Arkansas
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.
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KATV) — Purple is the color of the month in Arkansas, and Lupus Awareness Month is bringing a busy stretch of events, including a mayoral proclamation and a smooth jazz concert featuring acclaimed saxophonist Merlon Devine.
A proclamation for Lupus Awareness Month is set for 6 p.m. in North Little Rock, with Mayor Hardwick expected to present it. Organizers encouraged lupus warriors and supporters to come out.
Anita Boone, President of the Lupus Foundation of Arkansas Inc. and a former lupus warrior, described the day-to-day reality of living with the disease: “One minute you’re feeling amazing, the next minute your body is saying we can’t do this.”
Lupus is an autoimmune disease, described during the interview as a condition where the immune system attacks the body “inside out.” It can affect organs throughout the body, including the brain, lungs, heart and kidneys. Boone also shared personal impacts, saying, “I am losing, actually, ear from hearing, just because of lupus.”
The Lupus Foundation of Arkansas is also inviting the community to a Lupus Smooth Jazz Concert this Sunday, May 17, at 3:30 at The Space with Grace event venue, 2005 Main St., North Little Rock.
Gale Davis, committee chair for the Lupus Smooth Jazz Concert shared details about the concert.
Davis said guests are encouraged to “dress to impress,” though formalwear isn’t required. The event will include a photo backdrop, light hors d’oeuvres and beverages, and sponsored tables aimed at networking. It’s also a chance for people to meet other lupus warriors, learn more about the foundation’s work, and watch a video presentation highlighting events from the past year.
The featured artist, Merlon Devine, was described as an acclaimed saxophonist known for a soulful, smooth jazz sound, with a career spanning more than two decades and performances across the country and around the world. He’s also an Arkansas native who attended Little Rock Central High School. He now lives in Southern Maryland, outside Washington, D.C.
Davis said Devine’s connection to lupus is personal. She said his father had lupus and has since died, though he didn’t die from lupus. They also said Divine had a sister who died from lupus in 1981 and that he currently has two sisters living with lupus.
She also shared that, according to his doctors, Devine was born with acute asthma and underdeveloped lungs. His latest single, released last year, is called “Mercy.”
Tickets must be purchased online and will not be sold at the door. They’re available online by clicking on the flyer. Prices are $40 for individual tickets, or $400 for a table of nine, with an option to sponsor a table.
Organizers also noted another proclamation is planned for the Little Rock side with Mayor Frank Scott tomorrow, and encouraged people to follow the Lupus Foundation of Arkansas on social media for updates.
The concert will take place this Sunday at the Space With Grace Venue in North Little Rock.
ASHLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. — An Arkansas man died after crashing a dirt bike on Sunday.
The 21-year-old Arkansas man, formerly from Newaygo, crashed into a tree while riding a dirt bike on private property in Ashland Township near Grant on Sunday before 2:30 p.m., according to Michigan State Police (MSP) troopers.
Emergency responders tried to save his life but he died at the scene.
Troopers are still investigating but do not suspect drugs or alcohol as factors in the crash.
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MSP did not initially release any additional information.
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas softball will once again host an NCAA Regional, this time as the No. 5 overall national seed.
The Razorbacks (42-11) will be the top seed in Fayetteville and open the tournament against fourth-seeded Fordham (27-26) at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, May 15.
Washington (36-18) is the two-seed and will face three-seed South Florida (42-15) that same day inside Bogle Park.
Arkansas is paired with the Durham Regional hosted by Duke (39-14) for a potential super regional. Arizona (35-16), Marshall (37-17) and Howard (28-17) are joining the Blue Devils in the regional.
This is the sixth consecutive season the Razorbacks will host a regional. It is also the program’s eighth straight NCAA Tournament berth under coach Courtney Deifel. Arkansas has reached the NCAA tournament 14 times, and more than half of those appearances have come under Deifel.
Arkansas ended the season No. 1 in the RPI despite finishing seventh in the SEC standings. The Hogs were eliminated by Alabama in the conference tournament quarterfinals.
Last year, Arkansas lost to SEC rival Ole Miss in the Super Regionals. The Hogs fell one win shy of reaching the Women’s College World Series for the first time in program history. They are hoping to take that elusive next step this summer and book a trip to Oklahoma City in two weeks time.
Jackson Fuller covers Arkansas football, basketball and baseball for the Southwest Times Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at jfuller@usatodayco.com or follow him @jacksonfuller16 on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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