In what could be a preview of a College World Series matchup, the third-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs and the 5th-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks would meet in one of the most anticipated Conference openers in recent memory. It’s often hard to live up to the hype as sometimes the fans, combined with the media feed into this freezy and often the hype beforehand is better than the series itself, however, that was the case this weekend as two heavy programs met and played with class, but also put on a show for the rest of the conference going down to a deciding rubber match game on Saturday night. 

Let’s jump right into the series as a whole, breaking down the actions with observations, thoughts, and gameplay. 

First things first, let’s get the elephant out of the room. These two teams are elite now and can only get better. In all honesty, these two will likely meet again, either in Hoover or at the College World Series. There’s something about these two teams that suggests this weekend might have been their first meeting, but they’ll likely meet again somewhere down the line. 

Second, Arkansas was the better team this weekend, but Mississippi State didn’t do themselves any favors, especially on Saturday night, as passed balls and fielding mistakes provided Arkansas the opportunities to score a four-run bottom of the 8th inning on Saturday night that gave the Razorbacks just enough to secure a massive series win over the Buldogs, taking two out of the three. Here’s the thing about Mississippi State: this weekend just wasn’t their weekend; there were too many mistakes, and Arkansas took full advantage. In the losses this season, Mississippi State has done so by beating themselves with too many unforced errors; that said, those things can be fixed over the course of the season. 

Third, it’s a shame that neither Mississippi State nor Arkansas plays Texas in the regular season. After the first weekend of Southeastern Conference baseball, there are three of Texas, Mississippi State, and Arkansas in the pecking order of the Southeastern Conference. Those three teams have the best rosters and have the depth to win a National Championship. We’re doing a disservice to the fans by not allowing Texas to play either Arkansas or Mississippi State. 

Two things can be true at one time after this weekend between the Razorbacks and Bulldogs. First, Arkansas is elite. That series win was massive for Arkansas, and it comes with the warranted praise and excitement, with the realization that the Razorbacks are a legitimate National Championship contender once more. There’s not a coach in college baseball more deserving of a national championship than Coach Van Horn at Arkansas, and he once again has a good enough team to finally crack through. With that said, yes, losing is never fun, but Mississippi State is right there as well; they’re just less polished at this point in the season, and that’s okay. Mississippi State has a chance to take the series next weekend over a Vanderbilt team that just won a massive series over LSU. The Southeastern Conference is a marathon, not a sprint.