Natural State Showdown Set for Tuesday

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 17 Arkansas Razorbacks host in-state foe Central Arkansas at 5 p.m. CT Tuesday, March 26, at Bogle Park. The game will stream on SEC Network+ with Josh Haley (play-by-play) and Dorian Craft (analyst) on the call.

Natural State Showdown

• Arkansas and Central Arkansas meet for the seventh time in history Tuesday evening.
• The Hogs lead the all-time series 4-2, which dates back to the 2021 season.
• Arkansas is 2-1 vs. the Bears at home.
• The Razorbacks won the first four meetings against Central Arkansas. The Razorbacks are looking to snap a two-game losing streak vs. Central Arkansas as the Bears won both matchups during the 2023 season.
• Arkansas won the first meeting in history between both programs, 4-1, in Conway, Ark., on March 9, 2021.
• The in-state rivalry has been a tight matchup over the last six games with each game being decided by four or less runs.

Leading Off

• Arkansas is looking to bounce back from a series loss to No. 20 Mississippi State on March 22-24 at Bogle Park.
• Pitchers Hannah Camenzind and Morgan Leinstock combined for the Hogs’ 10th shutout of the season in the 3-0 win vs. the Bulldogs on March 23. The duo limited Mississippi State to just two hits across 7.0 IP while striking out three.
• Junior Raigan Kramer led Arkansas offensively during the three-game series vs. Mississippi State. Kramer went 4-for-6 (.667) with an .833 slugging percentage and .667 on-base percentage. Kramer added four hits, including a double, an RBI and five total bases.
• Freshman catcher Kennedy Miller continued to impress during the Mississippi State series. Miller hit .500 (3-for-6), filed an .833 slugging and .667 on-base percentage with two doubles, an RBI, two HBP and a walk.

Bri Bombs       

• Junior first baseman Bri Ellis was named back-to-back SEC Player of the Week on March 19.
• She’s the first Razorback in program history to win SEC Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks.
• The Houston native is hitting .410 with RISP.
• Ellis hitting .385 while pacing the Hogs in runs scored (27), doubles (7), home runs (11), RBI (36), total bases (75) and slugging percentage (.824).
• Ellis ranks among the top-10 in the conference in several categories: hits (10th – 45), home runs (4th – 16), home runs per game (4th – 0.34), RBI (6th – 36), sacrifice flies (5th – 3), slugging percentage (6th – .824), total bases (4th – 75).
• She’s the only SEC player to receive the accolade twice this season.
• Making the most of her return to the Plains on March 17-18, Ellis slashed an astronomical .667/1.444/.692 (6-for-9) with a team-leading six hits, two home runs, six RBI, five runs scored, 13 total bases, three walks and a sacrifice fly. In the series opener vs. the Tigers Saturday, Ellis smoked a three-run home run to give the Razorbacks an early 3-0 lead in the first. In game two, Ellis jacked her team-leading 10th home run on a solo shot to guide the Razorbacks seal the series win. After hammering a double against Texas A&M-Commerce, Ellis stretched her hitting streak to nine games and reached bases streak to 17 games.
• Anchoring the infield at first, the Houston native compiled a 1.000 fielding percentage with 27 putouts and zero errors. Ellis also assisted in turning three double plays across four games, helping the Hogs spearhead the SEC in double plays turned with 17 on the season.
• As a sophomore at Auburn in 2023, Ellis was one of two Tigers to start all 62 games and held a .275 batting average, .601 slugging percentage and .415 on-base percentage behind 42 hits, 47 RBI and 14 home runs.

Miller Madness

• Freshman catcher Kennedy Miller has quickly established herself as one of the best freshmen in the country.
• Miller earned her first career SEC Freshman of the Week selection on March 19 following a dominant showing during Arkansas’ four-game road swing at Auburn and Texas A&M-Commerce.
• In her SEC debut vs. Auburn on March 17-18, Miller put up a .545/1.091/.545 slash line across four games and paced the Hogs in hits with six and home runs with two. The Georgetown, Texas, product played flawless behind the plate with 18 putouts, three assists and zero errors. Miller recorded her second career multi-home run outing in game two against Auburn, smashing a two-run home run in the first and a solo home run in the fourth.
• The catcher tied her career high in hits after finishing 3-for-3 with two home runs, three RBI and two runs scored in game two vs. Auburn (March 17) to solidify the series win.
• Miller paces Arkansas with a .452 batting average and .512 on-base percentage.
• She sits second in the SEC in batting average, seventh in on-base percentage, 10th in slugging percentage (.781), ninth in toughest to strikeout.
• Leads all SEC freshmen and ranks third nationally amongst freshmen with her .452 batting average.
• Only SEC freshman to rank inside the league’s top-10 in batting average and on-base percentage.

 Up Next

Following Central Arkansas, the Hogs hit the road to No. 5 Georgia on March 30-April 1. The series opener vs. the Bulldogs is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, March 30, on SEC Network with Mark Neely (play-by-play) and Michele Smith (analyst) on the call.