After an 18-game home stand, Dave Van Horne’s No 5 Arkansas Razorbacks’ baseball squad hits the road for perhaps its biggest series of the season when the Hogs visit Baton Rouge, La. for three games against the No. 1 LSU Tigers.
The Hogs open the series at noon today in a game that can be streamed on ESPN/SEC Network +. Saturday’s 1 p.m. contest is scheduled to be televised on the SEC Network, while Sunday’s noon finale is planed to be televised by ESPN.
However, the squad might play a double header Saturday to avoid a rainout on Sunday.
Today’s game had originally been scheduled to be televised by ESPN2, but when the game was moved to noon because of a forecast of storms for Friday evening, which shuttered the TV broadcast.
Every week is a big week in the SEC, but the implications of this series with the Tigers is heavy duty. The Razorbacks (19-2, 3-0 SEC) are the lone undefeated Western Division squad after one week of play. LSU (19-2, 2-1) is a game behind them in the overall SEC race and in the Western Division.
It’s so early that worrying about divisional rankings isn’t really all that meaningful, but next week one team will be chasing the other based on the outcome of this series, and when all is said in done in May, this series could prove pivotal in deciding the West champion and possibly even the overall regular-season title.
Razorback Baseball
Opponent: No. 1 LSU
When: 12 p.m. Friday, March 24
Where: Alex Box Stadium, Baton Rouge, La.
TV: SEC+
Up next:
Saturday — at LSU, 1 p.m. (SEC Network)
Sunday — at LSU, 12 p.m. (ESPN)
Coach Jay Johnson’s Tigers are led by outfielder Dylan Crews, who is the top Major League prospect in the NCAA. He leads the SEC with a whopping batting average of .515.
The Tigers bolstered their already formidable roster with the transfer-portal recruits hitter Tommy White of North Carolina State and pitchers Paul Skenes of Air Force, Christian Little of Vanderbilt, and Thatcher Hurd of UCLA.
Skenes is scheduled to start for LSU on Friday. Like Crews, he his potentially a high first-round MLB draft pick. The right-handed strike-thrower has a fine fastball and an array of curves.
Arkansas is expected to send lefty Hunter Hollan to the mound to face the Tigers. He is 4-0 on the season with a 2.36 ERA.
The Tigers lead the SEC with 11 runs per game and a .467 on-base percentage, and lead the NCAA with a .989 fielding percentage. They rank second in the SEC with a 2.69 ERA.
