Razorbacks Return to Bogle Park for Home Opener, Razorback Invitational

Grace Tafolla February 21, 2024

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – No. 14 Arkansas returns to the friendly confines of Bogle Park for its home opener at 4 p.m. CT Thursday vs. Illinois State. Clashing with the Redbirds, Arkansas kicks off a six-game slate at the Razorback Invitational, which is scheduled for Feb. 22-25 at Bogle Park. There will be live stats but no streaming available throughout the weekend.

The Razorbacks square off with UT-Arlington and Wichita State in a doubleheader Friday, beginning at 3 p.m.Arkansas faces Illinois State and Wichita State at 3 and 5:30 p.m. Saturday before closing out the Razorback Invitational at 12:15 p.m. Sunday vs. UT-Arlington.

The Razorback Invitational is the start of a 17-game homestand at Bogle Park. Following this weekend, the Hogs will host the Wooo Pig Classic Feb. 29-March 3 and the Razorback Rumble March 7-10.

Leading Off

Arkansas returns to Fayetteville after a five-game stretch at the Bear Down Classic in Tucson, Ariz. The Hogs went 4-1, splitting with No. 23 Arizona.
Arkansas’ pitching staff was lights out in Tucson. In 36 IP, the staff did not give up a home run in a location known as a hitter’s launching pad.
On the flip side, the Hogs’ offense outscored opponents 26-8 while mashing seven home runs.
Redshirt senior RHP Morgan Leinstock was sensational with the rock. In 13 IP, Leinstock went 2-0 and gave up just one hit and one earned run while fanning 15.

History Lesson

Arkansas is 9-5 all-time against Wichita State and 7-3 all-time vs. UT-Arlington.
Thursday will be the first meeting between Arkansas and Illinois State.
Arkansas has won five of the last six matchups against UT-Arlington.
Saturday will be the first meeting between Arkansas and UT-Arlington since 2021.
The Razorbacks and UT-Arlington will play one another in Fayetteville for the first time since 2018. Arkansas won both games, 6-0 and 10-6.
The Hogs have won five of their last six meetings against Wichita State.

The Friendly Confines

The Razorbacks are looking for their eighth consecutive home-opening win, dating back to the 2017 season.
Under head coach Courtney Deifel, the Razorbacks are 7-1 in home openers.

The Nia Carter File

Redshirt senior transfer Nia Carter, who joined Arkansas after a successful four-year career at Iowa, has the second-most hits amongst active NCAA players with 250 to her name. Carter is one hit shy of Oklahoma’s Tiare Jennings (251). Carter also boasts the ninth-highest career batting average across the NCAA (.412).

Home Sweet Bogle

It comes to no surprise that Bogle Park is regarded as one of the premier college softball stadiums and atmospheres in the nation as it recorded the third-highest single-season attendance in NCAA Softball history in 2023.
In 2023, the Razorbacks averaged 2,845 fans per game at Bogle Park, which ranked second nationally.
96,725 people entered Bogle Park throughout the 2023 season – the third highest total attendance recorded in NCAA Softball history.
Bogle Park hosted the highest attended SEC Softball Tournament in 2023 with 16,937 in the stands throughout the tournament.
The Razorbacks have sold over 2,500 season tickets for the 2024 season, shattering last year’s season ticket sales record.
The Hogs have ranked top-five in average attendance each of the previous three seasons.

Home Field Advantage

Since 2017, Arkansas is 132-30 at Bogle Park during the regular season.

Double (Play) Trouble

Arkansas ranks first in the SEC and fourth nationally after turning 13 double plays across 10 games this season. The Razorbacks need to turn six more double plays to reach 19 on the season, which would crack into the team’s single-season top 10. Arkansas’ 1999 team’s 30 double plays are the program’s standard.