#1 Arkansas, #2 Mississippi State Prepare to Scrap
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – All of college baseball will have its eyes on the Hogs this weekend.
Arkansas, Baseball America’s top-ranked team, squares off against Mississippi State, the publication’s No. 2 team in the country, in a three-game series beginning at 6:30 p.m. Friday, March 26, at Dudy Noble Field in Starkville, Miss.
The 16-3 Razorbacks are riding a four-game winning streak headed into their second SEC series of the year after last weekend’s two wins against No. 22 Alabama as well as a sweep of Memphis in a two-game midweek set. The 17-4 Bulldogs, meanwhile, enter this weekend with 10 wins in their last 11 contests, including an SEC-opening series victory over No. 10 LSU.
This weekend’s matchup between the Hogs and Bulldogs marks the 14th time in the history of Baseball America’s Top 25 that the top two teams in the poll have met during the regular season. Three of the last four occurrences have happened in an SEC series.
Schedule
Friday, March 26 – 6:30 p.m. – vs. Mississippi State – SEC Network+ – Listen – Live Stats
Saturday, March 27 – 2 p.m. – vs. Mississippi State – SEC Network+ – Listen – Live Stats
Sunday, March 28 – 2 p.m. – vs. Mississippi State – SEC Network – Listen – Live Stats
Tune In
Friday and Saturday’s games will stream live on SEC Network+. Catch all the action through the ESPN app on smartphones, computers and tablets or via Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
Sunday’s ballgame will broadcast nationally on the SEC Network with Tom Hart (play-by-play) and Kyle Peterson (analyst) on the call.
All three games can also be heard on the Razorback Sports Network from Learfield/IMG, including locally in Fayetteville on 92.1 FM. Phil Elson will have the call all weekend long.
Radio Affiliates
Conway – KASR-FM 92.7
El Dorado – KELD-AM 107.1 (FM Translator)
Fayetteville – KQSM-FM 92.1
Forrest City – KXJK-AM 950
Forrest City – KXJK-FM 106.5
Fort Smith – KERX-FM 95.3
Little Rock – KABZ-FM 103.7
Marshall – KBCN-FM 104.3
Mena – KTTG-FM 96.3
Rogers – KURM-AM 790
Rogers – KURM-FM 100.3
Stuttgart – KWAK-FM 105.5
Texarkana, TX – KKTK-AM 1400
And That’s The Bottom Line, ‘Cause Baseball America Said So!
Arkansas is still the No. 1 team in the country, according to Baseball America.
The Razorbacks remained the top-ranked team in the publication’s week six poll, which was released Monday. It is the fourth straight week that Arkansas holds the No. 1 spot in at least one of the six major polls.
The Hogs were previously the unanimous No. 1 team in college baseball, having led the Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, D1Baseball, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, Perfect Game and USA Today Coaches polls for two consecutive weeks.
Matchup & History
Friday
Arkansas LHP Patrick Wicklander (0-0, 2.51 ERA) vs. Mississippi State LHP Christian MacLeod (2-1, 1.74 ERA)
Saturday
Arkansas RHP Zebulon Vermillion (2-0, 2.13 ERA) vs. Mississippi State RHP Will Bednar (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
Sunday
Arkansas LHP Lael Lockhart (1-1, 2.38 ERA) vs. Mississippi State RHP Jackson Fristoe (2-1, 1.71 ERA)
Arkansas and Mississippi State clash for the 106th time in history when the two teams meet on Friday evening at Dudy Noble Field. The Razorbacks trail in the overall series, 49-56, while owning a 25-18 advantage in games played in Fayetteville.
The Hogs have not won in Starkville since March 29, 2014, when lefty Jalen Beeks started the first game of a doubleheader and tossed eight shutout innings in a 4-0 win. Arkansas is 16-29 overall at Mississippi State in its history, including 10-14 in the Dave Van Horn era.
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