Arkansas baseball will face one its oldest rivals in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament.
The No. 7 Razorbacks (37-19) have a date with No. 2 Texas (40-12) at 3 p.m. CT Friday, May 22. The teams did not face each other during the regular season, and this will be their first meeting at the conference tournament with Texas joining the league ahead of the 2024-25 academic year.
Arkansas booked its spot in the quarterfinals with an 8-4 win over Tennessee in the second round on Wednesday, May 20. The Hogs scored four runs in the bottom of the first and received solid pitching from Tate McGuire, Parker Coil, James DeCremer and Cole Gibler.
The grudge match against the Longhorns represents a big opportunity for Arkansas to boost its hosting resume for the upcoming NCAA Tournament. Texas entered Wednesday ranked No. 4 in the RPI.
A win against the Longhorns would push the Hogs into the SEC semifinals. Potential opponents as of Wednesday night are Auburn, LSU and Texas A&M. A game against Auburn or Texas A&M would present another resume-boosting chance for Arkansas.
Jackson Fuller covers Arkansas football, basketball and baseball for the Southwest Times Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at jfuller@usatodayco.com or follow him @jacksonfuller16 on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Arkansas baseball to play Texas in quarterfinals of SEC Tournament