Win Or Go Home

Well…that didn’t go as planned…did it?  The Razorback baseball team, who needed a series win against the bottom-feeding Mississippi State Bulldogs, lost two of three this weekend in Starkville.

The Hogs (33-22, 14-15) will miss the SEC Tournament for the first time since the Dave Van Horn era began in 2002.

The real dagger was Friday night’s game.  After breaking up a 2-2 tie with three runs in the top of the ninth, the four runs allowed by the bullpen in the bottom half of the inning were devastating.

‘Struggling,’ ‘inconsistent,’ and ’suspect’ have all been used to describe the bullpen this season.  But no more…’bad’ is the appropriate word at the moment.  Despite good showings at times by Mike Bolsinger, Stephen Richards and James Mahler, no one has emerged as the closer the Hogs have needed.

Despite the disappointment of not advancing to Hoover, the Hogs still look good to land a NCAA regional bid.  Most projections (including Rivals.com) have nine teams getting in from the SEC.  The Hogs started the weekend at #23 in RPI, but will likely fall to around 30 after losing two of three.

“We got 33 wins,” Van Horn said.  “We have a great RPI.  I think if any team deserves to get in with the second half and all the injuries we’ve had, it’s us.”

After hosting Western Illinois tonight at 6:30 p.m., the Hogs will look to get in some good practice time this week.  But it will also be a week of hand-wringing until the field of 64 is announced next Monday.