Razorbacks Hosts Missouri State in Mid-Week Clash at Baum Stadium

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - No. 12 Arkansas hosts Missouri State on Tuesday, April 4, at Baum Stadium with the first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. The Razorback Baseball Radio Network will carry the game with Rick Schaeffer calling the action. The live audio broadcast and live video webcast will also be available in the RazorZone at Hogwired.com. Live stats can also be found on Hogwired.com. It will be the first meeting between the Razorbacks (23-6) and the Bears (15-9) this season after Arkansas won both games of the home-and-home series in 2005. The Hogs will start left-handed pitcher James Gilbert, who is 2-0 on the season with a 1.31 ERA in 20.2 innings of work. It will be the third start of the season for Gilbert, who is 1-0 in his previous two starts against Centenary and Wichita State. He worked five innings in both starts without allowing an earned run and striking out eight. MSU will start either right-handed Jake Shafer or left-handed Chris Mackey. Shafer is 1-1 on the season with a 5.03 ERA in three starts, while Mackey is 0-2 with a 5.00 ERA out of the bullpen. Arkansas is coming off of a dramatic 13-11 win over No. 21 Tennessee at Baum Stadium on Sunday. Blake Parker tied the game in the bottom of the ninth with a solo home run and Craig Gentry then sealed the win two batters later with a walk-off, two-run blast to left-center field. The Razorbacks took two-of-three games from the Volunteers and beat No. 17 Wichita State on the road last week. Arkansas leads the all-time series 41-18 dating back to the 1966 season. The Hogs hold a 3-1 edge in the series since Dave Van Horn return to his alma mater in 2003 and are 29-7 against the Bears in Fayetteville. Arkansas is hitting .298 as a team and scoring 7.1 runs per contest while the pitching staff boasts a 3.03 ERA with opponents hitting just .237. The Bears enter the series scoring six runs per game with a .281 batting average. The MSU pitching staff has a 3.70 team ERA with opponents batting .229. The Missouri State staff strikes out 8.2 batters per game while issuing 3.7 walks. Tickets are still available for the Missouri State game by visiting www.hogwired.com or calling the Razorback ticket office at 1-800-982-4647.