SxSE: Woo Pig! Sooie!

♦ Baum Stadium at George Cole Field :

• Capacity: 10,500
• Reported 2011 Average Attendance:  7,932
• Opened in 1996, renovated since
• Details and photos at BaseballYakker
• Named after: George Cole, former Arkansas Athletic Director, and Charlie Baum, donor

♦ HOGDB.com had this to say about Arkansas Baseball fans:

Players and coaches alike could not speak well enough on behalf of the fans. How much electricity they bring to Baum Stadium and how loud the fans are. The size of the fan base, the passion, the heckling and the unconditional love they bring with them. Rain or shine. (Or in the case of the first home game of the season, freezing wind chills.) Yes, sir! Our fans are relentless. With shots of shirtless, painted-up men, beating stuffed tigers with plastic bats, it’s no wonder most think that Hog fans are a bunch of loons. I personally take that as a compliment. “Hawg Wild” is something Razorback fans are far from ashamed to be. And it is that very passion that admittedly aided in several players’ decisions to come here to play ball. Bo Bigham described the fans as “one big family”. I’d say that’s very accurate.

♦ The Arkansas Fight Song is either completely about Football, or the Baseball Razorbacks are taught to hit foul-line seeing-eye hits a lot:

Hit that line! Hit that line! Keep on going,

Move that ball right down the field!

Give a cheer. Rah! Rah!

Never fear. Rah! Rah!

Arkansas will never yield!

On your toes, Razorbacks, to the finish,

Carry on with all your might!

For it's A-A-R- K-A-N- S-A-S for Arkansas!

Fight! Fight! Fi-i-i-ght!

♦ Interesting Razorback scheduling fact:

... school policies prevent Van Horn from a really easy fix to the schedule.

“We don’t play in-state schools, so I have to go get teams from all over the place,” Van Horn said. “And when they come in, they don’t want to just play one.” (arkansassports360.com)

That's an interesting contrast to some other SEC schools, for example LSU, which packs their schedule with other Louisiana schools in their non-conference schedule.

♦ The reason why Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn likes to recruit in-state athletes:

Van Horn noted the in-state products taking up nearly half the current Razorback roster. In the 1980s, it was rare to see more than a handful of Arkansans on the Hogs roster. Now, the Hogs have 17 Arkansans playing, and 11 are pitchers.

"I have to give a nod to the Little League coaches and the high school coaches in this area for the job they've done," Van Horn said. "Things have changed so much in the past 10 or 15 years in the quality of baseball in Arkansas."

Van Horn has 11.7 scholarships to spread out over 27 players each year. State players who can play on the SEC level and help his program mean that Arkansas can spend less money — as much as $11,000 compared to tuition for an out-of-state player — on scholarship aid for and have more to devote to the recruits from states such as California. Scholarship money provided by the Arkansas Lottery can help offset the tuition costs that players incur — something other schools such as LSU and Georgia have enjoyed with their own state's scholarship programs for several years.   (arkansassports360.com)

♦ Why did Dave Van Horn bring the Baum Stadium right field fence in by 10 feet closer?

But if you really want a sense of where Dave Van Horn has his program, check out the most recent construction project at Baum Stadium. Crews have been working to bring the right-field fence in 10 feet, meaning the ball will have to travel 365-plus feet to get out of the park instead of 375.

What does this have to do with the Razorbacks’ standing nationally? How is this a better measure of progress than rankings?

Moving the fences was done to counter one of the biggest knocks against the Razorback program by prospects. Van Horn and his staff were constantly met with questions from hitters — particularly left-handed ones — about the depth of right field at Baum Stadium.

Those fears from recruits were often planted in their heads by opposing schools.
. . .
Van Horn, who took note shortly after his arrival of Baum Stadium's outfield depth and the way a prevailing southwest wind could blow balls down, eventually grew tired of fielding the questions and seeing the stadium — considered the best in college baseball — actually used against the Razorbacks in recruiting.

“I think some of these coaches are trying to make sure left-handed hitters know it,” Van Horn said. “[Moving the fence] is really going to help us. ... That's why we did it, for recruiting more than anything. I like left-handed hitters and I think it makes it more fair.”(ArkansasSports360.com)

♦ Arkansas has a signature yell that is possibly more annoying than "Rock Chalk Jayhawk".  Learn the Arkansas yell from Calling Hogs (youtube):

♦ A memorable occasion at an Ole Miss-Arkansas game:

♦ And another Razorback-related YouTube video that pretty much sucks as a video, but as audio it. . . still kind of sucks:  Here Come the Diamond Hogs.  You'll have to click and go there.  Not worth taking up more inches on this already obscenely long post.