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 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 and Perfect Game. They are also on top of the NCAA RPI rankings.
They are No. 2 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll to Oregon State (15-1), whose lone loss came against the Hogs.
Arkansas, atop the polls for the first time since the final regular-season rankings when the Razorbacks were 50-13 in 2021, will host Oral Roberts (7-9) on Tuesday at Baum-Walker Stadium in the ninth game of a season-high 12-game homestand.
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“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 an NCAA super regional 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 series. They have 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 its total through 15 games last season, the Hogs have shown signs of breaking out.
The Razorbacks strung together 35 hits against the Cowboys last weekend and bumped their team batting average 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. 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.
Oral Roberts will throw senior lefty Caleb Isaacs, who has a 1.26 WHIP in 12 2/3 innings.
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. He could be back at second base as early as Tuesday, 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 HR, 6 RBI), Peyton Holt (.350, 5 RBI), Ross Lovich (.417, 1 HR, 9 RBI) and Jayson Jones (.211, 3 HR, 13 RBI).
First baseman Ben McLaughlin (.364, 1 HR, 15 RBI) has taken over the team RBI lead from shortstop Wehiwa Aloy (.230, 2 HR, 14 RBI), with Jones and right fielder Kendall Diggs (.352, 2 HR, 11 RBI) 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 run-rule 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.