FAYETTEVILLE – Cam Kozeal's two-run home run in the bottom half of the fifth inning of No. 3 overall national seed Arkansas' 6-2 win over North Dakota State in the first round of the Fayetteville Regional added to the new program single season home run record that currently sits at 111 through 57 games.
The Omaha, Neb., native blasted a 388-foot shot over the right-center field wall on a 1-0 slider off the fingertips of North Dakota State ace Nolan Johnson that was 102 off of the bat for Kozeal's 14th long ball of the year. Kozeal notched his sixth game of the season with three or more hits while also knocking in four runs, and was a triple away from hitting for the cycle.
"It was just all about attacking," Kozeal said regarding the offensive approach against the Bison. "Sometimes in the postseason you kind of tip-toe around, but we had a good game plan. (The plan was) Stay on the fastball. He threw about 75% fastballs to left-handed hitters and we did a good job of hitting those today."
Kozeal, who transferred in from Vanderbilt last July, set the new single season program home run record in the SEC Tournament 5-2 quarterfinal round loss to Ole Miss on an extremely rare inside-the-park home run, but it came at a scary expense.
Ole Miss right fielder Ryan Moerman and center fielder Isaac Humphrey violently collided while sprinting to get under Kozeal's drive to right-center. Humphrey was able to remain in the game, but Moerman missed the remainder of the SEC Tournament before returning as a pinch hitter Friday in Ole Miss' first round loss to 4-seed Murray State in the Oxford Regional.
Known for his big bat, Kozeal has been a staple in Arkansas' deep lineup that features seven players with double-digit home runs. The Razorbacks set the new home run record in 56 games, compared to hitting the previous record of 109 long balls in 63 contests during the 2021 season.
Heading into Saturday's matchup against 3-seed Creighton, Kozeal is slashing .343/.391/.632 with 69 hits, 16 doubles, 14 home runs and 60 RBI in 52 appearances, including 47 starts. Kozeal's 60 runs batted in ranks in the SEC's Top 10 alongside teammate Kuhio Aloy.
In 43 appearances last season with the Commodores, Kozeal slashed .284/.349/.439 with five home runs and 28 RBI.
Possibly even more impressive, and useful, than what he has done with his bat is the production the Hogs have gotten from Kozeal in the field. He came to Fayetteville having never played first base after DH'ing and playing second defensively for the Commodores.
Who would play first for the Hogs was a hot topic coming into the spring and Kozeal became essentially the every day starter there by the first couple weeks of SEC play.
Due to some injuries, particularly to second baseman Nolan Souza during the Georgia series in April, Kozeal has been back at second on a consistent basis since the Texas series sweep. Kozeal has only been charged with five errors on the season and boasts a .982 fielding percentage.
Kozeal and the Hogs will need as much offensive firepower they can get on Saturday when they face a hot Creighton squad that banged out 16 hits against 2-seed Kansas in the Bluejays' 11-4 first round victory. Like Kozeal, Creighton left fielder Nolan Sailors nearly hit for the cycle, falling a single short, while five other Bluejays also notched multiple hits.
First pitch between the Razorbacks and Bluejays was moved up to 7 p.m. CT after initially being set to begin at 8. The game will be streamed live on ESPN-plus.
