#1 Arkansas Heads to #23 Auburn for SEC Road Series

AUBURN, Ala. – Unanimous No. 1 Arkansas (17-2, 3-0 SEC) heads to No. 23 Auburn (14-6, 0-3 SEC) for its first SEC road weekend series of the season. First pitch in the series opener between the Razorbacks and Tigers is 6 p.m. Thursday, March 21, at Plainsman Park on SEC Network, with Dave Neal (play-by-play) and Gregg Olson (analyst) on the call.

Game two of the series between Arkansas and Auburn is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday, March 22, on SEC Network+, while the weekend’s finale between the Razorbacks and Tigers gets underway at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 23, on SEC Network+.

Since 2015, Arkansas is 20-6 overall against Auburn, its longtime SEC Western Division foe. The Hogs have won seven of their last eight weekend series against the Tigers, including three of their last four weekend series played in Auburn.

Schedule
Thursday, March 21
#1 Arkansas vs. #23 Auburn – 6 p.m. – SEC Network – Listen – Live Stats

Friday, March 22
#1 Arkansas vs. #23 Auburn – 6 p.m. – SEC Network+ – Listen – Live Stats

Saturday, March 23
#1 Arkansas vs. #23 Auburn – 2 p.m. – SEC Network+ – Listen – Live Stats

On the Mound
Thursday, March 21
Arkansas – LHP Hagen Smith (3-0, 1.57 ERA)
Auburn – RHP Conner McBride (3-0, 2.41 ERA)

Friday, March 22
Arkansas – RHP Brady Tygart (3-0, 0.73 ERA)
Auburn – RHP Chase Allsup (1-1, 7.15 ERA)

Saturday, March 23
Arkansas – LHP Mason Molina (3-0, 2.74 ERA)
Auburn – RHP Joseph Gonzalez (2-1, 6.92 ERA)

Tune In
Dave Neal (play-by-play) and Gregg Olson (analyst) have the call of Thursday night’s series opener between Arkansas and Auburn on SEC Network. Wiley Ballard (play-by-play) and Olson (analyst) are on the call for Friday’s game on SEC Network+, and Ballard (play-by-play) and Mark Fuller (analyst) will handle Saturday’s series finale on SEC Network+.

The entire weekend series between the Razorbacks and Tigers in Auburn can also be heard on the Razorback Sports Network from Learfield, including locally in Fayetteville on 92.1 FM or through the Razorback app, with Kyle Schassburger (play-by-play) on the call for all three games. A full list of radio affiliates is available here.

History Lesson
Arkansas maintains a 54-49 overall series lead against Auburn, including a 39-23 advantage in the Dave Van Horn era. The Hogs have won five consecutive weekend series against Tigers, as well as seven of the last eight weekend series.

The Razorbacks, 17-13 against the Tigers in Auburn, Ala., under Van Horn, have won three of their last four series – 2015, 2019 and 2022 – on the Plains. Arkansas’ most recent series loss against Auburn came on the road in 2017.

3-0 Start in SEC Play
The Hogs are off to a 3-0 start in SEC play for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. With a win in Thursday night’s series opener, Arkansas would start 4-0 in the SEC portion of its schedule for the sixth time in the last seven seasons.

Should Arkansas sweep this weekend at Auburn, it will mark its first 6-0 start in SEC play since 2009. The Razorbacks began their 2009 campaign with an 8-0 mark in conference play, including consecutive sweeps of Florida and Auburn.

H. Smith
Arkansas ace Hagen Smith, who is slated to take the mound in Friday’s series opener against Auburn, is 3-0 with a 1.57 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 23.0 innings over five starts this season. The junior left-hander leads the nation in strikeouts per nine innings (19.6) and is tied for third nationally in total strikeouts (50).

With Smith’s help, the Arkansas pitching staff is ranked first nationally in strikeouts per nine innings (13.6), strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.64), WHIP (0.97) and ERA (2.35), and second in walks allowed per nine innings (2.94) coming into Thursday.

Entering Friday, Smith has recorded 249 career strikeouts in 172.0 innings of work. His 249 career punchouts rank fifth on Arkansas’ career strikeouts list, and he is 12 shy of matching Scott Tabor (261) for fourth-most in program history.

Career Strikeouts
1. 345 – Nick Schmidt (2003-06)
2. 301 – Matt Carnes (1979-82)
3. 283 – David Walling (1998-99)
4. 261 – Scott Tabor (1979-82
5. 249 – Hagen Smith (2022-pres.)
6. 244 – Blaine Knight (2016-18)
7. 232 – Kevin Kopps (2017-21)
8. 229 – Charley Boyce (2003-06)
9. 225 – Gerald Hannahs (1971-74)
10. 224 – Isaiah Campbell (2016-19)

Good Start
Following their SEC Opening Weekend series sweep of Missouri, Arkansas is now 17-2 through its first 19 games of the 2024 season. The Razorbacks have gotten off to a 17-2 or better start seven times under head coach Dave Van Horn, including in 2003 (17-2), 2005 (17-2), 2006 (17-2), 2012 (17-2), 2019 (17-2), 2023 (17-2) and now 2024 (17-2).

Last season, the Razorbacks went 20-2 through their first 22 games. Since 1960, Arkansas has begun 20-2 or better only five times in program history, including three times in the Van Horn era: 1982 (20-1-1), 1996 (20-2), 2005 (20-2), 2012 (20-2) and 2023 (20-2).

Winning Ways
Arkansas rides a 13-game winning streak into Thursday night’s series opener against Auburn. The Razorbacks’ 13-game winning streak is tied for their third-longest overall winning streak under head coach Dave Van Horn, as well as tied for their second longest in-season winning streak under Van Horn.

The Hogs have recorded nine winning streaks of 10 or more games since Van Horn took over at the helm in 2003.

Winning Streaks under DVH
16 – March 7, 2020-March 13, 2021
15 – March 1-28, 2023
13 – Feb. 25-pres., 2024
13 – April 3-23, 2010
12 – March 5-25, 2022
12 – Feb. 11-March 8, 2005
10 – May 16-June 5, 2021
10 – March 4-21, 2012
10 – Feb. 11-March 5, 2003

The Razorbacks’ 15-game winning streak in 2023 was their longest in-season winning streak of the Van Horn era. It was also the longest in-season winning streak in program history since the Hogs won the first 18 games of the 1996 season.

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