No. 4 Arkansas (4-1) looks to regroup as it takes on the No. 22 TCU Horned Frogs (5-0) for the second day of the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series in Arlington, Texas, at Globe Life Field. The Razorbacks are coming off losing their first game of the season after getting upset by the Kansas State Wildcats on Friday, 3-2.
Arkansas is playing TCU for the first time since 2023, where the Horned Frogs won all three meetings. The Razorbacks were dominated in the first matchup, 18-6, in their second game of the season in the Higginbotham College Baseball Showdown. Arkansas and TCU would meet each other again in the postseason in the Fayetteville Regional. The Horned Frogs picked apart the Hogs in the 1-0 game with a 20-5 victory to put themselves in the regional final. Arkansas fought its way into the Fayetteville Regional final, but TCU ultimately ended their season with another blowout victory, 12-4.
Coming off a frustrating loss on Friday night, the Razorbacks are looking to bounce back in a big way against their old Southwestern Conference foe. Here are three keys to the game the Hogs will need to get past the Horned Frogs.
3 keys to victory: Arkansas baseball vs TCU
Get the bats hot
Arkansas struggled to put up big innings against Kansas State while scoring its only two runs via solo shots by the Aloy brothers. The Razorbacks cannot have last year’s offensive problems become recurring this season. Consistently putting up numbers on the board is going to lead any team to success while being backed by a great pitching staff.
Another point to add on is not getting thrown out on the basepaths. The Hogs had Charles Davalan on first in the bottom of the seventh against the Wildcats with two out. Wehiwa Aloy singled up the middle to keep the inning alive, but Davalan was thrown out at third base.
Let Zach Root take control
LHP Zach Root’s veteran experience is going to show up in this matchup. He is going to be tasked with trying to cool off a TCU lineup that torched the Michigan Wolverines on Friday, 10-4.
Root had a solid debut on Feb. 14 against the Washington State Cougars, tossing five innings and allowing just one run on two hits and a walk while carving up eight batters. This game will give the southpaw a chance to prove that he can be a reliable starter against tough competition coming up this year.
See if Camden Kozeal can potentially start in the lineup
INF Camden Kozeal has shown a lot of promise so far this season in the three games he has appeared in. He came off the bench as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the sixth in Friday’s game and laced a double with one out but was stranded on the basepaths. The Vanderbilt transfer is said to be able to play anywhere and could easily fit into the lineup as another threatening bat.
The Razorbacks and the Horned Frogs will face off on Saturday for the second day of the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m., and the matchup will be streamed on FloSports.com.