Arkansas baseball is in a familiar spot in Omaha, Nebraska.
The Razorbacks are making their third trip to the College World Series in the last four seasons and, as usual, the Diamond Hogs are getting a national powerhouse in the first game.
Stanford is the No. 2-seed overall and one of the front-runners for the national title after top-seeded Tennessee was knocked out of the Knoxville Super Regionals by Notre Dame. The Cardinal’s biggest strength is at the plate, where coach David Esquer’s bunch ranks seventh in the country in home runs with 117.
In fact, Stanford led the always hitter-friendly PAC 12 in homers by 42. Seven different Cardinal players have at least 11 home runs, led by Carter Graham’s 22. As a team, Stanford racked up 10 home runs alone in its three-game Super Regional set against Connecticut.
Arkansas’ biggest pitching strength counters that, however. The Razorbacks had lowest home-runs-against rate in the SEC, giving up just 55 deep balls this season.
The Razorbacks’ last trip to the College World Series was not hitter-friendly. Arkansas lost to Florida State, 1-0, then to Texas Tech, 5-4.
First pitch between Stanford and Arkansas is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m.