NFL
By: Randall Slifer
Arkansas Baseball pulled another series victory against South Carolina over the last weekend. Arkansas poured it on early in game one and won 22-6, which may have been the final nail in South Carolina head coach Paul Mainieri’s coffin. Arkansas won the 2nd game of the series in extra innings, so the 3rd game was not as important, which resulted in a loss.
Do we know what kind of Arkansas Baseball team this is in 2026?
The Arkansas Baseball season has been a conundrum to start, and the state of Arkansas is trying to figure out what this team exactly is this year. It’s almost a bizarro world where this team is squeezing out wins at the other team’s expense. Arkansas scored 6 runs on 4 hits and 2 errors against Mississippi State to win game three and the series. Arkansas also won the series versus South Carolina in game two, taking it to extras on an error throwing to first, which brought in the tying run.
I am not saying this is a bad thing by any means, and every championship team has had luck on its side. What Arkansas Baseball needs to do is start matching their bats to their pitching. Arkansas pitching has been incredible from start to finish, and it is showing its consistency series by series. Here are some Arkansas Baseball pitching metrics that show the incredible start to the season:
Hits allowed per 9 innings: 7.05 (17th)
Strikeouts per 9: 11 (16th)
WHIP: 1.12 (5th)
ERA + Innings Pitched:
Non-Starters: Tate McGuire (3.12/17), Parker Coil (3.18/11.1), Cole Gibler (1.29/21), Steele Eaves (1.02/17.2), Ethan McElvain (0.82!/11)
Starters: Gabe Gaeckle (2.87/31.1), Hunter Dietz (3.86/30.1), Colin Fisher (2.70/30)
*Ethan McElvain
The pitching is deep from start to finish, and it is a fun watch. Now, the batting does not have to be as great as the pitching needs to be, but it needs to be in the same time zone to get to the final College World Series matchup. Here are some non-pitching metrics for Arkansas:
Outside of the top 50th rank: Batting Average, On Base Percentage, Runs per Game, Slugging Percentage
35th rank: Hits and Homeruns
*TJ Pompey
Hits and Homeruns are promising, being 35th in the country, but the other metrics need to pick up the pace. Maika Niu and TJ Pompey have gotten their bats going lately, and that is very promising. Zach Stewart is hitting home runs, and the team has stayed strong in the second half of games to get these wins. The constant chasing outside the strike zone and racking up already 220 strikeouts on the year is the biggest issue of the year. If Arkansas Baseball can improve its plate discipline, we are talking about wearing that top-5 moniker appropriately.
Fortunately, Arkansas Baseball plays a Florida team this weekend that is a true test for their bats. Let’s take a quick preview of this big-time matchup this weekend:
What to expect against Florida?
Florida is a top destination in college baseball, and it’s always a tough matchup when Arkansas plays them. Florida has fallen outside the top 25 after a rough sweep and loss against Alabama. They lost a combined 11-28 in that series and are looking to bounce back against Arkansas this weekend.
Florida has similar qualities in batting and offense. Here are some quick metrics in comparison to offense (Arkansas – Florida)
Hits: 241 – 224
Home runs: 35 – 32
Slugging %: .479 – .475
Batting Average: .288 – .278
Batters over .300: Both teams 4
I would expect Arkansas’s pitching to keep its momentum against Florida’s hitting metrics, but the Arkansas bats may tell the final story of the series.
Florida averages about 3.67 walks per game, which ranks 41st in the country. In the final Alabama game that ended in a sweep, Florida walked 9 batters. This is a perfect game for Arkansas to really focus on plate presence and taking advantage of scoring runs on hits. If Arkansas Baseball can focus on fielding defense (Ranked out of the top 50 when Arkansas was ranked 1st last year) and stringing hits into runs against Florida, this team can show they can go far in the postseason. I do believe that the series win against Mississippi State gave them the confidence to be less tight in games and to allow the team to grow and prosper.
Florida Baseball pitching is no slouch, though. Aidan King is pitching at a 1.27 ERA in 6 starts and 28 innings pitched. He is over 1 strikeout per inning pitched and allows a .210 batting average. Liam Peterson is a matchup to watch. His ERA is at 4.15 and a WHIP of 1.22 while striking out 48 batters (team lead). He has also walked 16 batters in 30 innings. If Arkansas can avoid the strikeouts and get on base versus Peterson, Arkansas Baseball is looking at a series win this weekend.
Arkansas Baseball takes on Florida this weekend from Friday to Sunday in Fayetteville at Baum-Walker Stadium. A series win here would help their path to hosting the regionals, and Dave Van Horn is eyeing an important win. Arkansas has been light in home runs this year, and it would be good to see the Hog Pen catch some home runs out in left field, which has always been home run territory. I predict neither team will sweep each other, but Arkansas Baseball pulls out 2 of the 3 this weekend. As always, go Hogs.
