Diamond Hogs off to historic start
Harold McIlvain II
Issue date: 3/25/09 Section: Sports
It's never happened before.
The No. 14 Arkansas Razorback baseball team is off to its best start in Southeastern Conference play with sweeps over Florida and Auburn.
Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said the team needed to get off to a good start in SEC play if it wanted to compete for postseason titles.
And the Razorbacks (16-4, 6-0 SEC) did just that with a second sweep last weekend on the road over the Tigers.
"That was a big win," Van Horn said. "I have a lot of respect for the Tigers and their bats. I was never really comfortable with the lead. To get a sweep on the road in the SEC is big for us."
Arkansas swept back-to-back SEC opponents for the first time since 1999.
Entering the game, the Razorbacks had lost their only road game against Centenary, 8-3.
Senior second baseman Ben Tschepikow said the weekend series sweep was a huge momentum boost for the team.
"A sweep in the SEC on the road or at home is huge," Tschepikow said. "But we have to get better. It's a great start, but there's a lot of games left to play."
Auburn head coach John Pawlowski said losing a game - much less three in conference play - is disappointing.
"Arkansas beat us in every phase of the game," Pawlowski said. "They put us behind the eight-ball right out of the gate. We kicked it around a bit, and consequently we didn't have enough firepower to overcome that."
Van Horn said the sweeps were a nice start to conference play, but he said SEC standings change quickly. The team currently sits in first place in the Western Division. Ole Miss and LSU, who are both 4-2 in SEC play, are two games back.
But now Arkansas will look to keep the winning streak alive with a non-conference game against Missouri State Wednesday 6:30 p.m. at Baum Stadium.
Sophomore Brett Eibner (1-2) is projected to make the start for Arkansas after tossing two innings while allowing five walks, no hits and one earned run against Nebraska last week.
The No. 14 Arkansas Razorback baseball team is off to its best start in Southeastern Conference play with sweeps over Florida and Auburn.
Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said the team needed to get off to a good start in SEC play if it wanted to compete for postseason titles.
And the Razorbacks (16-4, 6-0 SEC) did just that with a second sweep last weekend on the road over the Tigers.
"That was a big win," Van Horn said. "I have a lot of respect for the Tigers and their bats. I was never really comfortable with the lead. To get a sweep on the road in the SEC is big for us."
Arkansas swept back-to-back SEC opponents for the first time since 1999.
Entering the game, the Razorbacks had lost their only road game against Centenary, 8-3.
Senior second baseman Ben Tschepikow said the weekend series sweep was a huge momentum boost for the team.
"A sweep in the SEC on the road or at home is huge," Tschepikow said. "But we have to get better. It's a great start, but there's a lot of games left to play."
Auburn head coach John Pawlowski said losing a game - much less three in conference play - is disappointing.
"Arkansas beat us in every phase of the game," Pawlowski said. "They put us behind the eight-ball right out of the gate. We kicked it around a bit, and consequently we didn't have enough firepower to overcome that."
Van Horn said the sweeps were a nice start to conference play, but he said SEC standings change quickly. The team currently sits in first place in the Western Division. Ole Miss and LSU, who are both 4-2 in SEC play, are two games back.
But now Arkansas will look to keep the winning streak alive with a non-conference game against Missouri State Wednesday 6:30 p.m. at Baum Stadium.
Sophomore Brett Eibner (1-2) is projected to make the start for Arkansas after tossing two innings while allowing five walks, no hits and one earned run against Nebraska last week.
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