Arkansas

Arkansas’ double midweek a mixture of geography restrictions, philosophy

Published

10 months ago

April 23, 2025

Arkansas’ double midweek a mixture of geography restrictions, philosophy

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — In a perfect world, coach Dave Van Horn might not be playing Wednesday’s game against Arkansas-Little Rock. Although nowhere as grueling as a 162-game MLB season, the Razorbacks are 42 games into a 56-game slate that would put wear and tear even amongst the most seasoned players.

Van Horn was grateful for the three full days of rest after losing two out of three to Texas A&M over the weekend before having to take the field again in Arkansas’ 10-0 win over the Trojans in seven innings Tuesday.

“The human body [and] the human mind can only take so much,” Van Horn said. “When we had that little rain delay [against Texas A&M], it was hard to get it going again a little bit, as tired as they were. I know how tired I was, I know how tired other coaches were, so I know the players were more tired than that. They play and run and hit and do all the other stuff.”

To compound the exhaustion, Arkansas will be the only SEC team in action Wednesday as the Hogs finish the third and final double midweek on the schedule this year against the Trojans. Other SEC schools and major programs either opt to play its double midweeks earlier in the year or schedule under the maximum number of games allowed by the NCAA.

Teams are allowed to schedule a maximum of 56 games, something that Van Horn decided to do for the 2025 schedule. In 2024, Van Horn scheduled 55 regular season games. Prominent baseball programs like UCLA and Virginia both only have 54.

Making things more complicated, Arkansas only has four D1 schools in the state, far fewer than many other schools in the SEC. The closest, Central Arkansas, is roughly two and a half hours away from campus.

“Fayetteville is not easy to get to,” Van Horn said. “It’s not like you can run down the highway and go play all these schools. When you’re at some of the schools in our league, you can run down the road 20 minutes, 15 minutes and play some Division 1 schools all around town. Can’t do that here.”

The unpredictable weather at the beginning of the year doesn’t help either. Fans at Baum-Walker will be familiar with the often cold conditions that sweep across the area. Fayetteville doesn’t have the luxury of being “70 and sunny like in San Diego,” according to Van Horn.

Given the importance of what lies ahead for Arkansas in the final four weeks of SEC play, getting a clean and crisp run-rule victory like the Hogs did on Tuesday that lasted just a minute over 2 hours could pay dividends leading into the weekend series against Florida.

Florida run-ruled Georgia Southern 12-1 Tuesday and now will get an extra day off before welcoming the Razorbacks to town.

“I’d rather not play two at this time of year,” Van Horn said. “If we do play two, it’s nice when you can play seven innings and only use three pitchers.”

Colin Fisher will get the start on the mound for Arkansas.

“You can tell how I feel about all this,” Van Horn said, “It’s just what you do because that’s what the schedule tells you to do. It’s baseball. It’s the up and downs of the game, you win and lose, you can call it a skid, you can call it whatever you want. I call it baseball.”

Arkansas concludes its two game set against Little Rock 5 p.m. Wednesday on national television. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network.

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Arkansas

Hogs Look to Rebound After Midweek Split with Arkansas State

Published

11 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Hogs Look to Rebound After Midweek Split with Arkansas State

Arkansas got a quick reminder this week that baseball doesn’t hand out easy wins.

The Razorbacks head into the weekend after splitting a midweek set with Arkansas State, a two-game stretch that showed both the highs and lows of early season baseball.

Now, the Hogs turn the page and prepare to host UT Arlington in a three-game series at Baum-Walker Stadium.

Arkansas enters the weekend 7-2 overall. UT Arlington comes in at 2-6. First pitch Friday is set for 3 p.m., with Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. Friday’s game will stream on SEC Network+.

Midweek Split Shows Two Sides of Arkansas

The midweek matchup with Arkansas State didn’t go the way the Razorbacks expected at first. In Game 1, Arkansas State won 12-4. It marked the first loss to the Red Wolves in program history.

The Hogs struggled on the mound and couldn’t keep pace as Arkansas State built separation. The result was a reminder that even in-state games can turn quickly if things slip early.

But 24 hours later, Arkansas looked like a different team.

In Game 2, the Razorbacks leaned on dominant pitching and edged Arkansas State 1-0 in a tight contest. It was the kind of bounce-back performance coaches want to see after a tough loss.

The split left Arkansas with lessons on both sides — how quickly things can unravel and how steady pitching can win a game even when runs are hard to find.

Home Comfort at Baum-Walker Stadium

Now the Razorbacks return to Baum-Walker Stadium looking to build momentum.

The Hogs have been strong at home and will try to use that setting to steady the ship after the midweek ups and downs. Playing in Fayetteville gives Arkansas a familiar environment and a chance to settle into its routine.

UT Arlington, meanwhile, is coming off a rough stretch. The Mavericks lost their midweek game to Dallas Baptist 6-1 and were swept in a weekend series against Lamar after winning the opener 10-2 before dropping the next two games.

Arkansas has the edge historically, leading the all-time series 7-1. The teams haven’t met since 2006, when the Razorbacks swept a series in Honolulu. This will be the first time UT Arlington plays in Fayetteville.

Pitching Matchups to Watch

The Hogs will roll out a strong weekend rotation.

Friday’s starter is right-hander Gabe Gaeckle (1-0, 1.93 ERA). He’ll face UT Arlington right-hander Caylon Dygert (0-0, 1.80 ERA). That matchup could set the tone for the series opener.

On Saturday, left-hander Hunter Dietz (0-1, 9.00 ERA) is scheduled to pitch for Arkansas against Dylan Skolfield (0-2, 6.48 ERA) for the Mavericks.

Sunday’s game will feature left-hander Colin Fisher (1-0, 0.00 ERA) for the Razorbacks. UT Arlington has not yet named a starter for the series finale.

After seeing how important pitching was in the 1-0 win over Arkansas State, Arkansas will look for more steady outings from its starters and bullpen.

Finding Consistency Early

Through nine games, the Hogs have shown flashes of strong offense and solid pitching. But the midweek split showed that consistency is still forming.

The loss to Arkansas State proved that mistakes can pile up fast. The narrow win that followed showed that disciplined pitching and defense can close out tight games.

This weekend gives Arkansas another chance to sharpen its approach before the schedule gets tougher later in the season.

For fans, the path to watching is simple. Friday’s game streams on SEC Network+, and radio coverage will be available in Fayetteville on 92.1 FM and AM 1590, along with other affiliates across the state.

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Arkansas

No. 1 Arkansas leads SEC Indoor after first day finals

Published

23 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

No. 1 Arkansas leads SEC Indoor after first day finals

Shawn Price
February 26, 2026

COLLEGE STATION – A victory in the 5,000m by Nick Busienei and third place in the distance medley relay had No. 1 Arkansas leading the team score with 18 points on the first day of the SEC Indoor Championships.

The Razorbacks produced 12 of those points in the 5,000m as Nick Busienei won the race in a meet record of 13;31.86, which ranks him No. 7 on the UA all-time list. Busienei bettered the meet record of 13:37.52 set by Razorback Patrick Kiprop in 2025.

James Sankei added two more points in placing seventh with a time of 13:44.57.

Dating back to 1992 when Arkansas competed in its first SEC Indoor meet, Busienei claimed the 21st title for the program and is the 14th Razorback to win the indoor 5,000m.

Six more points were added in the distance medley relay as Arkansas posted a time of 9:30.84 from the foursome of Owan Logorodi (2:58.46), Zyaire Nuriddin (46.51), Julian Carter (1:49.10), and Brian Masai (3:56.77).

South Carolina won the race in 9:30.08 with Ole Miss runner-up in 9:30.34. Florida originally placed third in 9:30.37 but was disqualified for spiking the baton at the conclusion of the race.

Jelani Watkins led the Razorback crew in the 200m prelims as three Arkansas sprinters advanced to the final. Watkins produced an indoor career best of 20.42 rank second overall to a 20.38 by Florida’s Wayna McCoy. Watkins remains No. 2 on the UA all-time list as he improved his previous time of 20.43.

Dapriest Hogans followed with a 20.63 that equaled his career best and his No. 8 ranking on the UA all-time list. Tevijon Williams clocked 20.65 to reach the final where 20.71 was the cutoff time. Jamarion Stubbs ran 20.87 in his prelim heat.

Cooper Williams completed the first day of the heptathlon in sixth place with 2,862 points. He started with a 7.43 in the 60m (736), then added a 21-9.5 (6.64) long jump (729). In the shot put, a mark of 36-8.25 (11.18) picked up 557 points. Williams wrapped up day one by topping the field in the high jump with a clearance of 6-8.25 for 840 points.

Link Lindsey placed 15 in the long jump with a mark of 23-6.75 (7.18).

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Arkansas

The wall goes back up: Arkansas embraces defiant isolation

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

The wall goes back up: Arkansas embraces defiant isolation

“Arkansans have been made better economically, intellectually and socially by letting go of the ‘terrified truculence’ toward outsiders in recent decades. Sadly, as we’ve experienced this sad winter, all signs are that many similar seasons of defiant isolation are in our state’s future,” writes political scholar Jay Barth.

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