It’s Ole Miss standing in Razorbacks’ path to another Omaha trip

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas is set for its eighth Super Regional appearance in program history this weekend, welcoming Ole Miss to town with a College World Series appearance on the line at Baum-Walker Stadium.

The Hogs and Rebels will face off in a best-of-three series starting on Saturday with first pitch set for 11 a.m. on ESPN. Game two will be at 2 p.m. on Sunday on ESPNU.

If necessary, game three will be on Monday at 3 p.m., on ESPN2.

You can listen to all of the games on ESPN Arkansas 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home.

Matchup: 5-seed Arkansas vs. 12-seed Ole Miss
TV: ESPN (Sat.), ESPNU (Sun.), ESPN2 (Mon.) >> WatchESPNApp
Talent: Clay Matvick (PXP), Todd Walker (Analyst)
Radio: Razorback Sports Network from Learfield/IMG College
Probable Starters for Game One: (ARK) RHP Isaiah Campbell (11-1) vs. (OM) RHP Will Etheridge (7-6)

Arkansas is fresh off a clean sweep of the Fayetteville Regional with wins over Central Connecticut (11-5) and two wins over TCU (3-1, 6-0).

The Razorback starting pitching was on point throughout the weekend as the trio of Isaiah Campbell, Connor Noland and Patrick Wicklander combined for a 0.99 ERA over 18.1 innings and struck out 17.

Campbell tied his career-best outing, going eight innings with eight strikeouts against the Horned Frogs.

The Razorbacks are making their eighth appearance in a super regional in school history and first time in back-to-back years.

This week will mark the fourth time Arkansas has ever hosted the super regional round (2004, 2015, 2018, 2019) and are 6-2 in those games.

On the flip side, Ole Miss comes in as the winner of the Oxford Regional, sweeping the field in their own right with wins over Jacksonville State (16-2, 19-4) and Clemson (6-1).

The Rebels are appearing in their sixth Super Regional and first since 2014.

This will be the sixth time Arkansas and Ole Miss have faced off this year, including a three-game series at Baum Stadium and two games in the SEC Tournament.

The Rebels are the only team to beat the Razorbacks in a series at home this year and have won each of their last two series in Baum-Walker Stadium (2017, 2019).

The two teams split a pair of games at the SEC Tournament before Ole Miss reached the SEC Tournament final for the second-straight year.

What’s at stake

The winner of the Fayetteville Super Regional will advance to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.

The team that advances will play the winner of the Baton Rouge Super Regional between LSU and Florida State in their first game of the College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park.

Saturday’s probable starter — RHP Isaiah Campbell

Redshirt junior right-hander Isaiah Campbell will get the ball for Arkansas’ opening game of the 2019 NCAA Super Regional, making his 17th start of the year.

Campbell has been the Hogs’ No. 1 starter from the season opener and has solidified himself as one of the best pitchers in the nation.

Last week, he had his best outing of the season, going eight innings against TCU and giving up just one run on four hits with one walk and eight strikeouts.

It was his 13th quality start of the year. Campbell was drafted in the Competitive Balance Round B earlier this week to the Seattle Mariners, No. 76 overall.

Player to watch — INF Jack Kenley

Junior infielder Jack Kenley has had a career year at the plate this season and its continued into the postseason.

In last week’s regional, Kenley had two hits in all three games, leading the team with a .600 average with two doubles and two RBIs. After hitting .133 his freshman year and .222 his sophomore year, Kenley has exploded to hit .324 this season with 12 home runs and 50 RBIs.

Kenley didn’t have a home run before this season, but is now third on the team in longballs and was drafted in the eighth round by the Detroit Tigers earlier this week.

Fayetteville Super Regional Schedule

Saturday, June 8
Game 1 – Ole Miss vs. Arkansas (ESPN) | LIVE STATS | WATCH

Sunday, June 9
Game 2 – Arkansas vs. Ole Miss – 2 p.m. CT (ESPNU)

Monday, June 10
Game 3 (if necessary) – Ole Miss vs. Arkansas – 3 p.m. CT (ESPN2)

RAZORBACK PRIME 9

• Arkansas is playing in its eighth NCAA Super Regional in school history and hosting for the fourth time. Fayetteville has hosted Super Regionals in 2018 (vs. South Carolina), 2015 (vs. Missouri St.) and 2004 (vs. Florida St.).

• The Razorbacks won a share of the SEC Western Division title for the second-straight year, finishing with a 20-10 conference record. It’s Arkansas’ sixth division title in school history and fifth under Dave Van Horn.

• The Razorbacks swept through the NCAA Fayetteville Regional last week and has won four of their last six games. Over that stretch, the Hogs have a 2.42 ERA and opponents are hitting just .157 against the Razorback pitching staff.

• Arkansas and Ole Miss have never faced off in the NCAA Tournament, but the Razorbacks have faced SEC opponents nine times in the tournament and are 4-5 in those games.

• A Super Regional win this weekend over Ole Miss will give Arkansas its 10th College World Series appearance in school history and sixth under head coach Dave Van Horn.

• Over the last three seasons, Arkansas has had the pleasure of playing 14 NCAA Tournament games at Baum-Walker Stadium. In those 14 games, the Razorbacks have hit .301 as a team and are averaging 6.9 runs per game.

• Combined last week, Arkansas starters (Campbell, Noland, Wicklander) had a combined 0.99 ERA over 18.1 innings and struck out 17, while walking only 2 for an 8.5 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

• Isaiah Campbell had his best outing of the year and tie for his best of his career last week, going eight innings against TCU and giving up just one run on four hits with one walk and eight strikeouts. It was his 13th quality start this year.

• The Razorbacks weren’t expected to hit as many home runs as last year’s record-setting team (98), but have still set a good pace going into the NCAA Regionals. As a team, Arkansas has hit 81 home runs, which ranks second in the SEC and 11th in the nation.