FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas baseball dances for the 35th time in program history and hosts a regional for the sixth time in the last seven seasons.
The Razorbacks (43-14) are ranked fifth nationally and will welcome a field of Louisiana Tech, Kansas State and Southeast Missouri State (SEMO) to Baum-Walker Stadium this weekend for the Fayetteville Regional. The action begins on Friday at 2 pm with the Hogs taking on SEMO.
Further:Arkansas Baseball Tickets at Fayetteville Regional: Top Picks for 2024 NCAA Tournament
Further:Starter or reliever: What should Arkansas baseball do with Mason Molina?
A dominant pitching staff led Arkansas to another 40-win season and the SEC West title. The Razorbacks were 33-3 at home this year, but are coming off an 0-2 performance in the SEC Tournament.
Arkansas failed to make it out of the Fayetteville Regional in 2023 and lost a pair of games to TCU. The NCAA Tournament begins on Friday and the College World Series will end on June 24.
Here’s a look at Arkansas’ regional opponents, as well as our prediction for the Fayetteville Regional:
Arkansas Baseball Regional Runner-Up: Louisiana Tech
This is the third time in the last four seasons that the Bulldogs have made it to a regional. Louisiana Tech (45-17) won the Conference USA regular-season title and reached the championship game of the league tournament. The Bulldogs’ most impressive series win this season came against Dallas Baptist, who also made the NCAA Tournament.
Alabama. (Staff Photo/Gary Cosby Jr.)”>
The Bulldogs might be the most balanced team in the field, ranking 83rd in the country in runs per game and 40th in runs allowed per game. Luke Nichols (4-3, 3.74 ERA) and Reed Smith (7-4, 5.92) lead the starting rotation, but the pitching staff’s biggest strength is the bullpen.
Louisiana Tech has four relievers with 20-plus appearances and ERAs under 4.50. Sam Brodersen (8-1, 2.47) leads the pack, but former Razorback Ethan Bates has 17 saves and a 3.50 ERA.
Bates is also one of the Bulldogs’ best hitters, hitting .343 with 15 home runs and 74 RBIs. He typically bats third, and center fielder Cole McConnell provides the other dangerous bat in the leadoff spot. McConnell has 18 home runs and 74 RBIs along with a .380 batting average.
Dalton Davis and Jorge Corona have also crossed the 15-homer threshold, but the rest of the lineup doesn’t come close to matching the production of the top four.
Arkansas Baseball Regional Third Place: Kansas State
The Wildcats (32-24) were one of the last teams selected Monday, and their inclusion in the tournament over TCU was a minor surprise considering the Horned Frogs won the regular-season series between the teams. Still, Kansas State finished sixth in the Big 12 and won a regular-season series against Oklahoma State.
The offense thrives when he draws walks and wreaks havoc on the bases, ranking 32nd in the country in walk rate and 10th in steals. Brady Day leads the team with 53 RBI and a .332 batting average, while Bren Jones has 37 steals and a .439 on-base percentage, but the Wildcats don’t have a single player on the roster with double-digit home runs. .
Kansas State has struggled to find consistent starting pitchers all year and recently moved top reliever Jackson Wentworth (4-5, 4.18) to the weekend rotation. Other notable arms include starter Owen Boerema (6-3, 4.91) and relievers Cole Wisenbaker (2-0, 2.83) and Blake Dean (4-3, 4.30).
Arkansas Baseball Regional No. 4 Seed: SEMO
The Redhawks (34-25) won the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament to clinch an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament and are 12-3 in their last 15 games. The roster is old and has some veterans who played in the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
Statistically, SEMO has the best offense in the region. The Redhawks average 7.75 runs per game and rank 30th in the country with 100 home runs. The lineup is deep, with leadoff hitter Brooks Kettering, Michael Mugan, Ben Palmer, Ty Stauss and Josh Cameron scoring at least 45 runs. Mugan leads the team with a .322 average, but suffered an injury late in the season.
The Redhawks don’t have a dominant pitching staff, but they are stingy with walks and have two dangerous relievers in Logan Katen (2-0, 3.21) and Payton Lawrence (2-1, 4.17). The ace of the weekend’s rotation is Haden Dow, who has a 4-2 record and a 4.89 ERA in the regional. He has allowed four runs or fewer in 11 of his 15 starts this season and will likely be SEMO’s starter against Arkansas on Friday.
Arkansas Baseball NCAA Regional Prediction
- Fayetteville Regional Projected Winner: Arkansas
The Razorbacks are 4-7 in their last 11 games and have been inconsistent down the stretch, but this feels like a favorable draw. Although Dave Van Horn has yet to announce his rotation, the Hogs could put themselves in prime position to win the regional by beating SEMO on Friday and saving Hagen Smith for a key matchup against Louisiana Tech or Kansas State on Saturday. The biggest factor in the Hogs’ favor is the lack of another star pitcher in the region, which should make life a little easier this weekend for the offense.
Keynote USA
For the Latest Local News, Follow @Keynote USA Local on Twitter.