Considered one of Arkansas’ first opponents of the 2022 season can even be one in all its final. 

The Razorbacks will open play on the Faculty World Sequence with a non-elimination recreation in opposition to Stanford on Saturday at Schwab Subject in Omaha, Neb. The sport will start at 1 p.m. Central and can be televised by ESPN.

Arkansas misplaced 5-0 to the Cardinal on Feb. 27 in Spherical Rock, Texas, through the Spherical Rock Basic. Three Stanford pitchers, left hander Quinn Mathews and proper handers Tommy O’Rourke and Braden Montgomery, held the Razorbacks to 2 hits on a blustery day when the wind was gusting in at Dell Diamond. 

Stanford (47-16) was the regular-season and match champion within the Pac-12. The Cardinal entered the NCAA Event with 16 consecutive victories in opposition to largely convention competitors. 

The NCAA Event choice committee gave Stanford the No. 2 general seed on this 12 months’s match, however the Cardinal needed to win 5 elimination video games to advance to the Faculty World Sequence, the ultimate of which was a 10-4 victory over Connecticut in Sport 3 of the Stanford Tremendous Regional on Monday. 

Stanford is the highest-seeded workforce remaining within the match. Prime-seeded Tennessee was eradicated Sunday with a loss to Notre Dame within the tremendous regionals. The Cardinal have performed eight video games within the NCAA postseason. 

Widespread opponents for Stanford and Arkansas embody Louisiana-Lafayette and Indiana from the Spherical Rock Basic, and Grand Canyon, which break up a pair of video games with the Cardinal through the common season. 

In video games in opposition to frequent opponents, Arkansas is 3-0 and Stanford is 3-1. The Razorbacks defeated Grand Canyon of their first NCAA Event recreation in Stillwater, Okla.

Right here is extra to know concerning the Cardinal:

Shut calls

One week earlier than Tennessee was bounced, Stanford almost turned the highest-seeded workforce eradicated from the NCAA Event. 

The Cardinal scored three runs within the backside of the ninth inning to rally for a 4-3 victory over Texas State within the decisive recreation of the Stanford Regional. Drew Bowser and Tommy Troy hit solo dwelling runs within the ninth inning to tie the sport, and Stanford gained when Trevor Haskins singled on a 3-2 pitch to attain Eddie Park.

Texas State gained 5-2 within the first assembly between the groups to snap the Cardinal’s 17-game win streak. That despatched Stanford to the losers bracket, the place it battled again by profitable three video games in two days. 

The Cardinal defeated UC-Santa Barbara and Texas State by matching scores of 8-4 earlier than the comeback in opposition to Texas State within the regional championship. 

Stanford additionally fell behind in its tremendous regional in opposition to UConn with a 13-12 loss in Sport 1. The Cardinal gained 8-2 on Sunday earlier than Monday’s 10-5 victory. 

Omaha expertise

A number of Stanford gamers performed in final 12 months’s Faculty World Sequence and got here near enjoying for a nationwide championship. 

The Cardinal misplaced 10-4 to North Carolina State and defeated Arizona 14-5 in an elimination recreation to arrange one other elimination recreation in opposition to Vanderbilt.

Stanford led the Commodores 5-4 with two outs and no base runners earlier than a ninth-inning meltdown that included a stroll, a throwing error and two wild pitches throughout the identical at-bat that allowed Vanderbilt to attain the tying and profitable runs. The Commodores gained 6-5.

Vanderbilt superior to the Faculty World Sequence championship spherical later within the week when North Carolina State was compelled to forfeit its remaining video games as a consequence of covid-19 protocols. 

That is the primary time Stanford has been to the Faculty World Sequence in consecutive years for the reason that Cardinal went 5 consecutive seasons between 1999-2003. This system is in its 18th Faculty World Sequence. 

David Esquer, the fifth-year Stanford coach, will lead his third workforce to Omaha. He was the California coach for the Golden Bears’ journey in 2011.

Highly effective

Stanford is among the nation’s high home-run-hitting groups with 117 to rank ninth nationally.

The Cardinal had been particularly dynamic with the lengthy ball through the regional and tremendous regional video games at their dwelling ballpark, Sunken Diamond. In eight postseason video games, Stanford has hit 21 dwelling runs. 

Trailing 13-6, the Cardinal hit 4 dwelling runs throughout a six-run ninth earlier than falling brief in a 13-12 loss to UConn in Sport 1 of the tremendous regional. Stanford hit eight dwelling runs within the first recreation in opposition to the Huskies, this system’s most in a recreation in 18 years. 

As a workforce, the Cardinal have an eye-popping .540 slugging proportion with 131 doubles and 18 triples. They don’t sacrifice contact for energy and have a batting common of .310, which ranks eleventh nationally. 

Brock Jones is arguably Stanford’s finest all-around offensive menace. His .329 batting common ranks fourth on the workforce, however he has an OPS of 1.134 with 20 dwelling runs, 13 doubles, 5 triples, 56 RBI and 15 stolen bases. Jones additionally ranks twelfth nationally with 54 walks. 

Jones hit three dwelling runs through the first recreation in opposition to UConn, marking the second time he has hit three homers in a brilliant regional recreation. 

Jones can also be an excellent defender in heart area. Baseball America ranks him the No. 29 prospect for this 12 months’s MLB Draft.

Carter Graham is a third-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper with 22 dwelling runs and 77 RBI. His .335 batting common is second on the workforce, as is his 1.070 OPS. 

Braden Montgomery can also be an influence menace with 18 dwelling runs. He was named to the Freshman All-America second workforce by the Nationwide Collegiate Baseball Writers Affiliation on Monday.

Brett Barrera leads the workforce with a .352 batting common. Tommy Troy bats .333.

Prime pitcher

Arkansas is more likely to face Pac-12 pitcher of the 12 months Alex Williams on Saturday. 

Williams (6-3, 220 kilos) is a senior proper hander who’s 8-3 with a 2.88 ERA in 97 innings. He has 90 strikeouts and 23 walks, and his WHIP of 1.05 ranks thirty first nationally. 

Collegiate Baseball Newspaper named Williams first-team All-America. 

Williams throws a low-90s fastball that may hit 94 mph, in keeping with D1Baseball. 

Stanford was 11-4 throughout video games Williams pitched through the common season and Pac-12 Event, together with 8-1 starting March 25. 

However the Cardinal have misplaced each of Williams’ postseason begins — and he has been the pitcher of report — in video games in opposition to Texas State and UConn. 

He pitched 4 2/3 innings in opposition to Texas State and allowed 5 runs on 5 hits and a couple of walks. He was ineffective in a 1 1/3-inning begin in opposition to UConn when he allowed 6 runs on 7 hits, together with 4 doubles and 1 dwelling run. 

Williams threw solely 44 pitches in opposition to UConn, which implies he needs to be rested for his first outing in Omaha.

Extra pitching

Because the Razorbacks noticed firsthand in Spherical Rock, Stanford has one of many nation’s finest pitching staffs. 

The Cardinal rank within the high 20 nationally in ERA (4.01), WHIP (1.34), fewest hits per recreation (8.14) and shutouts (9).

Junior left hander Quinn Mathews, who shut down Arkansas in a six-inning begin in February, has transitioned into a more in-depth function. He permits 6.68 hits per 9 innings, which is among the high clips in school baseball. He leads the workforce with 9 wins and 9 saves, and is second with 96 1/3 innings pitched.