Texas softball vs Arkansas: UT tries to clinch top-4 seed at next week's SEC Tournament

SEC softball: What teams are fighting for top-4 seeds?

A top-four finish in the final regular-season standings means a double-bye in next week’s SEC Tournament in Lexington, Ky. Top-ranked Oklahoma (18-3 SEC) has a two-game lead in the race for the regular-season conference title and needs to win just one game in a three-game series against Texas A&M (15-6) to ensure a top-four seed and at least a share of the league championship.

But the tussle for the other three double-byes looks tight. Florida (16-5) and Alabama (16-5) are tied for second in the SEC. Texas is tied for fourth with Texas A&M but holds the tiebreaker edge over the Aggies since the Longhorns won the season series. Tennessee (14-7) and Arkansas still have a chance at a top-four seed, if the Razorbacks win the series against the Longhorns.

Florida faces eighth-place Georgia this weekend in a three-game series while Alabama plays 12th-place South Carolina. Tennessee matches up with 11th-place Missouri.

MORE: Texas vs Kentucky softball: Replay, highlights as Katie Stewart sets HR record in UT sweep

Arkansas vs Texas: Hogs boast balanced team

But a series win over Arkansas this weekend would simplify the postseason picture for Texas. It would clinch one of the top four seeds at the SEC Tournament and all but lock down Texas as a top-eight seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Wins over the scrappy Hogs won’t come easy, however. Even though star outfielder Dakota Kennedy will likely miss her third straight series with a knee injury, Arkansas remains one of the most balanced lineups in the league. The Razorbacks rank third in the SEC in batting (.355 team average), on-base percentage (.456) and total runs (385) despite not having a single player ranked in the top 20 in the SEC in hitting.

“They don't have those superstar numbers, per se, (but) they've got a spread of hitters with a spread of RBIs and a lot of walks,” White said. “They're really kind of a team approach.”

The Razorbacks also got a proven pitching tandem in right-hander Payton Burnham (11-3, 1.88 ERA) and lefty Robyn Herron (14-4, 1.99 ERA), who are each one of the 10 SEC starting pitchers with an ERA less than 2.00. In comparison, Citlaly Gutierrez has the Longhorns’ lowest ERA at 2.35 and ace Teagan Kavan has a 2.92 ERA.

Facing Burnham and Herron will challenge the Longhorn hitters this series, but it will also help prep them for tournament play, White said.

“We're going to get to see a pretty good possibility of what might happen in the postseason,” he said. “Usually, these teams that are ranked below 32-33 through 60-64, have at least one good pitcher. Now, the best teams have two or three, like Arkansas and ourselves.”

No. 7 Texas (38-8, 15-6 SEC) vs. No. 10 Arkansas (39-9, 13-8): How to watch

Where: McCombs Field in Austin

Schedule: Game 1 at 7 p.m. Thursday; Game 2 at 2 p.m. Friday; Game 3 at noon Saturday

TV/radio: Game 1 SEC Network; Game 2 and 3 SEC Network+; texaslonghorns.com