Diamond Hogs set to host Little Rock for a pair of contests after drop in polls

BY DUDLEY E. DAWSON



FAYETTEVILLE – Dropping two of three to Texas A&M on Thursday and Friday also precipitated a drop for Arkansas in the college baseball polls on Monday.

The Razorbacks (34-7, 13-5) were the nation’s consensus No. 1 team two weeks ago, but have since lost two of three at Georgia and then dropped their first home series since 2022.

Texas A&M ended Arkansas’ 12-game SEC home series winning series streak with a 9-2
win Friday.

Arkansas is now No. 4 in the USA Today Coaches poll, No. 5 in D-1 Baseball, No. 6 in Perfect Game and NCBWA and No. 7 in Baseball America.

The Aggies downed the Diamond Hogs 7-4 on Thursday while the Razorbacks took Friday’s doubleheader opener 11-5.

This past weekend’s SEC results left No. 1 Texas (33-5, 16-2) three games ahead of Arkansas in the league race while LSU (34-7, 12-6) Tennessee (33-7, 12-6) and Vanderbilt (30-10, 11-7) round out the top five.

Texas A&M (23-16, 8-10), once 1-9 is SEC action, is one of the hottest teams in the SEC.

Arkansas heads to Florida (27-16, 6-12) this weekend with Gators having their 7-game winning streak stopped on Saturday with a 14-9 loss at Mississippi State.

“A&M just kind of struggled to start, but they’re really talented,” Arkansas pitcher Dylan Carter said. “They’re a really good team and they’re starting to hit their stride.

“And just like every other team, the SEC, no game is guaranteed. It’s the most talented baseball conference in America. You gotta go out there every single day and compete and give it your all.” 

Arkansas will first return to action Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. when it hosts Little Rock (18-20, 7-7 in Ohio Valley Conference action) at Baum-Walker Stadium.

Tate McGuire (2-2, 4.64 ERA) is slated to be the starting for the Razorbacks with Zach Busick (1-0, 6.75 ERA) getting the nod on the mound for the Trojans.

The Tuesday night game will be streamed by SEC Network + with Brett Dolan (play-by-play) and Troy Eklund (analyst) calling the action.

The two teams are also slated to meet Wednesday at 5 p.m. in a game that will be televised by the SEC Network with Victor Rojas (play-by-play) and Todd Walker (analyst) as the announcers.

Both games are Bark in the Park ones with dogs – who must be at least six months old or above – allowed only in the Hog Pen.


The dogs must be wearing their rabies tag are admitted free of charge, but their owner must have a ticket.

Little Rock had been riding an eight-game winning streak – one that included a 7-3 win at Ole Miss last Tuesday – before losing to visiting Western Illinois 8-6 on Sunday.

Little Rock’s eight-game winning spree tied the school record set back in 1990 when the school was named the University of Arkansas-Little Rock.

Arkansas is 23-2 overall against in-state foes with a 5-2 mark against the Trojans.

Photo by John D. James