FAYETTEVILLE -- The University of Arkansas baseball team has done nothing but win since dropping a 2-1 walk-off loss in 14 innings to Oklahoma State on Feb. 24. Its ensuing nine-game winning streak catapulted the Razorbacks into multiple No. 1 rankings on Monday.
The Razorbacks (13-2) are No. 1 in the USA Today coaches poll, the rankings of record by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, as well as polls conducted by Baseball America, D1Baseball.com and the NCAA RPI rankings. They are No. 2 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll to Oregon State (14-1), whose lone loss came against the Hogs.
Arkansas, atop the polls for the first time since the final regular-season rankings when they were 50-13 in 2021, will host Oral Roberts (7-9) tonight at Baum-Walker Stadium in the ninth game of their season-high 12-game homestand.
"Arkansas is a really talented group that's well coached that is playing pretty well right now," Oral Roberts Coach Ryan Folmar said. "That's a well-deserved ranking with a good club, so we're going to have to go in there and play well to stay in it and give ourselves a chance at the end."
Arkansas has been to the College World Series three times in the past five seasons, but the Golden Eagles have been to the CWS most recently. Last year's team went 52-14, swept the Summit League Tournament and the NCAA Stillwater (Okla.) Regional and upset No. 13 Oregon on the road in the NCAA Super Regionals to advance to Omaha, Neb., for the event.
The Golden Eagles lost a ton of talent from that squad -- including standout hitters like Mac McCroskey and Blaze Brothers of Springdale Har-Ber, Jonah Cox and Jake McMurray -- which went 1-2 in the CWS with a win over a TCU team that swept the NCAA Fayetteville Regional.
However, they're still formidable under Folmar, an Oklahoma State grad in his 12th season as head coach.
"We're going to play Oral Roberts and that's a team that competed in the College World Series last year," Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said after Sunday's 18-5 win over McNeese State. "So they know how to win and fight you a little bit."
Oral Roberts is coming off a series loss at home to UMass-Lowell, including a 16-3 setback Sunday.
"We've got a lot of work to do and we've got a long way to go," Folmar said. "It starts with getting healthy and then work on some things where we got exposed early in the year. I still like our group of guys."
The Razorbacks posted run-rule wins over McNeese State in their final two games of last weekend's three-game series, giving them five run-rule wins this season.
The Golden Eagles and Razorbacks are long-time adversaries, with Arkansas holding a 70-35 advantage in the series since 1960.
Though Arkansas' home run total of 16 is exactly half of their total through 15 games last season, the Hogs have shown signs of breaking out.
They strung together 35 hits against the Cowboys last weekend and bumped their team batting average up to .300 and their on-base percentage to .416.
Arkansas will start freshman left-hander Colin Fisher (3-1, 1.59 ERA), who has a decision in each of his starts, on the mound tonight. Fisher had not allowed an earned run in his first 9 1/3 innings before the University of Central Arkansas had two earned runs on him last Tuesday in a 9-7 Arkansas win.
Fisher has allowed 9 hits, all singles, and 2 walks in his 11 1/3 innings, so he has a strong 0.97 WHIP, with three batters hit by pitches.
Oral Roberts has not announced its starting pitcher.
The Razorbacks are getting healthy after junior Peyton Stovall returned over the weekend and went 5 for 13 (.385) with a home run and 5 RBI as the designated hitter in the three games. He could be back at second base as early as tonight, giving Van Horn a tough decision on designated hitter, third base and left field from a group featuring Jared Sprague-Lott (.381, 1 HR, 6 RBI), Nolan Souza (.364, 1, 6), Peyton Holt (.350, 0, 5), Ross Lovich (.417, 1, 9) and Jayson Jones (.211, 3, 13).
First baseman Ben McLaughlin (.364, 1, 15) has taken over the team RBI lead from shortstop Wehiwa Aloy (.230, 2, 14), with Jones and right fielder Kendall Diggs (.352, 2, 11) also in double figures.
"We felt like when we got Stovall back we could push Kendall down a little bit where maybe he could get more opportunities to drive in runs," Van Horn said. "Because I'm sure if you look at his opportunities to drive in runs, he's pretty good at it. He was last year."
Van Horn pointed out Diggs' walk-off home run in the eighth inning of Saturday's 11-1 win, a 449-foot shot to dead center field.
"It was good to see him hit that ball a long way ... to end that game, and continue to gain a lot of confidence," he said.
College baseball
Oral Roberts at No. 1 Arkansas
WHEN 6 p.m. today
WHERE Baum-Walker Stadium, Fayetteville
RECORDS Oral Roberts 7-9; Arkansas 13-2
STARTING PITCHERS ORU TBA; Arkansas LHP Colin Fisher (3-1, 1.59 ERA)
SERIES Arkansas leads 70-35 since 1960
COACHES Ryan Folmar (378-233 in 12th season at ORU and overall); Dave Van Horn (852-443 in 22nd season at Arkansas, 1,172-602 in 30th season overall)
TV None
RADIO Razorback Sports Network
STREAMING SEC Network-Plus
SHORT HOPS Arkansas is ranked 66th nationally in team batting average (.300), third in team earned-run average (2.79), 86th in team fielding percentage (.973) and 75th in scoring (8.1 runs per game). The Hogs lead the nation in strikeouts per nine innings (14.1) and are second in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.84). … The Golden Eagles are 75th in batting average (.293), 227th in earned-run average (7.66), 38th in fielding percentage (.979) and 137th in scoring (6.8 rpg). … ORU Coach Ryan Folmar is a six-time Summit League Coach of the Year (2015, '16, '17, '18, '21, '23).
THE WEEK AHEAD
TODAY Oral Roberts, 6 p.m.
WEDNESDAY Off
THURSDAY Off
FRIDAY Missouri*, 6:30 p.m.
SATURDAY Missouri*, 2 p.m.
SUNDAY Missouri* 2 p.m.
MONDAY Off