The Road to OKC Begins in Fayetteville

Grace Tafolla May 18, 2023

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – For the fourth time in program history, Arkansas and Bogle Park will host an NCAA Regional. The Razorbacks earned the No. 11 overall seed, welcoming Oregon, Notre Dame and Harvard to the friendly confines of Bogle Park May 19-21. Arkansas opens against Harvard at 6:30 p.m. CT Friday on ESPN+.

The Schedule
Friday, May 19

Game 1: #2 Oregon vs. #3 Notre Dame – 4 p.m. (ESPN2)
Game 2: #1 Arkansas vs. #4 Harvard – 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)

Saturday, May 20

Game 3: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 – 2 p.m.
Game 4: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 – 4:30 p.m.
Game 5: Winner of Game 4 vs. Loser of Game 3 – 7 p.m.

Sunday, May 21

Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 5 – 1 p.m.
*Game 7: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 5 – 3:30 p.m.

*if necessary

In the Rankings
As of May 18, Arkansas ranks:

No. 13 in NFCA/USA Today
No. 13 in ESPN.com/USA Softball

Top-25 Hogs

Under head coach Courtney Deifel, the Hogs have been ranked 83 times in the USA Today/NFCA Poll. Prior to her tenure, Arkansas was ranked just one time in program history (2013).
The Hogs have been ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Poll in 77 of its last 78 releases, dating back to week seven of the 2018 campaign.
Arkansas has received a vote in the last 96 releases of the USA Today/NFCA Poll, the longest streak in program history.
The Razorbacks Week 1 rankings (No. 4) during the 2023 season match the highest in-season rankings in program history.

Postseason History

Arkansas is making its 12th NCAA Tournament Appearance. It’s the sixth appearance under head coach Courtney Deifel.
Arkansas has made six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances – every season it has been held since 2017.
Prior to Deifel’s arrival, the program had made just six NCAA Tournament appearances.
For the fourth time in history, Arkansas is hosting a regional.
All four of the program’s top-16 overall seeds have come under Deifel: 2018 (#13), 2021 (#6), 2022 (#4) and 2023 (#11).
The Hogs drew a top-16 seed for the third season in a row.
16 of 25 Razorbacks have played in an NCAA Tournament.

Planting (National) Seeds
Prior to Deifel’s arrival, the Arkansas Razorback softball program NEVER received a national seed at an NCAA Tournament. Since her inaugural season in 2016, the Deifel and Hogs have constructed four national seeds – No. 13 in 2018, No. 6 in 2021. No. 4 in 2022 and No. 11 in 2023. Additionally, Deifel and the Hogs have made the NCAA Tournament every year it has been held since 2017. Prior to Deifel taking helm in Fayetteville, the program had only made six NCAA appearances. Deifel currently has six at Arkansas.

Matchup History

Arkansas and Harvard meet for just the second time in history and the first since the 2014 season. In their lone matchup, the Razorbacks defeated the Crimson 9-4 in Fort Myers, Fla., on Feb. 23, 2014.
The Razorbacks are 5-3 all-time vs. the Oregon Ducks, winning the last two matchups. Arkansas took down the Ducks, 6-2 & 9-3, in the 2022 Fayetteville Regional.
Arkansas head coach Courtney Deifel and Oregon head coach Melyssa Lombardi are quite familiar with one another, having worked with each other at the University of Oklahoma. Deifel was a graduate assistant at Oklahoma in 2008-09 while Lombardi was serving as associate head coach.
It’ll be the third time Deifel and Lombardi face each other while at the helm of their respective schools.
Arkansas and Notre Dame are 3-3 vs. one another. It’ll be the first time since 2017 the two teams square off against each other.

For schedule updates and other news, go to ArkansasRazorbacks.com, or follow @RazorbackSB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.