The Razorbacks head to Kansas for a postseason showdown with their in-state rivals from the Missouri Valley Conference.
Arkansas and Missouri State meet Friday at 5 p.m. at Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence, Kansas, as part of the NCAA Lawrence Regional. The game will be televised on ESPNU with streaming available on WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app. A subscriber login is required.
The Razorbacks enter the regional with a 39-20 record, finishing the regular season having won seven of their last 10 games but dropping their most recent contest. Missouri State, which earned an at-large bid after going 34-19, owns the same recent form — 7-3 in its last 10 — and also lost its most recent game.
The series history heavily favors Arkansas. The Razorbacks lead the all-time matchup 60-32, including a 12-4 victory over the Bears on April 21 in Fayetteville. That game was the most recent meeting between the two programs, who faced off three times during the regular season.
Arkansas is coached by Dave Van Horn, who is in his 24th season in Fayetteville with a career record of 972-492. Across 32 seasons as a Division I head coach, Van Horn owns a 1,292-649 record. Missouri State is led by Joey Hawkins, who is in his second season with the Bears and holds a 64-44 record.
Hoglund Ballpark seats approximately 2,500 and serves as the home field for Kansas. The Jayhawks are also part of the Lawrence Regional, which features four teams competing in a double-elimination format through Sunday.
For Arkansas fans making the roughly four-hour drive from Fayetteville to Lawrence, the forecast calls for partly cloudy skies with temperatures in the mid-70s at first pitch, cooling into the upper 60s by the later innings.
The Razorbacks are competing in their 15th consecutive NCAA regional — a streak that ranks among the longest in college baseball. Missouri State, which won the MVC regular season title, is making its first regional appearance since 2019.
Pitching matchups for Friday’s game had not been finalized at time of publication.
Source: NWA Democrat Gazette
