GAME TIMES Thursday 8 p.m.; Friday 6:30 p.m.; Saturday 2 p.m.
WHERE Baum-Walker Stadium (10,737), Fayetteville
RECORDS Arkansas 27-10, 9-6 SEC; Mississippi State 32-6, 10-5 SEC
RANKINGS Arkansas 10; Mississippi State 2
COACHES Arkansas: Dave Van Horn - 670-374 in 17th season at Arkansas and 990-533 in 25th season overall in Division I; Mississippi State: Chris Lemonis - 32-6 in first season at Mississippi State and 173-97-2 in fifth season overall.
SERIES Mississippi State leads 56-43
LAST MEETING Mississippi State swept Arkansas last April in Starkville, Miss.
RADIO Razorback Sports Network can be accessed through local FM and AM affiliates, via the Arkansas Razorbacks Gameday app, via the TuneIn app or on ArkansasRazorbacks.com. Blackouts may apply.
TELEVISION The Thursday game will air on ESPNU. The Friday and Saturday games will air on SEC Network-Plus. All three games can be accessed on the ESPN app and ESPN3.com. (Carrier login required).
ANNOUNCERS
Game 1: Clay Matvick (play-by-play) and Chris Burke (analyst)
Games 2 and 3: Brett Dolan (play-by-play) and Troy Eklund (analyst)
LIKELY PITCHING MATCHUPS
Game 1: Arkansas RHP Isaiah Campbell (6-1, 2.45 ERA) vs. Mississippi State LHP Ethan Smal (4-0, 1.83 ERA)
Game 2: Arkansas LHP Patrick Wicklander (3-1, 4.25 ERA) vs. Mississippi State RHP Peyton Plumlee (2-2, 3.35 ERA)
Game 3: Arkansas TBA vs. Mississippi State RHP JT Ginn (7-1, 3.35 ERA)
WEATHER According to the National Weather Service, Thursday will be cloudy with a high of 61 and a low of 39; Friday will be sunny with a of 63 and a low of 39; and Saturday afternoon will be sunny with a high of 72.
NOTABLE The home team has won the series the past six seasons, and has swept the series each year since 2016. Mississippi State has not won a series in Fayetteville since 2007….Mississippi State senior outfielder Jake Mangum enters the series with a team-best .398 batting average. Mangum has 345 career hits, which is seven hits shy of the SEC career record of 352 set by LSU’s Eddy Furniss from 1995-98….Both Game 1 starting pitchers - Arkansas' Isaiah Campbell and Mississippi State's Ethan Small - were coached by Wes Johnson, the former Arkansas and Mississippi State assistant who is now pitching coach for the Minnesota Twins….Mississippi State leads the SEC West standings, but five teams are within two games of the Bulldogs. Arkansas is one game back of the lead in the division….Arkansas sophomore Matt Goodheart is batting .404, which ranks second in the conference. Goodheart leads the league with a .500 on-base percentage. In SEC games, Goodheart is batting .480, slugging .700 and has an on-base percentage of .574….Arkansas sophomore Patrick Wicklander will make his second SEC start Saturday. Wicklander threw five scoreless innings and earned the win against Auburn on April 7....The Arkansas-Mississippi State is one of six SEC series that will begin Thursday. Vanderbilt's game at Alabama is the only conference game that will be played on Easter Sunday.
TEAM COMPARISON
ERA: Arkansas 4.12; Mississippi State 3.17.
Earned Runs Per Game: Arkansas 7.06; Mississippi State 8.22.
Batting Average: Arkansas .299; Mississippi State .327.
Opponent Batting Average: Arkansas .231; Mississippi State .217.
Slugging Percentage: Arkansas .473; Mississippi State .505.
On-Base Percentage: Arkansas .398; Mississippi State .404.
Fielding Percentage: Arkansas .971; Mississippi State .973.
Strength of Schedule: Arkansas 13; Mississippi State 64.
RPI: Arkansas 7; Mississippi State 10.