like, wow. I was actually telling my wife this morning, I was like, wow. I said she, her swing is like, really good. I mean, of course it is. I mean, to put up those kind of numbers and it's hard to hit a softball.
[00:04:17] Speaker B: You know what's amazing about that is, I don't know if you noticed, but Georgia, they've got a net up like at the outfield wall. So there's no, I guess there's really no way to track how far that ball went. But I mean, they hit about halfway up that net. It was absolutely crushed. It was an incredible moment for Arkansas. They're going to play Tennessee today at the SEC tournament. Everything there is single elimination.
The SEC or. I'm sorry, the NCAA softball selection is this weekend. It's on Sunday night. Everybody's expecting Arkansas to be a top eight national seed in softball. Of course they're number one in softball America this week.
Probably going to be a. Should be a top eight seed. They'll get all their homes at Bogle or all their games at Bogle park at home before the Women's College World Series.
And this looks, I don't know if you've paid a whole lot of attention to softball through the years, but you know, I watch them off and on. This looks like a team this year that's as, it's, it's as maybe prepared to make a run into Oklahoma City as there's ever been.
I've several times kind of equated Arkansas softball to what I saw from Arkansas baseball about 20 years ago, where you keep seeing the crowds get a little bit bigger and a little bit bigger and a little bit bigger. And you know, obviously they, they built under Van Horn and they finally had that breakthrough moment in 2004 and felt like the floodgates opened. And I feel like softball team is right on the doorstep of having that happen too.
[00:05:43] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, I think it's, I think it's awesome. I mean, I'm a reason bake fan. I don't care what sport it is.
I've gone and sat out in the outfield before, like pulled up and like sat there in my truck and watch a little bit. And I mean the crowds are, the crowds are big and they're into the games and so it's, it's, it's pretty cool. And I talked to Brett Dolan some about doing the games and he said it's a lot of fun.
[00:06:04] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean any given weekend they might have 3,4000 people out there.
And I think if there was any doubt that they were going to get a home game at the NCAA tournament, there shouldn't have been. But, but if there was any doubt, I think that winning that game yesterday just help solidify it. Talk about players not mention, not missing their, their pitches.
I was reminded as I was watching that yesterday of what I saw in. I think it was. Help me out with what day this was. I think it was game two against Texas last week. And they had Vaheva Aloy and Kahia Aloy back to back at bats and they would not throw either of them a fastball. It was breaking ball, breaking ball, breaking ball, breaking ball. Heaven walks. Breaking ball to Kahillo, breaking ball to Cahill and he actually gets a head 02 on the breaking pitches. And then for some unknown reason he throws him a fastball and it's a three run basis clearing double. I mean it's, it's. Those guys do not miss fastballs when they get a chance.
[00:07:00] Speaker C: No, they don't. It was crazy. After all those breaking balls they tried to bust him in with a fastball. I remember the sequence you're talking about and he was on It. I mean, he's so quick.
Hammered that ball to left center. So, yeah, I mean, it's a. Those guys scare p. Pitchers out of the zone. I mean, you saw the walk totals last week, and I want to say we. The Texas walk 22 Razorback hitters. They don't walk 20. I mean, they don't do that. I mean, they usually around the strike zone. I think. I think ours guys just scared them out of the zone. Plus, we didn't chase pitches.
[00:07:33] Speaker B: So. Arkansas goes to LSU this week. Lsu, depending on the polls. Are you. Are you calmed down about the polls yet this week?
[00:07:39] Speaker C: No, I'm still not. You. You had a guy on there. I don't remember the dude's name.
[00:07:43] Speaker B: Jacob Brudner, baseball American.
[00:07:45] Speaker C: And. And I was. I was driving and I was listening to it while I was driving. And. Yeah, I was disgusted. You asked him that question about, you know, how. What was their logic for Texas being. And he goes, well, it's the. The whole body of work. And, you know, they were 19 and 2 and.
And I just wanted to, like, pull over and call and just say, hey, dude, they're not 19 and 2 anymore. They were 19 and 2 till they came to Fayetteville. Now they're 19 and 5. So you can't even use the 19 and 2 as an argument anymore. That's gone because they're 195 now because we spanked them for three days.
I can. I can see it if they were close games, if they were all like one run close games, kind of like they were at A and M. I mean, they won. You know, they swept A and M, but they were all really close games. I mean, we spanked them, we beat them in every aspect of the game.
So. And I'm not saying we should be number one, but. But I don't know how he can sit there and with a straight face and say, oh, it's the whole body of work when we just paddled their butt all weekend. I don't get it.
[00:08:53] Speaker B: I'd vote Arkansas number one this week. I would.
[00:08:55] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:08:57] Speaker B: I think that beating Texas the way they did it solidified it to me. And I think if the season were to end right now, I think that your top two seeds in the NCAA tournament would be Arkansas and Texas. And I really believe that the selection committee would take a long, hard look at what they did head and the fact that they weren't competitive games. And I said this yesterday. I feel like if it, you know, if you've got a team say Arkansas swept Texas and they beat him the way they did, but Texas has, like, eight or ten more wins. Okay, I can understand you keeping Texas.
[00:09:27] Speaker C: Right.
[00:09:28] Speaker B: But Arkansas's got more wins than them. I know they don't have as many SEC wins, but they got more wins overall. So I feel like what you're doing is. I don't know what they're doing, but anyway.
[00:09:37] Speaker C: So you can't figure it out either.
[00:09:38] Speaker B: I can't.
[00:09:39] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:09:39] Speaker B: I can't.
[00:09:40] Speaker C: I thought you let him. I thought you let the guy off the hook a little bit. I would have.
[00:09:43] Speaker B: I have a tendency to do that.
[00:09:45] Speaker C: I would have pressed.
[00:09:45] Speaker B: I wanted to be.
[00:09:46] Speaker C: I would have pressed him. I wouldn't have been. I'd have been like, okay, dude, can you backtrack a little bit? Explain that to me. The body of work.
[00:09:52] Speaker B: He gave his opinion and let go.
I'm not going to change his opinion.
[00:09:57] Speaker C: No, you're not. But you can still let him know that.
[00:09:59] Speaker B: Hey, wouldn't that be something? Baseball America on Wednesday.
Breaking news. After interview with Arkansas podcast host, we have decided to flip our two and three rankings.
[00:10:09] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:10:10] Speaker B: But we're gonna leave Georgia number one.
[00:10:11] Speaker C: So how many guys at Baseball America make that vote?
[00:10:14] Speaker B: I think it's two. I don't know that for sure, but I think it's two.
[00:10:17] Speaker C: Okay. This dude must have an Austin address.
I mean, I just don't get it. Matt.
[00:10:23] Speaker B: He's actually from Florida, but.
[00:10:25] Speaker C: Okay, well, maybe his kid goes to Austin or maybe. I don't know, maybe his girlfriend lives there, his wife. I don't know. I just. I'm a common sense person, and when something. When there's no common sense, I get really frustrated.
[00:10:36] Speaker B: Did you hear Dave Van Horn at Swatters Club earlier this week? He was asked, like, who should be number one. He said, maybe nobody. Maybe nobody should be number one right now.
[00:10:43] Speaker C: Honestly, that's.
[00:10:44] Speaker B: Nobody has jumped up and taken that mantle.
[00:10:46] Speaker C: That's a better answer than what that.
[00:10:48] Speaker B: Guy gave because you can poke holes in every number one team that's ranked number one in any of the polls this week. There's three of them. Georgia's ranked number one in a couple of polls. I could poke holes in that.
Texas, obviously. Arkansas, you can poke holes and then be a number one.
It's weird because it feels like a lot of years, whether it was Arkansas in 21 or Tennessee in 22, or even Tennessee last year, you get to this point in the season, it's like, okay, somebody has stepped forward and they have separated themselves from the pack, and I don't know that anybody has done that. I think the closest anybody has done that is what Arkansas did against Texas last week.
[00:11:27] Speaker C: Right.
[00:11:27] Speaker B: But then you have to backtrack and look at what happened the three weeks previous.
[00:11:31] Speaker C: Okay, but look at the three weeks previous.
So. And that's where I feel like this guy's off base. Yeah. We lost three series in a row. But let's go back and let's start with Georgia. We really should have won that game. We were up in 11th inning.
[00:11:45] Speaker B: 11Th inning. Two outs.
[00:11:46] Speaker C: Two outs and maybe two strikes. I can't remember. But anyway, two outs. We're up in 11. So really, we should have won that series.
Florida. You go to Florida and Dave could have won that. I still say Dave could have won that series. Had he felt like we really needed to win that series, we would have done things a little bit differently and won that series. But it. What, all the games were competitive. They're all close.
[00:12:08] Speaker B: We.
[00:12:09] Speaker C: We put ourselves in a position to win all three of them. And then A M is kind of the same thing. I mean, it was just everything went their way.
Yeah. I don't know. I just. I. I feel like we could have won all three of those series. It's not like we got blown out. I can see if we got the doors blown off of us in one of those series.
[00:12:27] Speaker B: Never happened.
[00:12:28] Speaker C: I mean, we could have won all three of them. So I guess that's. That's the frustration to me where Texas comes here and we just paddle them for three games and I don't know, but I'm done.
I'm over it. I'm not over it, but I'm gonna.
[00:12:44] Speaker B: Act like, what do I say all the time? The poll that matters is the one on Memorial Day.
[00:12:47] Speaker C: Right? You're right.
[00:12:47] Speaker B: I mean, it's.
[00:12:48] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:12:48] Speaker B: All of this is fun to debate and dissect and everything, but the one that matters is the one that comes out in about two and a half weeks.
[00:12:54] Speaker C: Yeah. So, I mean, we just need to keep taking care of businesses, go to LSU and play good and.
[00:12:59] Speaker B: Yeah, LSU ranked number four this week. They would be number one, I think, had they not lost to A and M. They. They didn't get walked off, but it was about as close to a walk off as you can get, I think. Two strikes, two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning. A three run home run broke their heart in College Station last week, and they dropped that series.
[00:13:17] Speaker C: Who was that? Sorrel. That hit that?
[00:13:18] Speaker B: It was Cadence. Yeah.
[00:13:20] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:13:20] Speaker B: Who's a really good hitter, by the way. Like you know, I got the All America ballot yesterday and I just, I haven't gone through all of it yet, but I know that I'm going to end up putting a ton of SEC players on there.
Some of it's biased because those are the players I see. I get that.
You know, it's like the Heaven Aloy Alex Lodis conversation right now. Who's the best shortstop in the country? Lodis's numbers are phenomenal at Florida State, but I've watched Alloy play every game.
And so, I mean, obviously I'm a little bit partial because I've seen every great play that he has made. I haven't seen every great play that Alex Odis has made. Maybe he makes them as spectacular and as consistent as Vaheva does. But, but there is some bias that goes into this and I think, you know, the sooner that you admit that the, the better off you are. But yeah, there, there are a lot of SEC players and you know, I mean, I don't know if I've got Sorrell as an All American, but would he be in the top five in this initial batch of votes you got to put in?
Quite possibly.
[00:14:22] Speaker C: But when you do the voting, do you not take a guy from Florida State and put him in the sec? And I thought about that. Take, take ver, put him in the acc.
[00:14:33] Speaker B: Look what Mason Neville is doing right now at Oregon.
[00:14:36] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:14:36] Speaker B: 23 home runs leading the country. He's not doing that in the sec. Yeah, I mean, I think he's improved a lot since he was here.
But against SEC pitching, he struck out 20 times and 27 at bats two years ago.
[00:14:47] Speaker C: Now, unless he's, I mean, you can change things, but that swing that I saw when he was here as a freshman won't produce that many home runs in the SEC now. I mean, that's two years ago. Maybe he made a change. Obviously, I, I need to look his, I need to look his stats, I need to look his swing up and see if he's made any changes. But he, he couldn't hit here. And I'm not bashing the guy who's a freshman. I mean, he's, you know, freshman playing in the sec, but yeah, he just looked overmatched here. But you, the potential in him. I mean, he was athletic, but I, I, I guess I, I, I look at all these guys. I'm like, okay, would he put up these numbers in sec? No, I don't think so. Take Vea and put him in another conference and think of what he would do in another Conference. I'm sorry, I just, I, I, I.
[00:15:33] Speaker B: Have the same thoughts. I have the same thoughts. And your arch enemy from baseball America, by the way, he says that he's shortened up and cleaned up his swing quite a bit.
[00:15:40] Speaker C: Well, he would have to.
But could he do it over here in sec?
I mean, I don't know. I haven't seen a swing, so I shouldn't say anything. I mean, I'm proud of him for, for going somewhere and working hard and having a great year. And, you know, he's, I know he's gone up the draft. You know, I know there's a lot of talk about him in the draft now, so, I mean, he's obviously doing something right. But there needs to be a way to.
And with all the analytics we have, Matt, there should be a way to say, okay, how can you compare an ACC player to an SEC player? You know, two of the, the Wherever.
[00:16:19] Speaker B: Out west, the Big Ten now, they're.
[00:16:22] Speaker C: The, the brand of baseball out there is totally different than the sec. I'm sorry. It's a totally. You're the pitching, you're seeing, it's all different.
I don't know how you take those. And I mean, we've got rpi, we've got all these different rating things. There needs to be a way to take all of that, put it into a computer and spit out, okay, what would Veheva do in the acc? What would he do out West? You know, and, and vice versa.
[00:16:48] Speaker B: It probably exists. We just don't pay enough money for that subscription service.
Dave Van Horn yesterday was on Sirius XM SEC Radio. He was asked about playing this series against LSU this week, and this is what he had to say.
[00:17:03] Speaker D: I think it's like anybody in the sec, if you play good defense and you throw strikes, you don't walk and you got a chance to beat them, if you're giving them free bases, you're in trouble.
It's really with any team but LSU down there, it's one of the toughest places to play and win if you're the visitor, you know, I don't think there's any, you know, super secrets. It's just about playing well and believing you can win. And, you know, our team, we feel like we can win. We can, we feel like we can beat anybody if we play well. But obviously it's a big series.
I don't know if anybody's going to be able to catch Texas. So for us, we just want to go down there and play well. Hopefully we'll win the series, then we get to come back and play Tennessee. So we've had a pretty good run of it. You know, we got Texas and before that we got to play at Florida. And before that we played like, I.
[00:17:59] Speaker E: Don'T know, A and M. And then.
[00:18:00] Speaker D: Before that we played Georgia on the road. So it's a.
[00:18:02] Speaker F: It's a regional.
[00:18:03] Speaker B: You're playing it. Hell, it's probably a super regional feel.
[00:18:06] Speaker D: Pretty much every week. Yeah, we've told our guys that this is like playing a super regional every weekend. And you know, you got to find a way to win two out of three if you want to go to the World Series. So hopefully gaining some experience and learning some things. But bottom line, in Baton Rouge, you just can't make very many mistakes. Super well coached, a lot of talent, and the fans are amazing down there.
[00:18:30] Speaker B: It's one of the toughest places to play in the sec.
I put it right there with College Station is the two toughest places to play. And we heard Dave Van Horn talk about this at Swatters Club this week. You know, kind of poking at the crowd like, hey, if you would give us that type of atmosphere you gave us against Texas every week, imagine what you could do at home. That's what you get at lsu. That's what you get at A and M. I'm not going to say they bring it when Prairie View A and M comes in on a Tuesday night or something, but for the most part, you get that type of intimidating. Fans are right on top of you.
They're giving it to you for nine innings, 10 innings, 15 innings, whatever it takes. And it's an intimidating place to play at Baton Rouge.
[00:19:12] Speaker C: But I don't think. I don't think any of that faces this team. This is a different type of team, Matt. And I don't, I don't think. I mean, we said it about going to Vandy, how hard it was to win at Vandy and we go in there and sweep them.
[00:19:25] Speaker B: Well, they just whistle at you there.
[00:19:26] Speaker C: Yeah, true. But I mean, it's. It is a totally. I guess I shouldn't compare the two environments because they're totally different. But vanity can be real annoying.
But yeah, I mean, I just think it's on bother these guys. I think. I think we're going there and play well now I am a little bit worried about the Friday Saturday guys for lsu. They're starters, they're really good.
[00:19:47] Speaker B: It's probably the best one to starting pitching that, that exists in the sec. You got Kate Anderson on Friday night and You've got Anthony Ionson on Saturday, who against A and m. I mean, nine innings, 14 strikeouts, one run.
That's. That's pretty salty after you've seen a Kate Anderson, who might be the first left hander taken in the draft this year.
[00:20:08] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, that's, that's really good numbers. I wrote his numbers down against him last week and that's really good. Kate Anderson, you know, six inning, three hits, one run, 12 Ks.
They were both really good last weekend against a really good A and M team. So, I mean, yeah, I mean, it's.
I always say though, those numbers are good, but that's not against the Razorback offense. I think we do a real good job. I don't, and I don't know, you might, you might know this. What's the deepest an SEC starter has gone against us this year?
[00:20:43] Speaker B: Probably Peterson, right? Liam Peterson. Didn't he go into the seventh, eighth inning?
[00:20:47] Speaker C: Yeah, it would have to be.
[00:20:48] Speaker B: Yeah, I may be forgetting somebody, but that was.
[00:20:51] Speaker C: Yeah, I think he went into seven.
[00:20:52] Speaker B: In terms of performances that stand out, to me, that's the one that I thought was the best.
[00:20:57] Speaker C: But I mean, we grind out. I mean, we get starting pitchers out of the game in a hurry because we, we swing on our terms, we don't chase a lot of pitches, we're patient at the plate, we take what they give us. And I'd be really surprised, I mean, I'd be very, very impressed if a guy was able to go nine innings against this offense. I just don't think it'll, I don't think it'll ever happen.
[00:21:18] Speaker B: I was talking to Nate Thompson a couple of days ago about just how much these hitters like to be challenged and how, you know, maybe some teams would go into LSU and they would be a little bit intimidated. Arkansas goes into it like, okay, let's see.
[00:21:36] Speaker C: Yeah, and that's what's awesome. I mean, I remember back in the day, I loved facing, whether it was in college, facing like a Kurt Dressendorfer at Texas. He was like the big stud. Back in the day. You always wanted to face the best guy in. And once you get into pro ball, you always want. I always wanted to face that, that first round pick that, that bonus baby that got all the money. Those are the kind of guys you get up for. And so, you know, I mean, I can't imagine these guys not going into LSU and being excited about facing these two dudes.
[00:22:09] Speaker B: What about. Okay, so this sets up a little bit like the Arkansas, Texas series.
Texas came Into Fayetteville, they had swept arrival at home. Going on the road, playing a team is really good at home.
[00:22:21] Speaker C: Don't go there.
[00:22:22] Speaker B: But you know where I'm going with this. You know where I'm going with this.
It sets up in a, in a similar way.
So how does Arkansas.
We've got a Dave Van Horn clip to play, but I'll ask you first, how does Arkansas avoid in Baton Rouge this week? The same fate that happened to Texas when they came here?
[00:22:41] Speaker C: Well, we're better than Texas.
That's, that's the difference. And I think we play better baseball. We run the bases better.
I mean, I think it's it for me, it all starts on Friday night. I think, I think it starts with, with Zach Root on Friday night. I really do. He needs to have a good start and then we need to get Kate Anderson out of the game early, getting their pen. I know it's easier said than done, but the keys of the game going into Texas was what I just said.
Zach Rood having a good start on Friday night and getting Riojas out of the game early, their Friday night starter. I thought that was the keys. And we do that, we'll be fine. But I think the makeup of our team is totally different than the makeup of Texas. Texas just melted down. I think from the second inning on when Bulls hit the home run, they were on their heels the rest of the weekend. That's not going to happen to us.
[00:23:33] Speaker B: Do you pay any attention to the stat FIP in baseball? No fielding independent of pitching?
[00:23:38] Speaker C: No.
[00:23:40] Speaker B: Well, I know a lot of coaches do.
Three of the top four in the SEC are Kate Anderson, Anthony Ionson, who they'll see this weekend.
They'll play a guy. It looks like they're probably going to start this freshman who's going to be maybe a first round pick in a couple of years on Sunday. And then Evans. Yes. And then they play Tennessee and they'll throw a Liam Doyle game one. So three of the top four in FIP in the country are three of the next four pitchers that they're going to see starting in these games against LSU and Tennessee. So it should be a great, it should be a great challenge for Arkansas hitting. Dave Van Horn was asked the same question I asked you a second ago. How do you keep your emotions in check and don't have the same thing that happened that Texas or happened to Texas when they came in Fayetteville? And this was from the Swatters club Monday. This is what he had to say.
[00:24:33] Speaker E: Mean heading to LSU after this series.
Yeah, I don't think it's you got all week and now you're going to travel and getting ballpark play in front of 13, 14,000 people. And I don't think we'll have any problem with being excited about playing emotionally.
We should be ready to go. And you know, when you start playing games on Thursday, you only really have one week left if you fast forward seven days. So I think the guys are excited that we're getting down towards the end and getting ready to get to the SEC tournament.
[00:25:10] Speaker B: Both of these teams are coming off finals week two, so I mentioned that the other day. How does that affect Arkansas? Well, it's got the potential to affect LSU too.
This weekend. When we come back, lots more to go. We'll look around the SEC this week. We'll hear from J. Johnson, his thoughts on the Razorbanks and much more. But first, another word from Kendall King.
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[00:26:02] Speaker B: Hey, welcome back. Want to tell you about our friends at Bentonville Glass. They've been serving their community since 1971. Committed, professional, versatile. If you're looking for a quality leader in Northwest Arkansas or looking for skilled craftsmanship, look no further than Bentonville Glass for all your glass market needs with the highest quality products. You can come by and see them now at 507 South Main in Bentonville or online at bentonvilleglass.com you can get the latest breaking news on all razorback
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Looking around The SEC this week. I mean, Arkansas. This is two weeks in a row where Arkansas has played what is, you know, no doubt the premier.
The premier series of the weekend. Raise back's playing lsu. But here's a look at what else is going on. They're still, you know, when you've got 10 teams that are in the top 25 and they're talking about. This is a league that could get 13 or 14 teams into the NCAA tournament a couple of weeks, every series is big. These are the ones to watch. Vanderbilt at Tennessee.
You know, Vanderbilt's pretty hot. Do you realize since Arkansas left there, swept them, they've won 10 of 15 in SEC play. And then Tennessee, we've seen over the last five weeks, they've lost four series.
[00:27:59] Speaker C: Yeah, Tennessee, they're. They're not playing very well. They're. I mean, and I've said it all along, they don't play good defense.
Their pitchers don't hold runners. They, they've got some issues to take care of right there. Their lineups kind of, you know, it's up and down. It's either really good or really bad.
So, I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if Andy goes in there and takes that series.
[00:28:21] Speaker B: Oh, you. Goes to Kentucky. Oh, you. They're still battling to be a regional host. I think they've got a pretty good chance to be one if they don't stump their to down the stretch. They, of course they play Texas next week in Norman. Chance for them to help out their resume. Missouri goes to Texas A&M. Trying to avoid Owen 25, Owen 26 and Owen 27. Did you see where their ad was interviewed earlier this week? And he basically admitted we do not fund this program at an acceptable level.
[00:28:49] Speaker C: No, but, yeah, it's obvious and they've.
[00:28:52] Speaker B: Got a new ad in there and so we'll see if this changes moving forward. But I mean, it's.
I thought that was pretty eye opening to actually hear the ad acknowledge what everybody else can see.
[00:29:04] Speaker C: They've got to do something, Matt.
[00:29:05] Speaker B: It's.
[00:29:06] Speaker C: And I almost feel sorry for the players.
I mean, it's, they are that bad.
[00:29:13] Speaker B: Yeah, they're. They're, they're very bad. Very, very bad.
He said the necessary resources have not been pumped into supporting the program, so we'll see. But I think they're, I think they're on a fast track for Owen 30. And as soon as I say that, they'll probably upset A and M@bluebell this week. One time South Carolina goes to Auburn. Auburn. They're they're right. They're getting into that point where you start thinking about them for a top eight national seed. Georgia goes to Alabama, a couple of top 25 teams there.
[00:29:41] Speaker C: That should be a good series.
[00:29:43] Speaker B: The series that I'm most interested in watching this weekend outside of Arkansas is Florida at Texas.
[00:29:48] Speaker C: Yeah, same here.
[00:29:49] Speaker B: I mean like if Liam Peterson pitches against that lineup the way he pitched against Arkansas on Friday night, there's a pretty good chance Florida goes one and oh, with a chance to win the series in the last two days.
[00:30:01] Speaker C: I don't think, I don't think Florida is going to score much against Florida or Texas is going to score much against Florida's pitch, especially Peterson. I don't, I don't think, I think they're going to win that Friday night game. Florida will. I just, I think their offense is going to struggle because they've got some dudes that can throw it.
So that's going to be a fun one to, a fun one to watch. But can I interrupt that for just one that goes back to our player of the year thing we're talking about? I mean, look at teams like Florida. I mean you got Florida right now is A and M's ranked 14th in the SEC.
But they could win a regional and play in Omaha.
[00:30:39] Speaker B: I mean who wants to see them as the two or three seed in the regional?
[00:30:42] Speaker C: Look at Florida's 11th.
They're good. They could, they could, they could win in Omaha.
But what other conference can say that, that the 14th ranked team in your conference could, could go to Omaha and win?
I mean I'm, I mean I'm sorry. I, I mean I know I'm very pro sec, but wow. I mean the depth is ridiculous. I mean week in and week, week out, with the exception of Missouri, there's not in South Carolina there. They're, they're not very good. But other than that, I mean it's tough every weekend.
[00:31:15] Speaker B: The other SEC series this week, gotta pull up my page here again. Ole Miss goes to Mississippi State. Mississippi State swept Kentucky last week under their interim coach, Justin Parker. You know Ole Miss and Mississippi State, they play a non conference game every year, which is kind of crazy. They meet up in Pearl, which I guess is Jackson basically, and they play a, a non conference game. Ole Miss walked off Mississippi State 8 to 7 in 10 innings of that game earlier this year. Now these are the games that count. It's like I was thinking like if Arkansas played somebody, like if they played an SEC team in a non conference game on a Tuesday night.
[00:31:55] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:31:56] Speaker B: Who would it be and where would they meet up? I guess there's got to be somebody who's pretty regional, so probably OU or Missouri.
[00:32:03] Speaker C: Not Missouri.
[00:32:04] Speaker B: Like, where would they play? Missouri Branson.
[00:32:08] Speaker C: Tyson Park?
No, I don't know.
[00:32:12] Speaker B: It'd be kind of like if they played OU and they played at the Driller Stadium or something like that in Tulsa.
[00:32:17] Speaker C: Yeah, See, something like that would be fun.
Maybe even Texas. Maybe even meet in Texas. Playing it.
[00:32:25] Speaker B: Where are you meeting there?
[00:32:26] Speaker C: Globe live.
[00:32:27] Speaker B: The Casino in Durant.
[00:32:28] Speaker C: Yeah.
Halfway.
[00:32:33] Speaker B: All right, so that's, That's a look at the sec. Jay Johnson earlier this week. He has a radio show each week on the LSU sports radio network. He talked about facing Arkansas this weekend. This what he had to say.
[00:32:45] Speaker C: The SEC in defense, not a whole lot of weaknesses once again for Dave.
[00:32:50] Speaker F: Van Horn and the Razorbacks coming in Friday. No, I mean, they're, they're a real complete team. I think they're the only team that has 40 wins in the country. I actually fully expected.
Not that the polls really mean anything at all, you know, other than the RPI and what the NCAA selection committee looks at, but I fully expected them to be the number one team in the country. This morning when I saw seven, I was like, man, I don't. Do these guys even watch the games?
You know, it's a really good team and I'm really excited about this challenge. I'm very happy to be playing at home. I can say that for this series.
And we're going to need everybody out there because it's going to require.
Require all of us or coaches or players, our fans, you know, to, to be awesome this weekend because it's. It should be. Should be one of the best weekends of the year. Last home weekend, last SEC home weekend, and probably playing the team, playing better than anybody in the country right now.
[00:33:40] Speaker B: Jay Johnson agrees with you about the polls.
[00:33:43] Speaker C: Yeah, I love to hear that. We don't always agree on things, but yeah, I'm glad he, he got that one right.
[00:33:48] Speaker B: He's always had a great amount of respect, I feel like, for Arkansas, like, I even think back a couple of years ago as Paul Skeens is rolling through the sec. You know, you can't vote for your own guy in the end of year stuff. So. Paul Skeens got 13 first place votes for pitcher of the year. Jay Johnson, because he couldn't vote for Skeens mainly, but he gave it to Hagen Smith and he was very complimentary of Hagan every time that they faced him.
[00:34:12] Speaker C: Yeah, you know, I didn't think Jay Johnson, I remember the first time we played LSU when he was their first year head coach, came into Fayetteville and he, he just slow played.
[00:34:24] Speaker B: All the stalling tactics.
[00:34:25] Speaker C: Oh my gosh, that California style baseball, it was just slow playing.
And I'm like, this is not going to work at lsu. But I think he's, I mean, he's done a good job.
[00:34:35] Speaker B: There were people who thought that he might be.
And maybe he ends up being this their version of Ed Ozeron, like their baseball version of Ed Ozerun where he wins a national championship and then he can never get him back to that level.
They had a little bit of a hiccup last year, but they're back this year. I mean, this is, it's maybe not the most dangerous LSU team that we've seen, but they're, they're good. They're really good. The lineup is nothing to sneeze at. And like we mentioned, they've got really good pitching. We didn't mention Chase Shores, who may be their second best pitcher and he's going to be coming out of the bullpen.
[00:35:11] Speaker C: I mean, I think offensively though, I think it's going to be a great matchup. Good, good pitching against our offense. But if you look at them offensively, they're, they're not very scary. I mean, they're not like you've seen in the past. I mean, it's nothing like the Dylan Cruz, Tommy White offense. Now Jerry Jones, he's a, he's a big power threat, but he's, he's not even doing that well in SEC play. His numbers aren't very good at all. They're hitting.267 as a team in SEC. You know, we've, we're hitting.307. We've scored 220 runs, they've scored 143. We've got 55 home runs, they got 31. You know, we can go across the board, but on the pitching side of it, they're, they're really strong. So, you know, pitching's kind of been carrying them in the sec.
[00:35:56] Speaker B: I watched them play against Tennessee a couple of weeks ago down there and I watched a good bit of the first two games and it looked like there was quite the hole once you got down to, you know, six, seven, eight, nine in that lineup. Like, like you could, you could navigate that. They did put Jarrett Jones at the top of the order for the series last week against Texas A and M. That is not your typical leadoff guy. I mean, you kind of the, I guess in baseball nowadays you. There's no correct way to construct a lineup. You know, used to like your guy would be your three or your power guy would be your four.
You know, Arkansas, they've gone into the steel, whether it be Kirstad or Behavo Aloy this year where they put their guy at 2. LSU's putting him in the leadoff spot which I think is kind of interesting.
[00:36:40] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:36:40] Speaker B: Because he's not an, he's not a hitter that hits for average that great. It's not a bad average. But I don't know that he gets on base quite as well as maybe your prototypical leadoff guy.
[00:36:50] Speaker C: I mean his own base percentage SEC is.325. He's hitting.252. So yeah, you know, and he, he's one for three in stolen bases. So there's nothing right there that says. There's nothing that says leadoff. Now I think on Friday night. He hit two hole on Friday night because I was looking at their Friday night lineup but yeah, that's kind of a head scratcher there. I mean, I mean he's, he's kind of an RBI guy. I'd want my RBI guy hitting with runners on base. Not a lot of people hit on base when you're leading off.
[00:37:21] Speaker B: I guess he can hit off with a lead off with a solo home run.
I don't know. It is interesting though to see him in that leadoff spot because somebody with the nickname Bear is just not what you expect to see as a leadoff man. J. Johnson was also asked by the play by play guy at lsu, Chris Blair, who does a phenomenal job by the way. I think he's one of the best play by play guys in the country.
Was asked about facing this Arkansas lineup and this is what J. Johnson had to say.
[00:37:49] Speaker F: You and he's kind of picked up as well. Yeah, they have a very good offense and you know they maybe has been a more pitching and defense dominated program the last couple years and they've been as good as anybody if you look at the last 10 years in the SEC in terms of just consistency.
But yeah, they have a good offense. Very strong, very physical hit with power on the pitching side. It'll be a bunch of guys up to 100 miles an hour, you know, much like, you know, Tennessee staff, a couple good left handers, you know, starting with Zach Rude on Friday. And so it's going to be awesome and really excited. You know, if you have an anti rain dance, let's let's get those going so we can play this straight up with true Friday and Saturday night games in the box.
[00:38:31] Speaker B: And if you don't know, there have been a ton of rain down in Baton Rouge this week. They've got some more in the forecast. It is looking though like. And I haven't looked at it today, but based on what the weather service was saying yesterday, it looks like it's going to clear out probably enough to play Friday night and Saturday night and then Sunday should be clear.
[00:38:49] Speaker C: I looked at it this morning. Friday night didn't look good. At 7 o' clock there's like a 60 chance of rain maybe as again as of this morning. But it'll change again.
But it's, it's better early in the day and then, and then it starts raining again around seven.
But yeah, I hope, I hope we can just get the games in and I have to worry about double headers.
[00:39:10] Speaker B: Well, the Weather Channel and the National Weather Service, they've got a rivalry like you with the baseball poles.
Weather service has 20% chance on Friday night, so.
[00:39:19] Speaker C: Right.
[00:39:20] Speaker B: Yeah, we'll see.
[00:39:21] Speaker C: I'll get rid of my weather.
[00:39:23] Speaker B: Who's right? You know, this is, I mean you get in those coastal areas.
[00:39:26] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:39:27] Speaker B: And you're gonna pop up, shower and you know, it's gone in an hour or so.
[00:39:31] Speaker C: And yeah, what we don't want is another Tony Vital at Tennessee thing where you lose your, your, your Friday night starter after one inning.
[00:39:39] Speaker B: Of course, Kate Anderson would be pitching first.
Right?
[00:39:42] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:39:43] Speaker B: So. So maybe you do want that.
[00:39:45] Speaker C: Maybe we can. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:39:47] Speaker B: That was wild, wasn't it?
[00:39:48] Speaker C: I mean, why did they start that game? I still don't get that. That's another one. That's just common sense. Where, where is it? DBH would not allow that. And I think you even said it. Their version of Roy.
[00:39:59] Speaker B: Roy would not probably know.
[00:40:01] Speaker C: Roy wouldn't and no way Roy, Roy.
[00:40:04] Speaker B: Would go sit on the pitching mound.
[00:40:06] Speaker C: Roy rolling the tarp out himself.
[00:40:13] Speaker B: All moving on Arkansas. They're going to get Parker Coyle back this week. I mean, I don't know what he's going to look like, but if he's anything remotely close to how he looked whenever he was pitching in February and March, this is a big deal.
[00:40:26] Speaker C: Yeah, it is.
You know, I don't know how much he's been throwing against our own hitters, but you know, it's different when you, you take them out there at LSU at Alex Box Stadium. But you know, he's been, he's been so good for us. All year. So, you know, I expect him to just pick up right where he left off. I don't know how much they'll. They'll use him. Figure they'll. They'll find a spot or two in the lineup or, you know, where they can bring him in. But, you know, I was looking at their splits.
They hit lefties. 272 against lefties, 212 against righties.
So they do hit lefties better in SEC play, but, you know, they haven't hit our lefties, so our lefties are a little different.
[00:41:07] Speaker B: You heard Dave talk about 100 eats, and, you know, you may just have to rip the band aid off and put him in a leverage situation.
What do you think about that situation?
[00:41:21] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, he's, you know, he's not a freshman anymore. I mean, put him out there and see what he can do. I mean, he's. When he was here as a freshman, he was unbelievable that first fall that we watched him pitch. And so, you know, I don't think. I don't think it's going to phase him. I say roll him out there and see what he's got.
[00:41:40] Speaker B: What Tate McGuire say he went out the stretch two times the entire fall.
I think. I think that's what he said.
[00:41:45] Speaker C: Is that what he said two times.
[00:41:47] Speaker B: He went out the stretch in the entire fall?
[00:41:48] Speaker C: Yeah, I know. We couldn't hit him, so, yeah, he was good.
[00:41:52] Speaker B: Maybe Logan Maxwell back this weekend, too. Dave and Horn said that they're going to take a look at him when they get to Baton Rouge. They'll fly in there tonight, they'll take a look at him defensively, and that'll determine whether or not he can get into the lineup.
[00:42:06] Speaker C: Yeah, I texted Corey this morning, and.
And he said, yeah, he said that, you know, you know, he should be good to go, but, you know, we'll see when we get there. So what kind of, you know, you know, Dave, it's more than. It's more than just hitting. Dave wants to make sure he can play right field, and there's no way they're going to take Kuhillo out of the. The DH role. I don't. I don't see that happening. So. But yeah, Corey saves looking better.
[00:42:32] Speaker B: What do you think Zach Root has to do this week to stay at the top of his game? The way that we saw it last week against Texas?
[00:42:39] Speaker C: Well, that's the best I've ever seen him. Had four pitches going. Here's what's tough about Zach. So always look at it from the lens of the batter's box. And certain guys would be easier to face. A guy like a Zach Root would be really hard because you can't game plan. It's not like you can say, okay, you know, I'm going to look for the slider.
Well, he's got three other pitches he can throw at any time. So it's hard to game plan one pitch against Zach Root, and that's what makes him so tough against a guy like Zach. You almost have to look a zone and say, I'm going to look in this zone and try to hit anything that comes in that zone. Because.
And then. And on and on the flip side of that, the problem with that plan is he can pitch to both sides of the plate. And so, I mean, he's a really hard guy to game plan against. And, I mean, he absolutely dominated the Texas lineup. Now, the LSU lineups, they're better. This is a better lineup. But he, he dominated lsu. Like I said, we talked about it on Monday. They hit one ball hard that whole game. And it was the comebacker to him.
[00:43:49] Speaker B: Was it you I was talking about? I heard this somewhere this week. I can't remember if it was you or not there, but about how he went out there in the first inning and established all five of his pitches really quick off the bat.
[00:44:02] Speaker C: Yeah, I probably said that, but I was wrong.
[00:44:06] Speaker B: Sounds smart. Sounds like something you would say.
[00:44:08] Speaker C: Yeah. Well, thank you.
[00:44:09] Speaker B: You're welcome.
[00:44:10] Speaker C: But I got it wrong because I even asked Hobbs, I said. Because I look at. So I look at trackman, and you look at the speed, you look at the spin rate, and it looks like to me, he's got five pitches. But according to Matt Hobbs, he's got four pitches. So I've been giving him credit for five pitches all year. You know, like that cutter slider that he calls a slutter. I mean, I'm. Those are all. To me, those are two different pitches. I guess they're really one pitch.
So. But I don't. You can call it whatever you want. He's got. He's got multiple pitches. He can get over the plate at any time. And so as a hitter, it's just a frustrating day when you're facing him, because he can throw you a 2o changeup, he can throw you a 2o slider to a cutter. It doesn't matter. He throw you a first pitch, anything. I mean, he's just mixes his pitches so well. And I'll give a lot of credit to Ryder Helfrich for calling a great game. I Don't know how many times. I know they fake shake a lot, but I don't know how many times they're fake shaking or they're really. Zach's shaking to a different pitch, but they seem to work really well together.
[00:45:11] Speaker B: I've always wondered how it works, shaking whenever the catcher's having to type something in on his knee pad really fast.
[00:45:16] Speaker C: Yeah. So a lot of times the catcher. You'll see the catcher do that, and so the pitcher, you know, shakes. I don't know.
[00:45:25] Speaker B: Catcher's telling him to do that.
[00:45:27] Speaker C: He's telling him to shake, but I don't know if.
And that's something I can't believe. I don't know that I'm gonna. I need to ask Ryder, is there something on there that says shake? Like. Like. No. I don't know on. On the pad that they punch in, but a lot of times you just see the catcher behind the plate do that, and so the pitcher shakes and then he'll do it again and he'll shake again. As a hitter, I'm okay with one shake, but when I'm hitting and you shake twice, I'm like, oh, crap. And then. And then little man on my shoulder starts saying, okay, what's he doing then?
[00:46:00] Speaker B: You're guessing.
[00:46:01] Speaker C: Yeah. So two shakes, I'm screwed.
[00:46:03] Speaker B: Alfred did a good job last week calling pitches.
[00:46:05] Speaker C: Yeah, he did.
[00:46:06] Speaker B: I don't know if that's been his strength all year, but, I mean, I thought last week and I said this Gage Wood, the, The four innings that he threw, I felt like that was as well as they've mixed their pitches all year. I mean, Texas had no clue what was coming from him, from pitch to pitch.
[00:46:23] Speaker C: I don't know that I've seen a team all year that caught in between late on fastballs, early on, off speed. And I think I told you Monday after Saturday's game, Ryder was the player of the game. Just because of, just. I mean, he. He got on base a few times, but it was because of the. The pitch calling. I wanted to talk to him about the pitch calling, and I doubt if Ryder's going to watch this, but by the time I got down the field, he ran off. I couldn't. Couldn't catch up to him. But yeah, I wanted to. I wanted to talk to him just about how. How well they were mixing pitches.
[00:46:53] Speaker B: He didn't want to talk to you?
[00:46:55] Speaker C: Possibly. Yeah. Ryder's not a big talker, by the.
[00:46:57] Speaker B: Way, that a few times or maybe a couple of times with players this year where you Know, it's like, hey, will you bring him into the interview room? And either they said no, they just didn't want to talk, or they just. They just. They left, and there was no way to catch them.
[00:47:10] Speaker C: You know who I love talking to? Actually, there's a lot of the guys I really love talking to. Last year, there were some tough interviews. Last year, there were some guys that even when they deserve to be player the game, I'd pick someone else because they want to talk to him.
[00:47:23] Speaker B: Like, Viva. No, no. I mean, the Heave is a great player, obviously. Best player on the team is a hard interview just because he doesn't say much. He is so quiet.
[00:47:31] Speaker C: Yeah. I think I'm getting. I know what to ask him now to get better answers.
[00:47:34] Speaker B: What are you asking him? Like, I need to take notes.
[00:47:39] Speaker C: Just listen into the next interview. But, yeah, you got to ask him the right things to give him time. But you're right. He doesn't talk a whole lot. But, like, Cam Kozil, I can ask him a question, and then I can just leave my phone there and walk off and go get a beer and come back.
He's still talking. I love. Oh, I love talking to him. I mean, he just. And he's so candid. He'll just. I love the way he. He does a great interview.
[00:48:03] Speaker B: Have you noticed someone has brought a duck call to the stadium, and they're. They're blowing it every time he comes up.
[00:48:07] Speaker C: Okay. So I asked Phil that because when I have my headset on, you can't hear a whole lot. And I've started taking it off to listen. It feels like, oh, that's part of his song. And I'm like, no, there's something else. Someone is doing a duck call.
[00:48:17] Speaker B: It's someone right above the opposing dugout. I haven't been able to figure out who it is, but I have. I have pinpointed it. I've triangulated the noise down to a certain section.
[00:48:27] Speaker C: So I've got a duck call, a coyote call.
What, the buck grunt? Actually, I need to start using those on the air when he comes up.
[00:48:36] Speaker B: I've never heard of a coyote call.
[00:48:37] Speaker C: Yeah, it's just a. Like a. Like a loud, almost sound like a scream.
So.
[00:48:44] Speaker B: Sounds like a coyote.
[00:48:45] Speaker C: Yeah. And then it's kind of. I've got a rabbit. I've got a rabbit call that calls in the coyotes, so I can. I can break them all out when Cam comes up.
[00:48:52] Speaker B: Huh. Interesting.
[00:48:53] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:48:54] Speaker B: I don't know how we got there.
[00:48:55] Speaker C: But, yeah, I don't know if that'd be good entertainment for the people listening on the broadcast, but I would have fun with it.
[00:49:02] Speaker B: David Horn says Gage woods pitch counts going to obviously increase. He said maybe 75, 80 before. Before long.
[00:49:09] Speaker C: Yeah, he's been dominant, Matt. I mean, I know you've probably been watching the game. I've seen it. Yeah, he's. He has been dominant there. They just. I haven't seen a team yet catch up to his fastball.
I mean, first of all, he's. He's got a lower release point, so he's releasing the ball a little bit lower release height, and his ball is just flat. It almost has the appearance of rising, especially when he does. It looks like up in the zone.
[00:49:36] Speaker B: It looks a rise ball and softball.
[00:49:37] Speaker C: Yeah, it almost does. And when he throws that thing above the belt, I mean, it's. It's almost. I don't like to say unhittable, but guys just can't catch up to it. And then when they cheat to that, he can drop that breaking.
[00:49:49] Speaker B: Boy.
[00:49:50] Speaker C: Tunnels that off that fastball really well. I mean. And, you know, and he's got a slider and a change up, too, but he could almost pitch exclusively. Fastball, curve or fastball, slider, whatever. Whatever he calls that pitch.
[00:50:02] Speaker B: Before we get out of here, we're at the point in the year where everybody's putting out their projections for postseason.
The latest from D1 baseball says Arkansas would be the number two overall seed with Dallas Baptist, Kansas and Missouri State coming in.
[00:50:18] Speaker C: That would be good.
I mean, so I don't care about revenge. Actually, I. I'd take that back. I do. It would be nice to. To beat Kansas State.
[00:50:28] Speaker B: Kansas. Oh, oh, the Jayhawks.
[00:50:31] Speaker C: Okay. I got. You know that. Yeah, we're all right.
But who knows, you know, when you get to postseason. We saw it last year. You just never know. The. The best team a lot of times doesn't win. The team that plays the best wins. And. And, you know, a team.
Things can happen. I mean, you could line out. I know we've had games in the past where we've lined out like 10 times, balls over 100 miles an hour, the other team sitting there blooping you to death.
I mean, it. It happens. And so, yeah, you just go out and you. I think if we go out and play Razorback baseball, our pitching staff's good enough to hold someone down. And I don't think anyone can shut our offense down.
[00:51:11] Speaker B: Baseball America has Arkansas as the number four overall seed. They have Miami coming in. Miami's A regional. They're right there on that regional bubble as. As being a host. This year.
They've got KU as the number three seed and George Mason as the number four seed.
[00:51:24] Speaker C: Why would they send Miami here?
[00:51:26] Speaker B: I have no idea. I don't know.
[00:51:28] Speaker C: Who is that? That's Baseball America.
[00:51:30] Speaker B: Baseball America.
[00:51:31] Speaker C: They also have his ranked seventh, right?
[00:51:32] Speaker B: No, that's D1. Baseball has a ranked seven. Oh, it's hard to keep up with all this. We just need a chart right here. This number or this number? These guys.
[00:51:38] Speaker C: I'm just looking. I'm just trying to make a list of people that have lost credibility with me.
[00:51:43] Speaker B: Have I lost credibility?
[00:51:44] Speaker C: No, you're still at the top of the list. Good, good.
[00:51:47] Speaker B: I'm excited about that. Yeah. I actually did something last year. I need to pull these numbers out. I went back and looked at Baseball America and D1 baseball at their final projections each year to see who was better each year, which was kind of interesting.
[00:52:03] Speaker C: Was either one of them better?
[00:52:05] Speaker B: Baseball America was actually really good in 2023 and last year, but that was with Teddy Cahill as their guy. Teddy left and went to law school, so he's not there putting the projections together anymore. So maybe we get Teddy on here in a couple of weeks and like, he would act. It would actually be very fascinating to talk to him because he seems like he's got a good feel for what the selection committee is looking for and how they place these different teams.
[00:52:30] Speaker C: Yeah, no, that would be that. I'd. I'd love that. The guy you. I didn't like the guy you talked to, and I doubt that he listens to this podcast.
[00:52:38] Speaker B: You gotta be nice.
[00:52:39] Speaker C: Well, okay. It's not that I didn't like him. I. I don't know the guy. I just disagree with him. And. And look, I mean, I. I don't sugarcoat it.
[00:52:48] Speaker B: If Arkansas was the number, if. If, like, this bracket came to fruition, you know, if they'd be matched up with is the regional at Oregon State.
How do you think a super regional between Oregon State and Arkansas might be received here? In faith? Wow.
[00:53:02] Speaker C: That'd be crazy. You know it. That would be. That would be huge. But who. Who knows?
[00:53:07] Speaker B: Who knows? A lot can change between now and.
[00:53:09] Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah. And that's the thing. You don't want to get too far ahead of yourself. We got to focus on lsu. And that's what I love about this team is they're not looking that far down the road yet. They're looking at lsu. And Dave does a good job and his staff of getting them focused on this week. And I know It's a cliche. 1. One game at a time. I honestly think that's how they play it.
[00:53:28] Speaker B: I do, too.
[00:53:29] Speaker C: One game at a time.
[00:53:30] Speaker B: They're not looking ahead inning by inning.
[00:53:32] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:53:32] Speaker B: Win the half inning and go to the next. But you know what? We're not players. We can look forward. We can have fun thinking about these different things. Bubba, appreciate you being in here.
He'll be back on Monday. Bubba Carpenter will. As we look back at Arkansas and LSU again, we're not going to have a podcast tomorrow, so Mondays will be our next one. Hope that we see you this weekend at our website, whole hogsports.com have a great weekend, everybody.
