Why Arkansas baseball can — and can't — win the 2022 College World Series

Christina Long, Fort Smith Times Record
·3 min read
Here's what Stanford had to say about playing Arkansas baseball in the College World Series

The college baseball postseason is notoriously hard to predict, and the 2022 College World Series field has proven to be just the same. No. 1 overall seed Tennessee didn't make it. Arkansas, along with three other unseeded teams, did, despite going cold down the stretch of the regular season.

Now, Arkansas baseball is making its 11th appearance in Omaha and has a chance to win its first national title. Arkansas is tied with North Carolina in number of appearances without a championship. Only Florida State (23) and Clemson (12) have more.

Will the Razorbacks avenge 2018's disappointing loss in the finals, or will they come up short?

Why Arkansas will win the College World Series

In getting to Omaha in 2022, Arkansas silenced doubts that had emerged as the team struggled late in the season. The Razorbacks made it out of the Stillwater Regional, which saw the most runs scored in NCAA Tournament history. Arkansas then beat No. 10-seed North Carolina in two games in Chapel Hill.

The Razorbacks got here with a combination of clutch hitting and quality starts on the mound. In the regional, Arkansas proved its bullpen could hold up, too.

Arkansas dramatically improved its hitting with runners in scoring position. In SEC play, the Razorbacks were .244 with RISP. In their six NCAA Tournament games, they're .307.

If Arkansas can keep its bats hot and get quality starts out of pitchers such as Connor Noland, Will McEntire and Jaxon Wiggins, the Razorbacks will have the tools for a championship. Even if a starter falls short, the bullpen has shown it can hold up plenty well enough for the offense to outscore an opponent.

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Why Arkansas baseball will fall short of the title

Arkansas has a tough draw in its side of the bracket. The Razorbacks' first game is against the highest-seeded team still alive in the tournament, No. 2 Stanford. After that, Arkansas will have to get past No. 14 Auburn or an unseeded but red-hot Ole Miss team.

Stanford already has beaten Arkansas this season in a 5-0 shutout in February. The Razorbacks won two out of three against both Auburn and Ole Miss in the regular season.

But both teams have since dominated the postseason. Auburn scored an average of 17 runs in its three regional games, then shut down No. 3 Oregon State to cede just four per game in supers. Similarly, Ole Miss is 5-0 in the tournament and has outscored opponents 46-11.

Additionally, Arkansas tends to rely on home runs, many of them solo, for its offense. At Charles Schwab Field, that might be more difficult. It's 408 feet to center field and 335 feet down each line. Baum-Walker Stadium is 400 feet to center and 320 down each line. The Razorbacks might need to manufacture more runs to balance fewer bombs.

Christina Long covers the Arkansas Razorbacks. You can email her at clong@swtimes.com or follow her on Twitter @christinalong00.

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Arkansas baseball College World Series prediction: Why can, can't win