SEC Tournament up next for Hogs

HOOVER, Ala. – With a No. 4 seed in hand, the 12th-ranked University of Arkansas baseball team takes on Vanderbilt in the first round of the 2010 SEC Tournament which begins Wednesday at Regions Park in Hoover, Ala. The Arkansas-Vanderbilt matchup will be the final game of the opening day, beginning approximately 30 minutes following the finish of the preceding game, the Florida-LSU matchup that begins at 4:30 p.m.

Wednesday’s game will be televised by Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast (CSS) and will also be carried by Cox Sports Television (CST), Ch. 119 in Northwest Arkansas. Tom Hart and Brian Jordan will handle the play-by-play and color commentary duties for Wednesday’s first-round game between Arkansas and Vanderbilt. Every game of the SEC Tournament will be televised live and be available in high definition.

The tournament will also be televised by SportSouth and Fox Sports Southwest (Ch. 27 in Northwest Arkansas). Check the SEC Tournament bracket for the scheduled broadcast for each game. Sunday’s championship game will be televised by ESPN2 at 1 p.m.

In addition to the television coverage and Arkansas’ radio broadcasts on the Razorback Sports Network from ISP, all games of the SEC Tournament will be aired nationwide on XM Satellite Radio (Ch. 199) and Sirius (Ch. 214). Every game will also be streamed at ESPN3.com.

Arkansas leads the all-time series with Vanderbilt, 26-18, after taking two of three from the Commodores in Nashville at Hawkins Field last weekend. The Razorbacks dropped the series opener but rallied to win games two and three to clinch the fourth seed and setup a rematch with Vanderbilt in Hoover. Prior to the Hogs’ win in game two, Vanderbilt had won seven consecutive in the series.

The two teams have met twice at the SEC Tournament, both wins for the Commodores. In addition to the win last year to eliminate Arkansas, Vanderbilt beat the Razorbacks, 7-4 in the 2007 championship game.

This will mark the Razorbacks’ 16th appearance at the SEC Tournament since joining the league in 1992 and seventh trip under head coach Dave Van Horn. Arkansas carries a 19-26 all-time record at the SEC Tournament with a 7-11 mark under Van Horn. The Hogs have advanced to the championship game on three occasions-1998 vs. Auburn; 1999 vs. Alabama; 2007 vs. Vanderbilt-but are 0-3 in those contests.

Last season, Arkansas opened the SEC Tournament with an 8-5 win over Florida. In game two against Georgia, the Bulldogs came away with a 2-1 victory in 10 innings. Arkansas responded and defeated Florida, 10-7, for the second time during the tournament, and fifth time of the season to advance. The team’s run came to an end with a seven-inning loss to Vanderbilt in the next game.

Florida, the regular-season overall and Eastern Division champion, will enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed and take on eighth-seeded LSU in the first round at 4:30 p.m. Arkansas’ game with Vanderbilt will start 30 minutes after the completion of the game between the Gators and Crimson Tide. As the winner of the SEC West, Auburn is the No. 2 seed and will play Alabama in the opening game of the tournament. First pitch is set for 9:30 a.m. The other matchup in the first round will pit third-seeded South Carolina against No.-6 seed Ole Miss.