FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas outfielder Brian Anderson doesn’t know what postseason play will bring when the Southeastern Conference Tournament begins today.
But if it’s anything like his first regular season in college baseball, Anderson is looking forward to it.
“It’s been incredible so far,” Anderson said.
The Oklahoma native knows he won’t simply have a good view from the Arkansas dugout, either, after becoming a valuable part of the lineup the past month.
The freshman is primed to play a big part in Arkansas’ postseason success as he wraps up his first year, beginning with the SEC Tournament first-round game against Mississippi State. The Razorbacks (39-17, 16-14 in SEC) and Bulldogs (34-21, 16-14) will start roughly 30 minutes after the conclusion of Kentucky-Ole Miss, which begins at 9:30 a.m. in Hoover, Ala.
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Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn indicated Anderson will be penciled into the lineup once again today. If it holds true, it will be his 13th start in 15 games.
The stretch began when Anderson started the final two games of Arkansas’ series win at Florida last month.
“He’s a good athlete,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. “He can run balls down in the outfield. And he’s done a good job solidifying our lineup a little bit.”
It was evident last week, when Anderson was one of Arkansas’ best hitters in four much-needed wins to wrap up the regular season. He went 8-for-18 (.444) with two home runs and four RBIs in four starts, easily enjoying his best week with the Hogs.
Anderson hit a home run in the series opener at Tennessee (his first). He added another in the series finale, also driving in a career-high three runs.
Second baseman Bo Bigham said Anderson, who came to Arkansas as an infielder but has earned a starting job in the outfield, has been patient. It has paid off.
“We needed him and he has come through for us,” said Bigham, who became a regular in Arkansas’ lineup late in his freshman season in 2009 and helped the Razorbacks reach the College World Series. “That’s good for him, good for us. Just being able to get in and get a few at bats, get a few fly balls is a confidence builder. Just get in and know you can do it. That’s the biggest thing is confidence.”
Anderson had said before the final series he was getting more comfortable at the plate with playing time and it showed against the Volunteers.
He is hitting .309 this season, which includes a .346 batting average in 19 conference games.
“Maybe at the beginning of the year I wasn’t quite ready,” Anderson said. “I just kept working at it and tried to play whatever role this team needed me too.
“I’m getting used to the game speed. It’s a lot faster here. So being out there has helped out a lot so far.”
Van Horn said Arkansas must continue to get big at-bats from Anderson and the rest of the lineup with postseason play beginning this afternoon. While the Hogs have struggled offensively much of the season, they did wrap up SEC play fifth in the conference in both batting average (.283) and runs scored (320).
So Van Horn believes last week was important for momentum with SEC Tournament play set to begin. The Razorbacks open with a Mississippi State team which leads the SEC with a 2.64 earned run average.
“Our team is confident,” Van Horn said. “We want to go win the tournament. It’s not the most important thing in the world because we don’t want to hurt anybody or burn some arms out that won’t have anything left in two weeks from now. … It’s tough, but we’re excited about going. The guys are excited about going.”
And it might be hard to find anyone more excited than Anderson, who is eager for his first taste of postseason play in Hoover, Ala., this afternoon.
“I think as I go on, I’ll start to understand more of what it means,” Anderson said of the playing time as a freshman. “This is incredible, though. It really is.”