'The Force' finally with Razorbacks? Comparing last three DVH teams

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — No. 11 Arkansas' sweep over No.1 Texas gave them a lot. It gave them a shot at the SEC title again with the lead down to two games.

They were the first team in the country to 40 wins.

They'll re-enter the top 10 of the D1Baseball poll, maybe even the top 5 depending on how the rest of the results fall this weekend. It gave them bragging rights over a rival.

The Razorbacks have had all of that before, even in the last two seasons. They've beaten Texas, been ranked No. 1 and won the SEC regular season crown.

All of it will ring hollow if Razorback fans are confined to their couch watching a different SEC team make a deep run to Omaha.

Is the 2025 team any different than the last two up until this point in the season with six games left in the regular season?

Overall/SEC Games	2023	2024	2025
Record	36-12/17-7	40-9/17-7	40-9/17-7
Batting Average	.282/.257	.271/.240	.316/.307
On-Base Percentage	.401/.372	.390/.355	.427/.410
Slugging Percentage	.491/.442	.444/.402	.570/.560
Home Runs	76/35	77/32	102/55
Walks (hitters)	216/120	263/120	261/121
Strikeouts (hitters)	403/233	363/200	402/232
Runs per game	8.06/6.79	6.79/5.25	9.26/9.33
ERA	4.98/4.98	3.36/3.82	3.75/4.46
Strikeouts (Pitchers)	419/199	580/267	508/256
Walks (pitchers)	214/105	169/104	138/80
Batting Average against	.262/.259	.207/.220	.224/.230

For the third straight year, Arkansas is 17-7 through 24 games of conference play, but all three teams got there with very different routes.

The eye test shows that the 2025 offense was far better than the 2024 offense, but they're also outpacing the 2023 offensive numbers by quite a considerable pace.

Razorbacks' Cam Kozeal in the on-deck circle in a game against Texas — Arkansas Razorbacks' Cam Kozeal in the on-deck circle in a game against the Texas Longhorns at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. | Nilsen Roman-HogsonSI Images

Five players on the 2025 team have 11 or more homers (Wehiwa Aloy, Kuhio Aloy, Charles Davalan, Brent Iredale and Cam Kozeal) through just 49 games, something that never happened across full 60+ game season across the last two years.

The team ranked fourth nationally in homers coming into the weekend and crossed the century mark after hitting six in the final two games against Texas.

The strikeout numbers are up from last year, but still run almost identical to the 2023 team to this point in the season, both overall and in SEC play.

Razorbacks pitcher Gage Wood gets throw back after strikeout against Texas — Arkansas Razorbacks pitcher Gage Wood gets throw back after strikeout against the Texas Longhorns at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. | Andy Hodges-HogsSI Images

One would expect a pitching drop off after losing Hagen Smith, the school record holder in both single-season strikeouts (161) and career strikeouts (360) as well as the single-season NCAA record holder in K/9 (17.25).

However, the numbers haven't been as drastically different as one might expect.

The team ERA being less than half a run higher after losing a top-5 pick to the MLB draft takes some doing, despite the recent struggles before the Texas series.

The walk numbers are also down significantly from the pitching staff, often times the one thing you need to avoid to beat a good team, evidenced by Arkansas' sweep over Texas.

Fourteen of the 27 runs scored by Arkansas in the series reached on either a walk or a hit by pitch.

The SEC records may be the same, but the path to get there was different. After two straight years of heartbreak, taking stock of the team on May 4th, the force may finally be with this team.

Arkansas concludes its road schedule with a three-game set against No. 2 LSU. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday and will be streamed on SEC+.

The Razorbacks currently hold a 1.5 game lead over the Tigers in the SEC standings pending the result of LSU's series finale against Texas A&M.

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