Arkansas Hosts Xavier at Baum-Walker Stadium on Home Opening Weekend
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – After kicking off the 2026 campaign in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown and Amegy Bank College Baseball Series at Globe Life Field, eighth-ranked Arkansas (3-1) returns inside the friendly confines of Baum-Walker Stadium for Home Opening Weekend to host Big East foe Xavier (2-2) in the start of an 18-game homestand.
First pitch in the home opener is 3 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20, on SEC Network+. The Arkansas Home Opener Pregame Show with Dave Van Horn & Norm DeBriyn begins at 2:40 p.m. on SEC Network+ and will lead directly into the broadcast.
Arkansas, set to square off on the diamond against Xavier for the first time in history, has won 32 consecutive non-conference home weekend regular season series entering this weekend. The Razorbacks have not lost or tied a non-conference weekend series in the regular season at Baum-Walker Stadium since the 2014 campaign, when Arkansas dropped two-of-three games to South Alabama in its final non-conference home weekend series of the year.
Schedule
Friday, Feb. 20
Xavier vs. #8 Arkansas – 3 p.m. – SEC Network+ – Listen – Live Stats
Saturday, Feb. 21
Xavier vs. #8 Arkansas – 1 p.m. – SEC Network+ – Listen – Live Stats
Sunday, Feb. 22
Xavier vs. #8 Arkansas – Noon – SEC Network+ – Listen – Live Stats
On the Mound
Friday, Feb. 20
Xavier – RHP Ryan Piech (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Arkansas – RHP Gabe Gaeckle (0-0, 2.08 ERA)
Saturday, Feb. 21
Xavier – RHP Jack Nobe (0-0, 2.08 ERA)
Arkansas – LHP Hunter Dietz (0-1, 18.00 ERA)
Sunday, Feb. 22
Xavier – RHP Jack DeTienne (0-1, 8.10 ERA)
Arkansas – LHP Colin Fisher (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Tune In
All three games of Arkansas’ Home Opening Weekend series against Xavier will stream on SEC Network+. Brett Dolan (play-by-play) and Troy Eklund (analyst) will have the call for Friday’s home opener before Shawn Murnin, the voice of the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, takes over play-by-play responsibilities in place of Dolan Saturday and Sunday.
Arkansas’ Home Opening Weekend series can also be heard on the Razorback Sports Network from Learfield, including locally in Fayetteville on 92.1 FM or through the Razorback app. Phil Elson (play-by-play) and Bubba Carpenter (analyst) have the call for Friday before Dolan and Chuck Barrett join Carpenter in the booth Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
A full list of radio affiliates is available here.
Machine of Consistency
Led by 24th-year head coach Dave Van Horn, Arkansas is the winningest college baseball program in the country since 2017 with 386 total victories. In 2025, the Hogs finished 50-15 overall and 20-10 in SEC play to clinch their sixth 20-win SEC campaign and make their 12th College World Series appearance in school history.
The Razorbacks are the only SEC team as well as one of only two teams in the country to win 40-plus games in each of the last eight full seasons: 2017 (45), 2018 (48), 2019 (46), 2021 (50), 2022 (46), 2023 (43), 2024 (44) and 2025 (50).
Home Sweet Baum-Walker
Arkansas finished the 2025 campaign with 37 wins at Baum-Walker Stadium, which stands as the most home wins in a season in program history. The Hogs maintain an all-time record of 733-247 (.748) in the stadium’s 30-year history.
Excluding the shortened 2020 campaign, Arkansas has won 28 or more home games in eight straight seasons:
Year: Home Record / Overall Record (Postseason)
2017: 29-8 / 45-19 (Regional)
2018: 34-4 / 48-21 (College World Series)
2019: 33-7 / 46-20 (College World Series)
2021: 30-8 / 50-13 (Super Regional)
2022: 28-7 / 46-21 (College World Series)
2023: 32-6 / 43-18 (Regional)
2024: 34-5 / 44-16 (Regional)
2025: 37-4 / 50-13 (College World Series)
For complete coverage of Arkansas baseball, follow the Hogs on Twitter (@RazorbackBSB), Instagram (@RazorbackBSB) and Facebook (Arkansas Razorback Baseball).
