Image – Whole Hog Sports
Arkansas (37-20) faces Missouri State (34-19) for the third time this season to begin NCAA Tournament play, this time at Hoglund Park in the NCAA Lawrence Regional.
First pitch between the No. 2 seed Razorbacks and the No. 3 seed Bears is set for 5 p.m. Friday, May 29, on ESPNU with (play-by-play) and (analyst) on the call. With a win, Arkansas would play the winner of the other NCAA Lawrence Regional opener, No. 1 seed Kansas or No. 4 seed Northeastern at 12 p.m. Saturday, May 30, on ESPN+. A loss against Missouri State would pit them against the loser of that game on Saturday 5 p.m. Saturday, May 30, on ESPN+.
NCAA Lawrence Regional
Friday, May 29
Game 1 – No. 15 Kansas vs. Northeastern – 12 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 2 – Arkansas vs. Missouri State – 5 p.m. (ESPNU)
Saturday, May 30
Game 3 – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 – 12 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 4 – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 – 5 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sunday, May 31
Game 5 – Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3 – 12 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 6 – Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5 – 5 p.m. (ESPN+)
Monday, June 1
Game 7 – If the Game 5 Winner Wins Game 6 – TBD
On the Mound
Friday, May 29
Missouri State – LHP Max Knight (4.69 ERA)
Arkansas – RHP Gabe Gaeckle (3.99 ERA)
Arkansas’ Gabe Gaeckle will start on the mound Friday night against Missouri State. The right-hander from Aptos, Cali. has made 19 appearances this season, including 11 starts on the hill this season with a 6-3 record, 3.99 ERA, and 80 strikeouts in 67.2 innings of work. Gaeckle, who is holding opposing hitters to a .277 batting average, came out of the bullpen against Texas in the SEC Tournament Quarterfinals and earned his sixth win of the season, tying his career high with six innings pitched and matching his season best with nine strikeouts in the Razorbacks’ 8–1 victory. .
Tune In
Victor Rojas (play-by-play) and Connor Wanhanen (analyst) have the call of the entire NCAA Lawrence Regional on the ESPN family of networks. Arkansas’ opening game of the regional against Missouri State will air nationally on ESPNU. The matchup between the Razorbacks and Bears can also be heard on the Razorback Sports Network from Learfield, including locally in Fayetteville on 92.1 FM or through the Razorback app, with Phil Elson (play-by-play) and Bubba Carpenter (analyst) on the call from inside Hoglund Ballpark.
History Lesson
Arkansas is 60-32 against Missouri State with a 38-16 mark in games played inside the friendly confines of Baum-Walker Stadium. In games played under Dave Van Horn, the Razorbacks are 22-13 and 14-9 at home against the Bears.
Arkansas split their regular season meetings with Missouri State. On March 31 on the road in Springfield, the Razorbacks lost a lead in the 10th inning and fell 15-14 to the Bears. A few weeks later, the hogs avenged their loss to Missouri State with a 12-4 victory on April 21 at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Arkansas doesn’t just have a storied history with Missouri State in the regular season. The Razorbacks will face the Bears for the 10th time ever in the NCAA Tournament. The Razorbacks and Bears are in the same regional for the fourth time since the NCAA went to its 64-team format in 1999.
Missouri State defeated Arkansas once in the 1999 Fayetteville Regional before winning the crazy 2017 Fayetteville Regional, which was played despite many rain delays. The Razorbacks and Bears were both in the 2022 Stillwater Regional but they did not end up facing off.
Missouri State has a 5-4 advantage on Arkansas in the postseason. The Razorbacks will look to change that in Friday night’s game.
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