Stillwater Provides Nightmare Scenario for Hogs

CWS dark horse sits squarely in Razorbacks' path

STILLWATER, Okla. – When Arkansas takes the field at O'Brate Stadium at noon Friday and throughout the rest of the tournament, the Razorbacks will find themselves the underdog regardless of seed in most cases by any reputable betting firm.

Coach Dave Van Horn couldn't be leading his team into a more perfectly crafted nightmare than the Stillwater Regional. 

The Hogs open with a vastly underseeded Grand Canyon team that statistics show should be considered a potential runaway favorite. They will then draw either an OSU team that not only is at home, but has rebounded strongly from a rough stretch against Dallas Baptist and Texas Tech, or a Missouri State team whose only win against a tournament qualifier is against Arkansas in Fayetteville.

If all the clutter is stripped away and the comparisons are made on how things went against teams still playing baseball, Arkansas falls to the No. 3 seed, Grand Canyon rises to the top, and the Cowboys settle in as a solid No. 2 seed. That's not good for Arkansas.

The Antelopes get the nod as regional favorite by way of a 12-6 record against teams that made the tournament, including a 9-1 mark since April 3 with series sweep of Texas Tech, plus series wins over New Mexico State and Arizona, along with a split with No. 1 seed Stanford. 

Patrick Breen - USA TODAY Sports

GCU pitcher Nick Hull (5) pitches against Lamar University during the second round of WAC tournament.

The only teams to make the regionals with a series win over Grand Canyon are San Diego, which pulled out a close Game 3 to do so, and Arizona, which gathered a pair of wins prior to April. Once the calendar turned, the Antelopes heated up and marched into Tuscon for a May showdown and took an 11-7 victory.

Oklahoma State enters the regional with the most wins over tournament teams, but also ties Arkansas for the most losses at 15-11. A sweep by Gonzaga early in the season and a 6-11 finish against tournament teams since April 3 has the Cowboys looking to regroup against stronger competition.

Four of those late stretch wins, courtesy of Texas, helped soften the blow of a mid-May five-game losing streak to Dallas Baptist, Texas Tech and Baylor.

Arkansas and Missouri State enter the tournament with losing records against the field. The Hogs are 10-11, while the Bears are 1-6. Unfortunately, the Razorbacks don't fare better by breaking things down by series either.

(Alabama Athletics)

The Razorbacks' Michael Turner tries to get things rolling offensively against Alabama in the SEC Tournament. Arkansas looks to string together more timely hitting in Stillwater to improve upon the four runs per game the team averaged during the SEC tournament.

Grand Canyon edges out OSU in series win percentage at 3-1-2. The Cowboys post a respectable 4-1-4 series record, while Arkansas finishes 3-5 with two losses coming in single game series against Stanford and Missouri St.

It will be an uphill climb, but the Hogs found themselves in a similar situation in 2018. Arkansas stumbled into the tournament with eight losses in the final month before Van Horn turned his team around. 

The Razorbacks caught fire, sweeping the regional, plus the first four games of the College World Series, coming a dropped pop-fly away from being national champions. 

A chance to refocus following a long lay off created by an early SEC tournament exit coupled with a short road trip away from a fan base that has turned bitter in recent weeks could provide the recipe Arkansas needs to find that magic once again.

Friday, June 3

Game 1: No. 2 seed Arkansas vs. No. 3 seed Grand Canyon, Noon, SEC Network/Fubo

Game 2: No. 1 seed Oklahoma State vs. No. 4 seed Missouri State, 6 p.m., ESPN+/Fubo

Saturday, June 4

Game 3: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, Noon (TV TBD)

Game 4: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 6 p.m. (TV TBD)

Sunday, June 5

Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, TBD (TV TBD)

Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 6 p.m. (TV TBD)

Monday, June 6

Game 7 (if necessary): Game 6 rematch IF Game 5 winner wins Game 6, 6 p.m. (TV TBD)

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