The final regular-season series at Baum-Walker Stadium is upon us as Arkansas welcomes LSU to Fayetteville. Here is a preview of the three games…

Schedule (TV)

Thursday, May 9 - 6:30 p.m. CT (ESPNU)

Friday, May 10 - 6:30 p.m. CT (SECN+)

Saturday, May 11 - 1 p.m. CT (ESPN2)

The first and third games of the series are slated to be on national television, while the middle game’s only viewing option is SEC Network-plus, meaning it can be streamed online on ESPN3.com or the WatchESPN app.

Weather Report

Although it could rain overnight and into Thursday morning, the thunderstorms are expected to move out of Fayetteville in plenty of time for the 6:30 p.m. first pitch. It will be windy and cool, though, with temperatures in the mid-50s, according to the Weather Channel.

The weather will be much the same Friday night, albeit a little warmer. Rain is expected to move back into the area after midnight, though, and continue into Saturday afternoon, which could effect Game 3’s 1 p.m. start.

Arkansas’ Projected Starting Rotation (season stats)

Thursday - R-Jr. RHP Isaiah Campbell (12 games/12 starts, 8-1, 2.54 ERA, 87 K/13 BB, 78 IP)

Friday - Fr. LHP Patrick Wicklander (17 games/10 starts, 5-1, 3.91 ERA, 71 K/29 BB, 50 2/3 IP)

Saturday - Fr. RHP Connor Noland (14 games/13 starts, 2-3, 4.39 ERA, 43 K/12 BB, 53 1/3 IP)

Officially, head coach Dave Van Horn is sticking with a “TBA” for Game 3, but in all likelihood, it will be Noland.

The freshman is coming off a tough start at Kentucky, in which he took the loss after giving up four earned runs on six hits and one walk in 3 1/3 innings, but he’s been an entirely different pitcher at Baum-Walker Stadium.

Noland has started four SEC games on the road and at home. The discrepancies are notable…

~Home: 24 IP, 17 H, 4 R (3 ER), 3 BB, 22 K… 1.13 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, .195 opp. avg.

~Road: 9 2/3 IP, 18 H, 15 R (15 ER), 4 BB, 6 K… 13.97 ERA, 2.28 WHIP, .400 opp. avg.

As for the Razorbacks’ other freshman starter, Wicklander is in the rotation for a fourth straight weekend. Although he hasn’t pitched particularly deep into games, he has given Arkansas solid starts against Mississippi State, Tennessee and Kentucky.

It’s been much publicized by now, but Wicklander has a set of splits similar to Noland’s home/road numbers, but his have to do with pitching as a starter or coming out of the bullpen…

~Starter: 10 app., 42 IP, 26 H, 14 R (11 ER), 17 BB, 58 K… 2.36 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, .181 opp. avg.

~Reliever: 7 app., 8 2/3 IP, 9 H, 11 R (11 ER), 12 BB, 13 K… 11.42 ERA, 2.42 WHIP, .273 opp. avg.

Those kind of things are typical for freshmen. Luckily for the Razorbacks, they also have a legitimate ace in Campbell. He bounced back from his worst start of the season against Tennessee by giving up just one earned run on a ball that probably should have been caught in seven innings at Kentucky.

Injury Updates

Arkansas hasn’t had a fully healthy bullpen for about a month now, but it did get a key arm back last weekend with Cody Scroggins returning from a two-week absence because of arm soreness.

The right-hander threw well against the Wildcats, striking out the first three batters he faced to get through the sixth inning quickly. However, he couldn’t quite finish off the seven-inning game, as he hit a batter and walked another before notching his fourth strikeout against the last guy he faced.

“We only threw him about 30 pitches last weekend and he really didn’t want to come out of the game,” Van Horn said. “We were just taking care of him, trying to build him back up.”

Although Scroggins was a starter before he went down, he’ll remain in the bullpen against LSU. Van Horn didn’t rule out him possibly starting again once he builds his pitch count back up, though.

The bad new on the injury front had to do with sophomore right-hander Zebulon Vermillion. He complained of arm soreness shortly before Game 3 of the Tennessee series and then didn’t pitch at all at Kentucky, despite making the trip.

Although that seems to have healed up, his status for LSU is still up in the air.

“Vermillion’s arm is just about right, then he tweaked his hamstring, so if it’s not one thing, it’s another,” Van Horn said. “That’s just the way it works in athletics I think.”

Van Horn was uncertain if Vermillion would be available this weekend, but said he would participate in Wednesday’s practice.

In the Polls

Thanks to a series win at Kentucky and Oklahoma State sweeping Oregon State, Arkansas moved up one spot to No. 4 in this week’s HawgBeat Composite Poll. LSU, meanwhile, lost a series to Ole Miss and fell four spots to No. 16.

In the RPI, the Razorbacks and Tigers check in at No. 4 and No. 23, respectively.

Checking the Standings

With two weeks remaining in the regular season, Arkansas has a two-game lead in the SEC West and trails Vanderbilt by one game for the overall conference lead.

Ole Miss and Mississippi State - which play each other this weekend - are tied for second in the division, while LSU, Texas A&M and Auburn are three, 4.5 and five games back, respectively.

Catching the Commodores will be tricky because they play Missouri this weekend and end the season against Kentucky. They also own the tiebreaker, so Arkansas would have to win two more games than them over the final two weekends.

For a more comprehensive breakdown and the complete standings for both divisions, click here.

Scouting the Opponent

LSU’s starting rotation (season stats)

Thursday - So. RHP Ma’Khail Hilliard (16 games/5 starts, 0-2, 4.59 ERA, 41 K/12 BB, 33 1/3 IP)

Friday - R-So. RHP Eric Walker (13 games/11 starts, 4-4, 5.30 ERA, 45 K/20 BB, 52 2/3 IP)

Saturday - Fr. RHP Landon Marceaux (10 games/9 starts, 3-2, 7.04 ERA, 24 K/14 BB, 30 2/3 IP)

As is usually the case in Baton Rouge, LSU had lofty preseason expectations coming into 2019. It was the No. 1 or No. 2 team in virtually every preseason poll and many experts predicted them to make it to Omaha after a one-year absence.

However, things haven’t gone quite according to plan for the Tigers. They had some tight games against lesser opponents early in the season and were swept by what has proven to be a bad Texas team.

Still, with two weeks left in the regular season, LSU finds itself just three games out of first place in the SEC West and has a chance to host an NCAA Regional depends on how it finishes up.

That starts with a series at Arkansas, which will be made more complicated by the Tigers’ ace - freshman right-hander Cole Henry (4-2, 3.26 ERA) - not making the trip. He’ll miss his third straight weekend with arm soreness and is one of at least eight pitchers to miss at least some time with an injury this season.

Instead, Hilliard will get the ball Thursday night. Although he doesn’t have a victory this season and his numbers aren’t particularly impressive, he was a Freshman All-American by numerous publications last season and still has good stuff.

“He’s got a good breaking ball,” Van Horn said. “It’s got downward action. Fastball is 90 mph. Another good pitcher. We just have to do a good job and when we’ve got a shot at scoring, we’ve got to score.”

LSU will likely throw another former Freshman All-American in Game 2. Walker earned those honors back in 2017, when he went 8-2 with a 3.48 ERA, but missed all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. As evidenced by his 5.30 ERA, he is still trying to regain his old form.

A freshman is expected to get the nod Saturday. Marceaux was the No. 1 player in Louisiana for the 2018 class and considered a top-120 draft prospect even though he wasn’t taken until the 37th round of last year’s MLB Draft. In addition to his high ERA, opponents are hitting .296 against him.

The Tigers had hoped junior right-hander Zack Hess would step into the ace role for them this year after he turned down the pros, but he’s given up 10 home runs and has a 4.47 ERA in 54 1/3 innings.

That has prompted them to move him back into the bullpen, where he earned Freshman All-America honors in 2017. It’s gone well there so far, as he’s allowed just one earned run in 6 1/3 innings across two relief appearances.

Junior right-hander Matthew Beck has the best numbers on LSU’s staff, posting a 2.35 ERA in 30 2/3 innings across 20 appearances, all out of the bullpen. It’s worth noting, though, that sophomore right-hander Devin Fontenot (4-1, 4.22 ERA) has emerged as the Tigers’ closer with six saves.

Offensively, four of LSU’s starters are hitting at least .300, led by junior shortstop Josh Smith at .348. He also has seven home runs and 28 RBIs, plus leads the team with 15 stolen bases.

Junior center fielder Zach Watson is a threat on the base paths, as well, perfect in 10 attempts this season. He is hitting .331 with five home runs and 30 RBIs.

LSU’s corner outfielders lead the other two triple crown categories, with senior right fielder Antoine Duplantis (.305, 8 HR) leading the way with 50 RBIs and sophomore left fielder Daniel Cabrera (.293, 40 RBIs) leading the way with nine home runs.

Series History

The LSU series always seems to fire up the fan base and draw large crowds to Baum-Walker Stadium. They treat it like a rivalry, even if the Razorbacks themselves don’t.

“I don’t feel like we look at this series much different than any other,” Van Horn said. “I think it’s more for the fans to be honest with you.”

One reason for the fans’ hatred of the Tigers is their dominance in the series. They own a 73-32 all-time record against the Razorbacks, including a 40-18 mark since Van Horn took over in 2003.

Only twice has a Van Horn-led team won a series over LSU in 16 years, and those were sweeps in 2004 (in Baton Rouge) and 2011 (in Fayetteville).

“Obviously they’ve had our number the last few years,” Van Horn said. “Statistically you can look at that, but this is a new year. That’s what we like about it.”

The series has been particularly one-side the last five years, with Arkansas winning just four of the 20 matchups. Over that stretch, the Razorbacks have endured a rally possum, blown a seven-run lead at home and lost in an SEC Championship game.

“I mean obviously we’re aware of it, but we don’t talk about it,” Campbell said. “It’s a rivalry weekend no matter how good either team’s playing.”

The players made available to the media Wednesday afternoon mostly stuck to Van Horn’s “it’s just another SEC series” approach, but catcher Casey Opitz acknowledged he wants to get back at LSU for them winning last year’s series, when he was a freshman.

“Any team that beat us last year, we have a little chip on our shoulder going into it,” Opitz said. “We don’t get too caught up in it if it’s LSU, it’s just they beat us last year and we want to get them back this year.”

Arkansas Connection

The phenomenon of top players from Arkansas leaving the state to play elsewhere isn’t limited to guys like Malik Monk in basketball and Stacey Wilkins in football. It also happens in baseball, with Ashdown’s Jaden Hill - the No. 1 player in Arkansas for the 2018 class - signing with LSU.

A two-sport standout for the Panthers, Hill could have played college football. He was a 5.5 three-star prospect on Rivals and drew offers from Illinois, Missouri and a few other Group of Five schools.

However, he was also considered a top-100 baseball prospect by MLB Pipeline. Hill slipped to the 38th round of last year’s MLB Draft, though, because of signability concerns, as he seemed destined to follow in the footsteps of his cousin, Cedrick Harris - the starting centerfielder on the Tigers’ 2000 national championship team.

Hill cracked the opening weekend rotation and allowed just two earned runs on six hits and three walks while striking out 11 across 10 innings in his first two starts. Unfortunately, he hasn’t pitched since February because of a strained UCL.

Stat of the Week

Among the several injured LSU pitchers mentioned above is Easton McMurray, who had season-ending shoulder surgery in February.

His injury is significant because he is the lone left-hander on the Tigers’ roster, leaving them only right-handers for the 2019 season.

That bodes well for Arkansas, which leads the SEC with a .331 batting average against right-handed pitchers. By contrast, the Razorbacks hit just .272 against lefties. The 59-point difference is second only to Ole Miss, which hits 64 points higher against righties.

Stat Comparison - Arkansas | LSU (national rank, out of 297 teams)

Batting average: .309 (11th) | .273 (118th)

Slugging percentage: .504 (6th) | .411 (101st)

On-base percentage: .410 (9th) | .359 (168th)

Home runs: 64 (11th) | 47 (t-48th)

Runs/game: 8.0 (13th) | 6.7 (56th)

ERA: 4.00 (57th) | 4.66 (124th)

WHIP: 1.29 (28th) | 1.39 (75th)

Strikeouts/9 innings: 9.9 (19th) | 8.7 (81st)

Strikeout-to-walk ratio: 2.49 (43rd) | 2.22 (72nd)

Fielding percentage: .971 (110th) | .977 (31st)

Stolen bases/game: 1.31 (77th) | 0.94 (t-168th)

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