Arkansas Begins Postseason Run in Fayetteville
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The road to Omaha cuts right through Northwest Arkansas.
Arkansas (41-16), the No. 3 national seed, begins its postseason run inside the friendly confines of Baum-Walker Stadium, opening tournament play against Santa Clara (35-18) at 2 p.m. Friday, June 2, in the NCAA Fayetteville Regional. The Hogs, hosting a regional for the 10th time in program history and for the fifth time since 2017, have won the last three regionals played in Fayetteville, including in 2018, 2019 and 2021.
The winner of the Fayetteville Regional will advance to play the winner of the Terre Haute Regional in a best-of-three-game super regional from June 9-11 or June 10-12. No. 14 national seed Indiana State (42-15) is hosting Iowa (42-14), UNC (35-22) and Wright State (39-21) this weekend in Terre Haute, Ind.
NCAA Fayetteville Regional Schedule
Friday, June 2
Game 1 – No. 1 Arkansas vs. No. 4 Santa Clara – 2 p.m. – ESPN+ – Listen – Live Stats
Game 2 – No. 2 TCU vs. No. 3 Arizona – 8 p.m. – ESPNU – Live Stats
Saturday, June 3
Game 3 – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser – 2 p.m. – TBD – Live Stats
Game 4 – Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner – 8 p.m. – TBD – Live Stats
Sunday, June 4
Game 5 – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser – 2 p.m. – TBD – Live Stats
Game 6 – Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner – 8 p.m. – TBD – Live Stats
Monday, June 5 (If Necessary)
Game 7 – If the Game 5 Winner Wins Game 6 – TBD
On the Mound
Friday, June 2
Game 1
Santa Clara – RHP Cole Kitchen (3-2, 4.25 ERA)
Arkansas – LHP Hunter Hollan (8-2, 4.06 ERA)
Game 2
Arizona – RHP Cam Walty (5-0, 5.33 ERA)
TCU – RHP Kole Klecker (9-4, 4.04 ERA)
Tune In
Mike Ferrin (play-by-play) and Greg Swindell (analyst) will call every game of the NCAA Fayetteville Regional on the ESPN Family of Networks. Friday’s regional-opening game between Arkansas and Santa Clara will stream on ESPN+.
All Razorback games this postseason can also be heard on the Razorback Sports Network from Learfield, including locally in Fayetteville on 92.1 FM or through the Razorback app, with Phil Elson (play-by-play) and Razorback great Bubba Carpenter (analyst) on the call. A full list of radio affiliates is available here.
History Lesson
Arkansas is 1-0 all-time against Santa Clara, which is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1997. The two teams last met in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., where the Razorbacks picked up a convincing 10-3 win against the Broncos.
Arkansas is 48-20 all-time against TCU, including a dominant 27-2 record in games played in Fayetteville. Under head coach Dave Van Horn, the Razorbacks are 4-1 overall with a 2-0 advantage in games played in Fayetteville.
Arkansas is 3-4 all-time against Arizona, including a 1-2 mark under Van Horn. The teams have split their two meetings in the postseason with the Razorbacks defeating the Wildcats, 10-3, in Omaha, Neb., on their way to a runner-up finish in the 1979 College World Series. Arizona knocked Arkansas out of the 2004 College World Series with a 7-2 win in Omaha.
Home Sweet Hogs
Arkansas is 30-4 (.882 winning percentage) at Baum-Walker Stadium this year, including a 19-3 mark against teams that made the NCAA postseason. The Hogs are four wins shy of matching the school record for most home wins in a season.
In 2018, Arkansas set school records for single-season home wins (34) and home winning percentage (.895), advancing to the College World Series and finishing as the national runner-up in the process. Excluding 2020, the Hogs have won 28 games or more at home in six consecutive seasons, including their recording-setting 34 home wins in 2018.
SEC Champs
Under the guidance of 2023 SEC Coach of Year Dave Van Horn, the Razorbacks won their fourth SEC championship (1999, 2004, 2021 & 2023) in school history and second in the last three seasons. Arkansas also won its eighth SEC Western Division crown (1999, 2004, 2007, 2011, 2018, 2019, 2021 & 2023) in program history and fourth since 2018.
Arkansas, who won 20 SEC games in the regular season for only the fourth time in program history, posted its sixth consecutive season with 18 or more SEC wins. LSU is the only other team in SEC history to record at least six consecutive seasons of 18 or more SEC victories, doing so in 10 straight seasons from 1996-2005.
Machine of Consistency
Since the start of the 2017 season, Arkansas has won more games than any other program in the country.
Arkansas – 287
Oregon State – 276
Florida – 275
Southern Miss – 274
Vanderbilt – 272
The Razorbacks have posted six consecutive 40-win seasons, excluding the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, and are the only team in the country with at least 45 wins every season since 2017.
For complete coverage of Arkansas baseball, follow the Hogs on Twitter (@RazorbackBSB), Instagram (@RazorbackBSB) and Facebook (Arkansas Razorback Baseball).
