Advertisement

Fayetteville Regional Preview: Getting to know Santa Clara, Arizona and TCU

connor goodson
·3 min read

Arkansas baseball is once again hosting a regional to begin their march towards Omaha. The Diamond Hogs finished 41-16 on the year and were co-champions of the SEC regular season.

Their successful season earned them the No. 3 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament from the selection committee. If Arkansas is able to win their regional this weekend, they would host the winner of the Terre Haute Regional (Indiana State, Iowa, North Carolina or Wright State) in a Super Regional at Baum-Walker Stadium.

Making the trek to Fayetteville this weekend will be the No. 2 seed TCU Horned Frogs, No. 3 seed Arizona Wildcats and No. 4 seed Santa Clara Broncos. Arkansas will play Santa Clara on Friday while TCU will play Arizona.

How tough was Arkansas’ draw? Let’s get to know the other three teams in the Fayetteville Regional and find out.

No. 4: Santa Clara Broncos

(Photo courtesy of SCU Baseball/Twitter)
(Photo courtesy of SCU Baseball/Twitter)

Record: 35-18 (Road: 13-10, Last 10: 8-2)

Head Coach: Rusty Filter

Season at a glance: 

Santa Clara has had a really solid season. The Broncos were able to make the NCAA Tournament via an automatic bid following their WCC Tournament championship win on Saturday. They’re red hot entering the Fayetteville Regional, having won 17 of their last 20 games The Broncos are currently on an 8-game winning streak behind the hot bat of Dawson Brigman. Behind Brigman and leading hitter Efrain Manzo, Santa Clara has the offensive firepower to make things interesting.

Players to Watch:

  • 2B – Dawson Brigman: .317, 32 RBIs, 66 hits, 6 HRs

  • 3B – Efrain Manzo: .318, 54 RBIs, 67 hits, 17 HRs

  • RHP – Skylar Hayes: Record: 6-4, 2.81 ERA, 51.1 IP, 1.23 WHIP

No. 3: Arizona Wildcats

Record: 33-24 (Road: 4-14, Last 10: 7-3)

Head Coach: Chip Hale

Season at a glance: 

After an impressive run in the Pac-12 Tournament, Arizona enters the NCAA Tournament as the conference’s runner-up. They had an astounding 20 wins against Top 100 RPI teams and one of the toughest schedules in the country. Arizona has been on a tear to end the season thanks to a high-octane offense that can score in bunches. However, the Wildcats have more than a few question marks when it comes to the bullpen.

Players to Watch:

  • OF – Chase Davis: .369, 74 RBIs, 79 hits, 21 HRs

  • OF – Mac Bingham: .369, 51 RBIs, 90 hits, 10 HRs

  • 1B – Kiko Romero: .347, 86 RBIs, 78 hits, 19 HRs

No. 2: TCU Horned Frogs

(Photo by Dustin Safranek/USA TODAY Sports)
(Photo by Dustin Safranek/USA TODAY Sports)

Record: 37-22 (Road: 8-9, Last 10: 9-1)

Head Coach: Kirk Saarloos

Season at a glance: 

TCU presents the biggest challenge for the Razorbacks when it comes to advancing. Back in February, the Horned Frogs were able to overwhelm the Diamond Hogs and pick up an 18-6 win. TCU enters the Fayetteville Regional as the Big 12 Tournament champions despite hovering just over .500 in league play. The Horned Frogs have one of the best offenses in the country and are playing their best baseball at the right time. They could make it a tough weekend for the Razorbacks.

Players to Watch:

  • 3B – Brayden Taylor: .305, 59 RBIs, 68 hits, 21 HRs

  • OF – Elijah Nunez: .295, 35 RBIs, 59 hits, 3 HRs

  • 1B – Cole Fontenelle: .328, 44 RBIs, 66 hits, 11 HRs

Story originally appeared on Razorbacks Wire