Arkansas Keeps Scoring 14 Runs and Managing to Lose Games Anyway

Hogs scored 14 runs and lost to Missouri State, then scored 14 and lost to Georgia. Something's got to give tonight.

Arkansas righty Tate McGuire throws a pitch against Arkansas State. The Razorbacks won 7-3. | Nilsen Roman - Hogs on SI Images

There's a number Arkansas fans probably aren't too crazy about right now and it's 14.

It's not a jersey number. It's not a ranking. It's the number of runs the Hogs have put on the scoreboard in a couple of recent game ... and managed to lose both games anyway.

Go ahead and sit with that for a second.

First it was Missouri State on March 31, when Arkansas scored 14 runs at home and still came out on the wrong end of a 15-14 extra-inning slugfest.

Then, just this past Saturday, Georgia came into Baum-Walker Stadium and posted a 26-14 final in the series finale between the Bulldogs and the Razorbacks.

Arkansas put up 14 runs in that one too. Didn't matter. Georgia had 12 more.

Two games. Fourteen runs each. Two losses. That's been 2026 for the Hogs in a nutshell.

To be fair, there's a significant difference between the two defeats.

The Georgia loss was a blowout as the Bulldogs put up a number that would've beaten just about anybody in college baseball on any given Saturday.

You could lose 26-14 and feel decent about the 14 if the other team just happened to have one of those days. That one stings, but it's explainable.

The Missouri State loss is a different kind of hurt entirely. The Bears beat the Hogs by a single run in extra innings.

One run. Arkansas left 14 on the bases and couldn't find one more. That's the kind of loss that may bounce around in a dugout for some time.

Now Missouri State is coming back to Fayetteville for a Tuesday night rematch and the number 14 is hanging over the whole thing like a bad memory.

A Chance to Change the Narrative

Tuesday's single-game midweek matchup kicks off at 6 p.m. at Baum-Walker Stadium, which holds 10,737 fans and remains one of college baseball's premier venues.

The game will be carried on SEC Network+ with Brett Dolan and Troy Eklund on the call. Radio listeners can tune into the Learfield Razorback Sports Network including 103.7 The Buzz in Little Rock, ESPN Arkansas 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home where Phil Elson and Bubba Carpenter will have the broadcast.

No. 24 Arkansas enters at 26-15 overall and 9-9 in SEC play.

Missouri State comes in at 26-11 with a 14-4 mark in Conference USA play under second-year head coach Joey Hawkins, who's built a 56-36 record in Springfield including a 31-12 run in CUSA.

The Bears didn't just beat the Hogs in March — they've been a legitimate program worth watching this season.

Missouri State arrived in Fayetteville fresh off a series win over Western Kentucky last weekend.

The Bears took Game 1 on Friday in a 15-10 high-scoring affair, then grabbed the series clincher on Saturday in extra innings, 8-6. Western Kentucky took the finale 10-5, but Missouri State left with the series win.

The pitching matchup for Tuesday has Arkansas going with RHP Tate McGuire, who carries a 3.72 ERA and hasn't picked up a decision yet this season.

Missouri State counters with RHP Brock Lucas, who's 4-3 on the year with a 7.03 ERA.

On paper that's a favorable matchup for the Hogs' offense, though Arkansas hitters proved against Georgia over the weekend that they can score 14 runs and still not have enough.

Scoring runs isn't the problem. It hasn't been for awhile.

Putting It to Rest

The Georgia series wasn't a total disaster.

Arkansas opened with a 6-3 win over the Bulldogs in Game 1 on Thursday before Georgia responded with a 5-3 victory in Game 2 on Friday and then that blowout on Saturday.

The Hogs won a game against a top-five program and showed they can compete at that level. The series finale was rough, but the weekend wasn't without its moments.

Still, the Razorbacks head into Tuesday having dropped their last two games and carrying that 14-run number around like a suitcase they'd rather leave behind.

A clean win over a Missouri State team that's already beaten them once this year would go a long way toward changing what's become an uncomfortable story.

Fourteen runs should be more than enough to win a college baseball game. It should be more than enough to win two. The Hogs know that better than anyone right now.

Tuesday night at Baum-Walker Stadium is a chance to make 14 mean something different for a change.

How to Watch-Listen Tuesday Night

• When: Tuesday, April 21 at 6 p.m.
• Where: Baum-Walker Stadium, Fayetteville, Ark.
• TV/Stream: SEC Network+ (Brett Dolan and Troy Eklund)
• Radio: Learfield Razorback Sports Network including 103.7 The Buzz in Little Rock, ESPN Arkansas 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home where Phil Elson and Bubba Carpenter will have the broadcast.
• Pitching matchup: RHP Tate McGuire (0-0, 3.72 ERA) vs. RHP Brock Lucas (4-3, 7.03 ERA)
• Series history: Arkansas leads all-time 59-32; 37-16 at home