arkansas baseball

arkansas baseball

No. 14 Arkansas (39-20) opens its 2026 NCAA Baseball Tournament run against regional rival Missouri State (34-19) in the first round of the Lawrence Regional.

Game Schedule & DetailsDate & Time: Friday, May 29, 2026, at 5:00 PM CTLocation: Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence, Kansas (hosted by No. 15 national seed Kansas)Broadcast: Nationally televised on ESPNU and streaming live via the ESPN App / ESPN+.

Matchup HighlightsOn the Mound: Right-hander Gabe Gaeckle (6-3, 3.99 ERA) gets the opening start for the Razorbacks, facing off against Missouri State left-hander Max Knight.

Familiar Foes: The Razorbacks and Bears split their regular-season series. Missouri State took a 15-14 extra-innings win on March 31, while Arkansas bounced back with a 12-4 victory on April 21.

Tournament Stakes: As a double-elimination regional, the winner advances to Saturday's winner's bracket game (5:00 PM) to face either Kansas or Northeastern. The losing team falls to an elimination game scheduled for Saturday at noon.

Historic Rivalry: This marks the eighth time these programs meet in the NCAA Tournament. The Bears hold a narrow 4-3 postseason edge over the Razorbacks.

Missouri State leads Arkansas 2–0 at the end of the 1st inning in their opening game of the NCAA Lawrence Regional.

Live Inning-by-Inning SummaryBottom 1st: Left-hander Max Knight struck out the side for Missouri State, giving up only a two-out single to Ryder Helfrick.Top 1st: Bryce Ceremenelli hammered a home run on Gabe Gaeckle’s second pitch of the game to put the Bears on the board instantly. Taeg Gollert later singled, stole second, and crossed home plate on an RBI single by Caden Bogenpohl. Gaeckle threw 33 pitches to get out of the inning.

Pitching MatchupArkansas: RHP Gabe GaeckleMissouri State: LHP Max Knight

Regional Context & Next StepsHost team No. 1 Baseball America Kansas won the first game of the day 6–3 over Northeastern. The winner of this matchup will face the Kansas Jayhawks tomorrow night in the winner's bracket. The loser will fall to the elimination bracket to face Northeastern at noon.