FAYETTEVILLE -- The last time Arkansas and Missouri State squared off at Baum Stadium, on June 7, 2015, the game concluded with a moment etched in Razorbacks baseball lore.
Zach Jackson celebrated on the pitcher's mound after he closed out a 3-2 victory with a strikeout before an overflow crowd of nearly 11,700 to send Arkansas to the College World Series.
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ARKANSAS vs.
MISSOURI STATE
WHEN 6:35 p.m.
WHERE Baum Stadium
RECORDS Missouri State 30-19; Arkansas 26-25
RADIO Razorback Sports Network. Not all games will be carried by affiliates. Check local listings.
SERIES Arkansas leads 51-23 overall, 34-10 in Fayetteville
LAST MEETING Missouri State 14-6 on May 3 in Springfield, Mo.
PITCHING MATCHUP Missouri State RHP Austin Knight (4-2, 5.12 ERA); Arkansas RHP Barrett Loseke (1-2, 2.73)
SHORT HOPS
Arkansas starter Barrett Loseke, a 6-0 freshman from Tulsa, has the best ERA on the roster among pitchers with 16-plus innings pitched. … Arkansas has been swept in five SEC series (at South Carolina, Florida, at Ole Miss, at LSU, Alabama) for the first time since 2000. … Junior Clark Eagan is the only Razorback to start all 49 games. Eagan has started 29 games in center field, 15 games at first base, and 5 games at third base. … Michael Bernal has started 48 games, all at shortstop, while Carson Shaddy has made 47 starts and Rick Nomura 46 starts. … Missouri State is tied for first in Missouri Valley hitting (.290), sixth among the eight teams in pitching (4.79 ERA) and third in fielding (.973). Arkansas is sixth in SEC hitting (.285), 14th in pitching (5.01 ERA) and seventh in fielding (.974).
THE WEEK AHEAD
TODAY Missouri State, 6:35 p.m.
WEDNESDAY Off
THURSDAY at Miss. State*, 6:30 p.m.
FRIDAY at Miss. State*, 6:30 p.m.
SATURDAY at Miss. State*, 5 p.m.
SUNDAY Off
MONDAY Off
- SEC game
A scheduling conflict at their home park in Springfield, Mo., kept the No. 8 seed Bears from hosting the NCAA Super Regional.
The Razorbacks and Bears meet again tonight at 6:35 at Baum, but the stakes are not nearly as high.
Arkansas (26-25) has lost nine consecutive games, its longest losing streak in 51 years, and is in a struggle to qualify for the 12-team SEC Tournament next week in Hoover, Ala.
Missouri State (30-19) ended a five-game skid with Sunday's 5-3 victory at Dallas Baptist, but the Bears have lost 12 of their past 15 games and are in last place at 4-13 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Arkansas is No. 85 in the RPI rankings, while Missouri State is No. 124.
Both teams likely need to win their conference postseason tournaments to reach the NCAA regionals. Missouri State will have the opportunity, as the Missouri Valley takes all eight teams.
Arkansas, tied for last in the SEC, needs to win at least one game at Mississippi State this weekend to have any chance of qualifying for the SEC Tournament. And then, the Razorbacks would have to win 12-team tournament.
Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said he would give freshman right-hander Barrett Loseke (1-2, 2.73 ERA) the ball against the Bears.
"Probably Loseke and go from there," Van Horn said after the Razorbacks lost a 4-3 lead in the ninth inning of a 7-4 loss to Alabama on Sunday. "It's kind of tough when you have the quick turnaround, and we've got to try and win some games down there [at Mississippi State].
"I know Missouri State will probably be in the same boat. I think they play Thursday as well in their last series."
The Bears took out some of their frustrations from last season's super regional loss when they beat the Razorbacks 14-6 two weeks ago at Hammons Field. Missouri State led by as much as 12-0 in that game, and the 13 earned runs allowed by the Razorbacks was the
Missouri State, which was ranked as high as No. 15 during its 19-2 start, is likely to start 6-3 sophomore right-hander Austin Knight (4-2, 5.12 ERA). Knight threw five shutout innings against Arkansas on May 3, picking up the victory despite allowing five earned runs in the sixth inning.
Arkansas has held ninth ]-inning leads in two of the games during its nine-game losing streak. Second baseman Rick Nomura's two-run home run off Alabama closer Thomas Burrows with two outs in the eighth inning stood to be the game-winning hit on Sunday before the Crimson Tide rallied in the top of the ninth.
Nomura said the Razorbacks have not given up.
"We're going to look forward to the next game, Missouri State, and then we go to Starkville," Nomura said on Sunday. "We're going to keep grinding. We're not going to give up.
"Razorbacks, we do not give up. ... We're going to try to go out with a bang, do what we can to make the school proud."
The Razorbacks need to win two of their last four games to assure themselves of a winning regular season record. Arkansas has not finished below .500 since posting a 27-29 record in 2001, the second-to-last season for Coach Norm DeBriyn.
Sports on 05/17/2016