SEC Softball Tournament Preview

The regular season finale was less than ideal for the Hogs. A sweep at LSU dropped the Hogs to the seventh seed in the SEC Tournament and put a dent in their regional hosting hopes. It hasn’t hurt too badly though, with the Hogs only dropping to No. 18 in the coaches poll and No. 19 in RPI.

With the drop to the seventh seed, Arkansas will face Kentucky in the opening round of the tournament taking place in Columbia. Here is the whole bracket for the tournament.

Unlike the baseball tournament, this one is just single elimination so the Hogs can’t afford to slip up against Kentucky if they want to host. They’ll probably also need to pull an upset against Georgia as well. There will be a lot of ramifications for Arkansas’ opener and the Alabama/Auburn matchup in terms of regional hosts, all of those teams have RPI’s between 14 and 18 and are nearly as close in the coaches poll.

Arkansas didn’t play Kentucky in the regular season and we’re swept by the Bulldogs on the road. That series included two one run losses, including one that went 10 innings. The Razorbacks are a safe bet for a second straight tournament appearance, but it would be a huge moment in the program if they could get a regional host on Selection Sunday.