Arkansas set to face future SEC Tigers

FAYETTEVILLE — The last scheduled nonconference Arkansas- Missouri meetings commence tonight and Wednesday afternoon at Baum Stadium.

Effective the fall semester’s start to the 201213 academic year, the Missouri Tigers depart the Big 12 and join the SEC where they begin in the SEC East to Arkansas’ SEC West. So barring a baseball confrontation in NCAA Regionals, the Razorbacks and Mizzou will both be in the SEC when they meet again.

This two- game set, originally set to be the first part of a two- year nonconference home-

and- home for Fayetteville and Columbia, Mo., begins at 6: 30 tonight and concludes at 3 p. m. Wednesday.

Arkansas comes home 3113 overall after defeating the No. 1 RPI Florida Gators two of three over an SEC weekend in Gainesville, Fla., and has reigning national champion South Carolina coming to Baum for a three- game set Friday through Sunday.

Missouri, 23- 19 overall, lost two of three in a Big 12 series at Texas Tech over the weekend and has the Texas Longhorns coming to Columbia for a three- game Big 12 series this weekend.

Sandwiching these midweek games between conference series means Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn and Mizzou coach Tim Jamieson, whose teams last met when Arkansas won the 2004 Fayetteville Regional en route to the College World Series, will be saving their frontline starting pitchers for the weekend. Still, Arkansas has some good pitching primed for tonight and Wednesday.

Nolan Sanburn and freshman lefty Michael Gunn, 10 scoreless innings so far and also a hitter whose pinch- hit, 10thinning single knocked in the tie- breaking run of Sunday’s 3- 1 win over Florida, didn’t pitch last weekend. And junior lefty Trent Daniel of Bryant, three hitless innings last week versus Oral Roberts but facing just one batter at Florida, will likely work tonight or Wednesday.

Missouri’s attack is led by catcher- first baseman Scott Somerfield, .313, and outfielders Dane Opel, .306, eight home runs and 27 RBIS, and Blake Brown, . 393, eight home runs and 32 RBIS.

First baseman Dominic Ficociello, .348, leads the Hogs. Senior second baseman Bo Bigham, .268, has reestablished his prominent role, going 5- for- 12 against Florida with 2 RBIS, including the game’s first in Sunday’s 3- 1 victory.