College World Series 2018 preview: Oregon State Beavers pave the way
2018 NCAA Baseball College World Series:
Arkansas Razorbacks (44-19) SEC West Regular Season Co-Champs
College World Series Appearance: 9th (1979 Runner-Ups)
Offensively, the Arkansas Razorbacks had the talent in 2017 to make it to Omaha, but the Missouri State Bears were exact on revenge from 2015, ending Arkansas’ season in the Fayetteville Regional.
The Razorbacks exacted a bit of revenge of their own, snagging Missouri State’s hitting/Associate Head Coach away from Springfield, which has proved to be the difference maker in 2018.
Arkansas Razorbacks 2018 Top Hitters
| Player | avg | gp-gs | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | tb | slg% | bb | hbp | so | gdp | ob% | sf | sh | sb-att | po | a | e | fld% |
| Casey Martin | .344 | 61-56 | 224 | 43 | 77 | 12 | 0 | 13 | 46 | 128 | .571 | 26 | 6 | 54 | 1 | .422 | 2 | 3 | 8-9 | 49 | 88 | 12 | .919 |
| Carson Shaddy | .341 | 53-50 | 176 | 42 | 60 | 12 | 2 | 13 | 52 | 115 | .653 | 24 | 9 | 55 | 4 | .437 | 4 | 4 | 4-6 | 82 | 128 | 8 | .963 |
| Heston Kjerstad | .340 | 63-63 | 238 | 61 | 81 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 54 | 137 | .576 | 23 | 18 | 48 | 3 | .427 | 7 | 0 | 3-3 | 102 | 3 | 7 | .938 |
| Eric Cole | .329 | 63-63 | 258 | 61 | 85 | 13 | 1 | 14 | 50 | 142 | .550 | 37 | 3 | 43 | 4 | .417 | 2 | 2 | 4-6 | 105 | 4 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Luke Bonfield | .307 | 58-54 | 189 | 37 | 58 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 39 | 93 | .492 | 41 | 7 | 38 | 6 | .444 | 2 | 0 | 1-1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Jax Biggers | .287 | 56-54 | 188 | 33 | 54 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 24 | 75 | .399 | 34 | 2 | 25 | 2 | .390 | 7 | 3 | 7-7 | 72 | 96 | 8 | .955 |
| Dominic Fletcher | .282 | 63-61 | 241 | 41 | 68 | 14 | 1 | 8 | 41 | 108 | .448 | 20 | 3 | 46 | 3 | .337 | 6 | 1 | 1-4 | 145 | 4 | 4 | .974 |
| Grant Koch | .251 | 60-56 | 195 | 34 | 49 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 34 | 76 | .390 | 35 | 2 | 42 | 3 | .364 | 4 | 0 | 4-5 | 455 | 31 | 1 | .998 |
Team Batting Average: .301
Team Home Runs: 94 (A school record)
Arkansas Razorbacks 2018 Top Pitchers
| Player | era | w-l | app-gs | cg | sho | sv | ip | h | r | er | bb | so | 2b | 3b | hr | ab | b/avg | wp | hbp | bk | sfa | sha |
| Blaine Knight | 2.84 | 12-0 | 17-17 | 0 | 0/1 | 0 | 101.1 | 85 | 36 | 32 | 23 | 92 | 10 | 0 | 18 | 376 | .226 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Kacey Murphy | 3.12 | 8-5 | 16-15 | 0 | 0/2 | 0 | 92.1 | 77 | 40 | 32 | 20 | 74 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 340 | .226 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 8 |
| Jake Reindl | 2.96 | 3-1 | 24-1 | 0 | 0/0 | 5 | 51.2 | 47 | 23 | 17 | 18 | 63 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 198 | .237 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Matt Cronin | 2.98 | 2-1 | 21-0 | 0 | 0/3 | 12 | 42.1 | 20 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 52 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 140 | .143 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Barrett Loseke | 3.15 | 3-2 | 23-2 | 0 | 0/0 | 4 | 45.2 | 29 | 16 | 16 | 26 | 57 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 155 | .187 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Jackson Rutledge | 3.45 | 3-0 | 12-2 | 0 | 0/1 | 1 | 15.2 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 11 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 62 | .210 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Kole Ramage | 3.73 | 1-1 | 18-2 | 0 | 0/1 | 0 | 31.1 | 32 | 27 | 13 | 13 | 44 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 121 | .264 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Isaiah Campbell | 4.19 | 4-6 | 16-15 | 0 | 0/1 | 0 | 62.1 | 63 | 36 | 29 | 28 | 65 | 19 | 1 | 4 | 241 | .261 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Team ERA: 3.55
The Arkansas Razorbacks Road to Omaha and the 2018 College World Series
Fayetteville Regional
1. Arkansas (5)
2. Southern Mississippi
3. Dallas Baptist
4. Oral Roberts
Arkansas defeated Dallas Baptist in Regional finals
Fayetteville Super Regional
- Game 1: Arkansas 9, South Carolina 3
- Game 2: South Carolina 8, Arkansas 5
- Game 3: Arkansas 14, South Carolina 4
2018 College World Series First Opponent: Texas Longhorns
Plays the winner/loser of Florida/Texas Tech
Statistics courtesy of the Arkansas Razorbacks team website.