Arkansas vs. Florida Baseball Game 1: How to watch and listen, pitching matchup, forecast, what to know

SCHEDULED GAME TIME

Friday, 6 pm at Baum-Walker Stadium (11,531) in Fayetteville

RECORDS

Arkansas 35-6, 14-4 SEC

Florida 21-19, 8-10 SEC

STREAKS

Arkansas won 2

Florida won 2

LOAD 10 GAMES

Arkansas 7-3

Florida 4-6

COACHES

Arkansas: Dave Van Horn — 874-447 in 22nd season at Arkansas and 1,194-604 in 30th season overall in Division I.

Florida: Kevin O’Sullivan — 702-338 in 17th season at Florida and overall.

SERIES HISTORY

Arkansas leads 36-35, including 16-11 in Fayetteville.

LAST MEETING

Florida defeated Arkansas 7-5 on May 27, 2022, at the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala.

TELEVISION

The game will be streamed on SEC Network+. It can be accessed on WatchESPN.com and via the ESPN app (carrier login required). Tom Hart (play-by-play) and Chris Burke (analyst) will be on the call.

RADIO

Phil Elson (play-by-play) and Bubba Carpenter (analyst) will call the game on the Razorback Sports Network, which can be accessed through local FM and AM affiliates, via the Arkansas Razorbacks Gameday app, via the Varsity Network app or on ArkansasRazorbacks.com. Blackouts may apply.

STARTING PITCHERS

Arkansas: LHP Hagen Smith — 8-0, 1.53 ERA, 0.87 WHIP in 53 innings.

Florida: LHP Piere Coppola — 0-2, 18.00 ERA, 2.67 WHIP in 3 innings.

TEAM COMPARISONS

Earned Run Avg.: Arkansas 2.91; Florida 6.35

Runs Per Game: Arkansas 6.90; Florida 7.15

Batting Avg.: Arkansas .273; Florida .276

Up. Batting Avg.: Arkansas .203; Florida .266

Slugging Pct.: Arkansas .455; Florida .529

On-Base Pct.: Arkansas .394; Florida .387

Fielding Pct.: Arkansas .982; Florida .980

FORECAST

According to the National Weather Service, Friday evening will be mostly cloudy with a high of 73 degrees and a low of 63 in Fayetteville. There is a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms. South winds will blow 20-25 mph and could gust to 35 mph.

WHAT TO KNOW

• Due to a threat of rain later in the evening, the game time was moved up one hour from an original 7 pm time. Because of the change, the game will only be streamed and will not be televised by the SEC Network as originally planned.

• Arkansas is ranked second and Florida is unranked in the USA Today Baseball Coaches Poll.

• The Razorbacks were predicted to win the SEC and the Gators were predicted to win the SEC East by league coaches.

• Arkansas third baseman Jared Sprague-Lott (oblique) is expected to return to the starting lineup. Sprague-Lott has been held out of the lineup for five consecutive games.

• The Razorbacks have won 25 consecutive games at Baum-Walker Stadium, a stadium record. Arkansas is two wins shy of tying the program’s all-time longest home winning streak of 27 games set during the 1984-85 seasons.

• Florida two-way star Jac Caglianone ranks second nationally with 25 home runs. Caglianone led college baseball with 33 homers last season.

• Arkansas starting pitcher Hagen Smith ranks first nationally in strikeouts per 9 innings (16.98), second in ERA (1.53) and fourth in WHIP (0.87).

• Caglianone ice cream No. 2 and Smith is No. 6 in the latest prospect rankings for the 2024 MLB Draft by Baseball America.

• Florida starting pitcher Pierce Coppola made his season debut April 13 against South Carolina. He pitched for the second time last week against Vanderbilt and allowed 2 runs, 3 hits and 1 walk in 1 2/3 innings.

• The Gators have won 11 of 20 regular-season series against the Razorbacks as SEC opponents.