Diamond Hogs agree to scrimmage UALR in October

An Arkansas hat and glove sit at Baum Stadium during practice Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018, in Fayetteville.

— The Arkansas Razorbacks won't have to wait until 2019 to play an in-state baseball opponent.

Arkansas and Arkansas-Little Rock have agreed to scrimmage Oct. 12 at Gary Hogan Field, the Trojans' home park in Little Rock, multiple sources told WholeHogSports on Monday.

The Razorbacks confirmed the scrimmage in a news release Tuesday.

The scrimmage is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m., but other details - including the scrimmage length and ticket information for attending the scrimmage - are not yet available. The scrimmage is the day before the Razorbacks' football game against Ole Miss on Oct. 13 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

UALR replaces the Razorbacks' Sept. 22 scrimmage at Oklahoma that was canceled because of inclement weather.

This is the first time in Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn's 17 fall practice seasons that the Razorbacks have played outside competition. New NCAA rules allow teams to scrimmage outside competition up to two times in the fall without the exhibitions counting against the regular-season schedule.

Previously teams could scrimmage outside competition during fall practice, but the number of scrimmages was deducted from the 56-game regular-season schedule.

The Razorbacks will scrimmage Wichita State on Oct. 5 at Baum Stadium beginning at 6 p.m. The 14-inning scrimmage is free to the public, but attendees are asked to bring non-perishable food items to donate to a local food bank, or new or gently-used coats to donate to the Salvation Army.

The Trojans will scrimmage at Ole Miss on Oct. 27.

Arkansas and UALR announced last month they have scheduled to play an April 2 game at Baum Stadium in Fayetteville in the first official meeting between the baseball programs. The Razorbacks also are scheduled to play Arkansas-Pine Bluff on April 16 in Fayetteville.

The Trojans were 28-28 overall and 15-14 in the Sun Belt Conference last season. The Trojans are coached by Chris Curry, a former volunteer assistant coach at Arkansas from 2009-10.

The decision to play UALR and UAPB is a change from a decades-old policy the Razorbacks had against playing in-state competition. Hunter Yurachek, Arkansas' first-year athletics director, said games against in-state competition could extend to other sports, but games would only be against teams within the UA system and not schools with separate governing boards such as Arkansas State or Central Arkansas.

The UA system sponsors athletics on campuses in Fayetteville, Little Rock, Pine Bluff, Fort Smith and Monticello. The Razorbacks, UALR and UAPB compete in the NCAA's Division I, while Arkansas-Fort Smith and Arkansas-Monticello are Division II programs.