Hogs, Volunteers Square Off in SEC Tournament Second Round

HOOVER, Ala. – After enjoying a first-round bye, No. 12 Arkansas (36-19) will open SEC Tournament play against No. 23 Tennessee (38-19) in the second round of the single-elimination tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.

First pitch between the No. 7 seed Razorbacks and No. 10 seed Volunteers is set for 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 20, on SEC Network with Dave Neal (play-by-play) and Kyle Peterson (analyst) on the call. With a win, Arkansas would advance to the tournament quarterfinal round and play No. 5 Texas (No. 2 seed) at 2 p.m. Friday, May 22, on SEC Network.

The Hogs, who are 40-48 all-time in the SEC Tournament, are seeking their first win in Hoover since 2023. Arkansas, which has lost four in a row at The Hoover Met, went 0-2 in 2024’s double-elimination tournament before finishing 0-1 in last season’s single-elimination format.

SEC Tournament Schedule
Tuesday, May 19 – First Round
Game 1: [16] Missouri 10, [9] Ole Miss 6
Game 2: [12] Vanderbilt 8, [13] Kentucky 5
Game 3: [10] Tennessee 11, [15] South Carolina 6
Game 4: [14] LSU 6, [11] Oklahoma 2

Wednesday, May 20 – Second Round
Game 5: [16] Missouri vs. [8] Mississippi State – 9:30 a.m. [SECN]
Game 6: [12] Vanderbilt vs. [5] Florida – TBD [SECN]
Game 7: [10] Tennessee vs. [7] Arkansas – 4:30 p.m. [SECN]
Game 8: [14] LSU vs. [6] Auburn – TBD [SECN]

Thursday, May 21 – Quarterfinals
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. [1] Georgia – 3 p.m. [SECN]
Game 10: Winner Game 6 vs. [4] Alabama – TBD [SECN]

Friday, May 22 – Quarterfinals
Game 11: Winner Game 7 vs. [2] Texas – 3 p.m. [SECN]
Game 12: Winner Game 8 vs. [3] Texas A&M – TBD [SECN]

Saturday, May 23 – Semifinals
Game 13: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10 – 12 p.m. [SECN]
Game 14: Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12 – TBD [SECN]

Sunday, May 24 – Championship Game
Game 15: Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 14 – 1 p.m. [ABC]

On the Mound
Tuesday, May 19 – Second Round
Tennessee – LHP Evan Blanco (7-3, 4.56 ERA)
Arkansas – RHP Tate McGuire (1-0, 4.61 ERA)

Razorback right-hander Tate McGuire, who started on the mound in the regular-season finale at Kentucky on May 16, will make his sixth start of the year in Wednesday’s game against the Volunteers. The Liberty, Mo., native is 1-0 with a 4.61 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 41.0 innings on the mound across 18 appearances. In his most recent outing, McGuire tossed 2.1 innings of two-run ball with a season high-matching four strikeouts in the Hogs’ series-clinching win against the Wildcats.

Tune In
Dave Neal (play-by-play) and Kyle Peterson have the call of Wednesday’s second-round game between No. 12 Arkansas and No. 23 Tennessee on SEC Network. The matchup between the Razorbacks and Volunteers can also be heard on the Razorback Sports Network from Learfield, including locally in Fayetteville on 92.1 FM or through the Razorback app, with Phil Elson (play-by-play) and Bubba Carpenter (analyst) on the call from inside The Hoover Met.

A full list of radio affiliates is available here.

History Lesson
Arkansas is 46-29 overall against Tennessee, including a 3-1 record in games played at the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala. In the Dave Van Horn era (2003-pres.), the Razorbacks are 34-15 overall and 3-1 in Hoover against the Volunteers.

The Hogs have won three of their four all-time SEC Tournament matchups against the Volunteers, including the most recent meeting between the two teams in Hoover in the tournament championship game in 2021. Arkansas’ lone loss against Tennessee in Hoover occurred in the first round of the double-elimination 2004 SEC Tournament before the top-seeded Razorbacks knocked the eighth-seeded Volunteers out with a 4-1 win in the second round.

DVH’s Coaching Tree
When Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn and his Razorbacks square off the Volunteers in the second round of the SEC Tournament, Tennessee head coach Josh Elander will become Van Horn’s ninth former assistant coach to coach a game against him.

Van Horn owns an overall record of 57-24 against teams coached by his former assistants, including Northern Colorado head coach Mike Anderson, Louisiana Tech head coach Lane Burroughs, former Texas A&M head coach Rob Childress, Little Rock head coach Chris Curry, Louisiana head coach Matt Deggs, Georgia head coach Wes Johnson, SEMO head coach Andy Sawyers and former Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello.

Van Horn is 2-0 against former assistants in the SEC Tournament, including wins against Childress’ Texas A&M team in 2014 and Vitello’s Tennessee squad in the 2021 championship game.

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