Razorbacks, Racers Square Off This Weekend at Baum-Walker Stadium
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – No. 2 Arkansas (6-2) goes for its 29th consecutive non-conference home weekend series win when it hosts Missouri Valley Conference opponent Murray State (6-2) at Baum-Walker Stadium to open the month of March.
The three-game series between the Razorbacks and Racers, which will be streamed on SEC Network+ with Josh Haley (play-by-play) and Troy Eklund (analyst) on the call, begins Friday, March 1, with first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. Game two gets underway at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 2, while the series finale is slated for 1 p.m. Sunday, March 3.
Arkansas won its 28th consecutive non-conference home weekend series to begin the 2024 season, winning three-of-four games against James Madison on Opening Weekend. The Razorbacks have not lost or tied a non-conference regular season weekend series at Baum-Walker Stadium since dropping two-of-three games to South Alabama in 2014.
Schedule
Friday, March 1
Murray State vs. #2 Arkansas – 3 p.m. – SEC Network+ – Listen – Live Stats
Saturday, March 2
Murray State vs. #2 Arkansas – 2 p.m. – SEC Network+ – Listen – Live Stats
Sunday, March 3
Murray State vs. #2 Arkansas – 1 p.m. – SEC Network+ – Listen – Live Stats
On the Mound
Friday, March 1
Murray State – RHP Cade Vernon (1-0, 6.52 ERA)
Arkansas – LHP Hagen Smith (0-0, 3.86 ERA)
Saturday, March 2
Murray State – RHP Bryce Valero (1-1, 4.50 ERA)
Arkansas – RHP Brady Tygart (1-0, 0.82 ERA)
Sunday, March 3
Murray State – RHP Ryan Fender (0-0, 3.52 ERA)
Arkansas – LHP Mason Molina (1-0, 2.08 ERA)
Tune In
Josh Haley (play-by-play) and Troy Eklund (analyst) have the call on SEC Network+. The entire 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, with Phil Elson (play-by-play) and Bubba Carpenter (analyst) on the call. A full list of radio affiliates is available here.
History Lesson
Arkansas boasts a 5-0 overall series record against Murray State, including a 3-0 mark under head coach Dave Van Horn.
The Razorbacks last hosted the Racers in Fayetteville during the 2021 season, sweeping a three-game set at Baum-Walker Stadium. Prior to that, Arkansas won a pair of games against Murray State at George Cole Field in Fayetteville under legendary former head Norm DeBriyn during the 1986 campaign.
H. Smith on the Mound
Razorback ace Hagen Smith will toe the rubber in Friday’s series opener against the Racers.
Smith, the reigning SEC Pitcher of the Week, earned multiple national awards following his 17-strikeout game against nationally ranked Oregon State on Feb. 23 in the Kubota College Baseball Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The left-hander was named the National Pitcher of the Week by D1Baseball, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Perfect Game, and earned performance of the week honors from the Golden Spikes Award.
The Bullard, Texas, native tied an Arkansas single-game record during his 17-strikeout gem against the seventh-ranked Beavers. Smith, who threw just 78 pitches in six innings, matched Jess Todd’s program record for strikeouts in a single game, doing so in 40 fewer pitches than Todd threw against South Carolina on May 24, 2007, in the SEC Tournament.
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The Razorback pitching staff totaled 59 strikeouts in a three-game series last weekend in the Kubota College Baseball Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The MLB record is 52 strikeouts in a three-game series, which was accomplished by the Houston Astros in a three-game set against the Baltimore Orioles on May 24-26, 2016.
Powered by Hagen Smith’s program record-tying 17 strikeouts, Arkansas pitchers recorded 23 strikeouts against Oregon State on Feb. 23 to break the previous single-game program record for strikeouts (18). The next day, the Hogs tallied 25 strikeouts in a 14-inning marathon against Oklahoma State on Feb. 24 to reset the single-game program record.
Arkansas pitchers closed out the weekend in Arlington, Texas, with 11 more strikeouts, including 10 by left-hander Mason Molina, against Michigan on Feb. 25, bringing the three-game total to 59, a new SEC record.
Home Sweet Baum-Walker
The Razorbacks are 4-1 inside the friendly confines of Baum-Walker Stadium this season. Arkansas took three-of-four game against James Madison on Opening Weekend before defeating Grambling, 21-1, in its first midweek of the year.
Last season, Arkansas went 32-6 (.842 winning percentage) at Baum-Walker Stadium. It was the Razorbacks’ fourth 30-win season at home since the stadium opened in 1996. Excluding the shortened 2020 campaign, the Hogs have won 28 games or more at home in six consecutive seasons, including a program-record 34 wins in 2018.
Season: 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)
2020: N/A // N/A
2021: 30-8 // 50-13 (Super Regional)
2022: 28-7 // 46-21 (College World Series)
2023: 32-6 // 43-18 (Regional)
2024: 4-1 // TBD
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