Razorbacks close out regular season on road at LSU

BATON ROUGE, La. — Arkansas closes its 2018 regular season with a road trip to take on 13th-ranked LSU.

The three-game series begins Friday with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Tiger Park.

In addition to being streamed online, game one will be part of the Bases Loaded coverage on the SEC Network. This weekend marks the program’s first trip to Baton Rouge since the 2015 season.

No. 16/15 Arkansas (37-11/12-9 SEC) at No. 13/14 LSU (37-13/10-10 SEC) | Game Notes
Tiger Park (Baton Rouge, La.)

Game 1: Friday, May 4 at 6:30 p.m. – SEC Network+ | Live Stats
Game 2: Saturday, May 5 at 6 p.m. – SEC Network+ | Live Stats
Game 3: Sunday, May 6 at 3 p.m. – ESPNU | Live Stats

All-Time Series vs LSU

Friday’s opener will be the 66th meeting in the series and the 30th game played in Baton Rouge.

The Razorbacks are looking for their first win in the series since 2013 and first on the road since 2005. This weekend’s series will be the first with both teams ranked inside the top 20.

Last Time Out

Arkansas completed its second SEC sweep of the year with a 7-1 win over Ole Miss. The Razorbacks scored four in the fifth inning to break the game open.

The win clinched the program’s first sweep of Ole Miss since the 2001 season.

Rankings Watch

The Razorbacks are up one spot to a program-best No. 15 in this week’s ESPN.com/USA Softball poll while remaining at No. 16 in the USA Today/NFCA rankings.

The team sits at No. 18 in the RPI for the second-straight week.

A Look at the Stat Sheet

The Razorbacks carry top-50 national marks in strikeout to walk ratio (seventh/5.08), home runs (T23/50), team ERA (27/2.05), slugging percentage (31/.467) and runs per game (T48/5.29).

That’s a Record

With a sixth-inning single against Ole Miss (April 30), Hannah McEwen broke the program’s single-season RBI record and enters the weekend with 51 RBI.

She sits fourth in the SEC and tied for 26th in the NCAA in RBI. After hitting .636 with two home runs, seven RBI and four runs against Ole Miss, McEwen was named the SEC Freshman of the Week.

Single-Season RBI Leaders

1. 51 – Hannah McEwen (2018)
2. 50 – Sandra Smith (2010)
3. 49 – Nicole Schroeder (2017)
4. 47 – Miranda Dixon (2008)
5. 46 – Kasey Fagan (2014)

An Eye on 200

Freshman Mary Haff became the fourth Arkansas pitcher to register 200 strikeouts in a season with six strikeouts in the series opener against Ole Miss (April 28).

She is second in the SEC and tied for 18th nationally with 211 strikeouts which stands as the fourth-highest total by an Arkansas pitcher and the program’s freshman-class record.

Single-Season Strikeouts Leaders

1. 305 – Heather Schlichtman (2004)
2. 224 – Katy Henry (2007)
3. 219 – Katy Henry (2006)
4. 211 – Mary Haff (2018)
5. 203 – Heather Schlichtman (2001)

Be at Bogle

The Razorbacks beat Ole Miss (April 28) in front of a record crowd of 3,448 fans at Bogle Park.

Game two of the series was played in front of 1,401 fans which stands as the No. 6 home-attendance figure in program history.

Arkansas tallied a 24-2 record in home games during the 2018 season.

One-Hit Wonder

Freshman Mary Haff’s complete-game performance versus Ole Miss (April 28) doubled as her sixth one-hit effort of the season, and second in SEC play.

The game also marked her ninth complete-game shutout of the year.

One Thru Nine

Arkansas is fourth in the SEC and tied for 23rd nationally with 50 home runs.

With Hannah McEwen’s two-home run outing at Saint Louis (April 10), the team has hit a home run from each spot in the lineup.