We turn our attention to the Fayetteville regional, which will be played at Baum Stadium where the Arkansas Razorbacks are 30-4 this season.
It will be a tall task for the other three teams in this regional to try and upset Arkansas at home. But that’s what Southern Miss, Dallas Baptist and Oral Roberts will try do this weekend.
We’ll break down each team before giving our prediction below.
- Arkansas 39-18 (18-12)
Arkansas entered the season with high expectations and lived up to them for the most part. Their 6-12 road record is a bit concerning, but fortunately for them they earned a national seeding and don’t have to worry about that until Omaha. This might be the deepest lineup in baseball with seven players hitting .284 or better. As a team they are hitting .299 and averaging 7 runs a game. Casey Martin, Heston Kjerstad, Carson Shaddy and Eric Cole all have 10 home runs or more this year and are hitting .325 or better. Blaine Knight leads the pitching staff after going 10-0 this year with a 2.78 ERA in 87.1 innings pitched with 86 strikeouts. Kacey Murphy is a solid number two behind him, while Matt Cronin is the top arm out of the bullpen with 11 saves. The Arkansas pitching staff posted a 3.53 ERA this year with 520 strikeouts in 497.1 innings pitched.
- Southern Miss 43-16 (23-6)
Another dominating year for the Golden Eagles as they weren’t far behind earning a host spot. An explosive offense is fueled by Luke Reynolds and Matt Wallner. Reynolds is hitting .400 with 15 home runs and 60 RBI, while Wallner is hitting .358 with 16 home runs and 66 RBI. As a team they hit .304 this year and scored 8.1 runs per game. In a year Nick Sandlin has gone from one of the best relief pitchers in the country, to one of the best starters. He posted a 1.13 ERA this year in 95.1 innings pitched with 134 strikeouts. The Southern Miss pitching staff had a 3.55 ERA this year in 524.1 innings pitched with 494 strikeouts.
- Dallas Baptist 40-19 (16-5)
Last year Missouri State came to Arkansas and upset the Razorbacks, now another Missouri Valley team will try to do the same in DBU. Devlin Granberg is one of the top hitters in the country with a .426 average to go along with 65 runs scored, 16 doubles, 11 home runs, 65 RBI and 23 stolen bases. This DBU lineup hit .296 this year and scored 7.4 runs per game. Jarod Bayless has been one of their best pitchers this year coming out of the bullpen with a 2.36 ERA in 49.2 innings pitched with 65 strikeouts. As a whole the pitching staff had a 4.38 ERA in 518 innings pitched with 527 strikeouts.
- Oral Roberts 38-18 (24-6)
Oral Roberts breezed through the Summit League this year and had some big out-of-conference wins over Oklahoma State and Dallas Baptist. Senior outfielder Nick Rotola led the offense with a .332 average. Another senior outfielder, Noah Cummings, hit .323 with 9 home runs and 55 RBI. This team hit .285 this year and scored 6.2 runs per game. Justin McGrego posted a 2.56 ERA this year in 88 innings pitched with 83 strikeouts. Kyler Stout was solid out of the bullpen with a 2.13 ERA in 25.1 innings pitched with 42 strikeouts. They posted a 3.88 ERA as a staff with 477 strikeouts in 487.2 innings pitched.
Prediction:
This one honestly comes down to Southern Miss and Arkansas. I could see DBU getting an upset somewhere, but not enough to win the regional. It’s been virtually impossible to beat Arkansas at Baum Stadium this year, and those fans are some of the best in the country. If the Golden Eagles’ bats remain hot and they can get into that Arkansas bullpen, they have a chance. But I’m not sure Southern Miss has enough arms to keep up, as Arkansas has an offense that’s just as good.
In the end, I don’t see Arkansas blowing another regional at home. This team is on a mission this year and has a deep lineup ready for a postseason run.
Winner: Arkansas
