FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas does not plan to expand attendance at Baum-Walker Stadium to full capacity this year, Razorbacks athletics director Hunter Yurachek said Tuesday.
Speaking on the "Halftime" radio show on ESPN Arkansas, Yurachek said capacity is likely to be expanded again for the Razorbacks’ home games during the month of May, but did not provide an updated figure. Arkansas is scheduled to play Georgia and Florida in three-game weekend series, and Arkansas State for one game during the midweek in May.
“I think you’ll see some capacity increases, but we’ll never look like Ole Miss or Mississippi State did,” Yurachek said, referencing the Razorbacks’ series at Mississippi State on March 26-28 and Ole Miss on April 10-11. “I know that’s what our fans compare us to, but we’re not going to do that this year at Baum-Walker Stadium. But we will continue to increase our capacity.”
Ole Miss announced a weekend crowd of 33,423 for its series against the Razorbacks, which was the largest three-game attendance ever at Swayze Field. Mississippi State reported a three-game attendance of 34,151 when it hosted Ole Miss last weekend.
The Razorbacks have been more restrained in their capacity increases.
Crowds at Baum-Walker Stadium were limited to 4,218 to begin the season, expanded to 5,735 for games in the final half of March, and expanded again to 6,585 for games in April.
The April capacity accounts for 57% of full stadium capacity of 11,531 at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Yurachek said the plan is for Arkansas to return to full capacity for football games in September. He said game-day traditions such as tailgating are expected to resume during football season. Tailgating has been prohibited outside the baseball stadium this year.
“We have Texas the second weekend of the (football) season and we anticipate that Razorback Stadium will have 70,000-plus Razorback fans on Sept. 11 when we face Texas,” Yurachek said.
NCAA comments
Yurachek said Tuesday he does not expect recently passed gender identity legislation in the state to affect the Razorbacks’ chances to host baseball and softball regionals this year.
The NCAA released a statement last Monday that said the organization was monitoring proposed legislation in statehouses nationwide, but stopped short of saying states with such laws would be prohibited from hosting NCAA championship events. Softball regional host sites will be announced next week, and baseball host sites will be announced the week of May 10.
Arkansas has submitted a bid to host regionals in both sports and is a favorite to earn a host site, based on merit. The Razorbacks are the unanimous No. 1 baseball team, and Arkansas’ softball team is ranked No. 6 this week.
“I think our baseball and softball programs have both earned the right to host regionals, and hopefully super regionals if we advance that far. We put a bid in for both,” Yurachek said on ESPN Arkansas. “I don’t foresee the statement that the NCAA made last week about the transgender laws in our state will impact our ability to host baseball and/or softball championships.
“I think it was a statement by the NCAA, but there was no action taken last week. It was just kind of put out there where they stood, what their thoughts were as an organization and as our governing body, and that they will continue to monitor the situation from state to state.”
HR leaders
Arkansas leads the NCAA with 70 home runs entering its series at No. 11 South Carolina on Thursday.
The Gamecocks rank sixth nationally with 52 home runs.
In SEC-only games, the Razorbacks are tied with Alabama and Auburn for the conference lead with 24 home runs. The Gamecocks are just behind with 22 homers in SEC play.
South Carolina infielder/catcher Wes Clarke is the SEC’s top home run hitter and tied for the national lead with 15 in 34 games.
Doubleheader possible
On his radio show Tuesday, South Carolina coach Mark Kingston said there is a possibility two nine-inning games will be played against Arkansas on Friday because of rain in the forecast Saturday in Columbia, S.C.
According to the National Weather Service, there is a 100% chance of showers and possible thunderstorms Saturday afternoon, and a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms Saturday night.
Because the series will begin Thursday, it cannot extend past Saturday.
Arkansas has played a pair of nine-inning doubleheaders in the past two weeks. The Razorbacks split a doubleheader at Ole Miss on April 10, and swept a doubleheader against Texas A&M last Saturday.
South Carolina also played a doubleheader last Saturday at LSU, but those games were shortened to seven innings because of an SEC rule that requires seven-inning doubleheaders on the final scheduled day of a series. The South Carolina-LSU series also began on a Thursday.
The Gamecocks swept the doubleheader at LSU by final scores of 4-2 and 9-0 to win the series.
Team USA ties
Kingston said he has coached Arkansas second baseman Robert Moore and catcher Casey Opitz while working with USA Baseball.
Kingston was an assistant coach for a USA 14-under team that included Moore. He was the head coach for the USA Collegiate National Team that included Opitz in 2019.
“I know those guys very well,” Kingston said. “They are really good players and are pieces of the puzzle in what is a very, very good Arkansas offense.”
SEC standings
Arkansas (30-6, 11-4 SEC) enters the series with a one-game lead over Mississippi State in the SEC West standings and tied with Vanderbilt for first place in the SEC.
South Carolina (24-10, 10-5) is one game back in the SEC East and overall conference race.
“I think our team is anxious to continue to play tough teams because…we just want to be able to go toe to toe with anybody we play, and I think we can,” Kingston said. “You just hope for the lucky bounces, you hope for the good fortune and you go there prepared to play your best baseball.”
Series history
Arkansas has a 42-34 all-time advantage over South Carolina in a series that dates to 1985 when the Razorbacks defeated the Gamecocks 1-0 at the College World Series.
The teams have not played since a 2018 super regional in Fayetteville that Arkansas won with a 14-4 victory in a winner-take-all Game 3. The Razorbacks and Gamecocks met seven times that season and Arkansas won five times.
The Razorbacks are 6-6 in four series at Founders Park, which opened as Carolina Stadium in 2009, and have a 14-16 all-time record in Columbia.
Arkansas’ last two trips to Columbia have resulted in sweeps. The Razorbacks swept a series over then-No. 6 South Carolina in 2013, and Arkansas was swept by the Gamecocks in 2016.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly listed some covid-19 regulations in Arkansas. It has been corrected.