After a long offseason, the Arkansas Baseball team will finally take the mound to kick off the 2022 college baseball season Feb. 18 at 3 p.m. CST.
The Razorbacks begin the season ranked No. 4 in the country in the USA Today Coaches Poll— a season in which Arkansas celebrates their 100th season as a club.
The Hogs will play host to Illinois State for a three-game series at Baum-Walker Stadium to begin the new season. You can watch the Arkansas baseball team on SEC Network+ for the opening series against the Redbirds.
If you have the SEC Network as part of your cable or satellite package, you also have SEC Network+, a complimentary channel to subscribers of the SEC Network.
You can listen to the game locally on 92.1 FM in Fayetteville, Ark.
The Redbirds, hailing from the Missouri Valley Conference, finished the 2021 season with a record of 23-34. Arkansas is 7-3 all-time vs Illinois State in baseball, with the Redbirds winning the most recent game on March 3, 2020.
Projected Starting Pitchers for Arkansas Baseball vs Illinois State Redbirds
Arkansas and Illinois will kick things off Feb. 18 at 3 p.m. and will play two more afternoon games this weekend. Here are the projected starting pitchers for the series, according to the Arkansas game notes.
3 p.m. CST — Friday, Feb. 18
Arkansas RHP Connor Noland (2021: 1-0, 6.91 ERA) vs. Illinois State RHP Jordan Lussier (2021: 6-3, 4.36 ERA)
12 p.m. CST — Saturday, Feb. 19
Arkansas LHP Hagen Smith (2021: N/A) vs. Illinois State LHP Sean Sinisko (2021: 5-5, 4.44)
1 p.m. CST — Sunday, Feb. 20
Arkansas RHP Jaxon Wiggins (2021: 3-1, 5.09 ERA) vs. Illinois State RHP Derek Salata (2021: 2-4, 4.95).
Arkansas hopes to keep an eight-year streak alive during the series against Illinois State. The Hogs have not lost a series to a mid-major since South Alabama in 2014 (in Fayetteville).