Skip to main content
Join
Team Avatar
Arkansas

Arkansas players excited to play in front of home fans again after SEC Tournament exit

PeterWarrenPhoto2by:Peter Warren•05/31/23•

thepeterwarren

Syndication: Tuscaloosa News
Arkansas batter Kendall Diggs celebrates with teammates after hitting the walk-off solo homer. (Gary Cosby Jr./Tuscaloosa News/USA TODAY NETWORK)

Arkansas had a long stretch on the road at the end of the regular season and heading into postseason play. The Razorbacks were away from Fayetteville for about 11 days as they ended the season at Vanderbilt before heading for Hoover, Ala., for the SEC Tournament.

Arkansas made a run all the way to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament before losing Saturday to Texas A&M, giving them both an extended early postseason run and an extended time away from home.

Caleb Cali and Brady Tygard were both excited to get back to Arkansas.

“We’ve been gone for a while, but we definitely wanted to stick around for one more day,” Cali said after the loss to the Aggies. “But stuff happens, and we’ll go home and we’ll regroup and we’ll be ready.”

While the NCAA Tournament bracket had not yet been released when they were interviewed following the loss, Arkansas was still assured a hosting opportunity after an outstanding regular season.

The Razorbacks won a share of the SEC regular season title and were ranked in the top five for many weeks.

“We’re really hard to beat at home,” Tygard said “We’re all really confident. We’re ready.”

The Fayetteville Regional features Arkansas, second-seeded TCU, third-seeded Arizona and fourth-seeded Santa Clara.

The full NCAA Baseball Tournament field

Winston-Salem Regional

1. Wake Forest (No. 1 overall)
4. George Mason

2. Maryland
3. Northeastern

Gainesville Regional

1. Florida (No. 2 overall)
4. Florida A&M

2. UConn
3. Texas Tech

Fayetteville Regional

1. Arkansas (No. 3 overall)
4. Santa Clara

2. TCU
3. Arizona

Clemson Regional

1. Clemson (No. 4 overall)
4. Lipscomb

2. Tennessee
3. Charlotte

Baton Rouge Regional

1. LSU (No. 5 overall)
4. Tulane

2. Oregon State
3. Sam Houston

Nashville Regional

1. Vanderbilt (No. 6 overall)
4. Eastern Illinois

2. Oregon
3. Xavier

Charlottesville Regional

1. Virginia (No. 7 overall)
4. Army

2. East Carolina
3. Oklahoma

Stanford Regional

1. Stanford (No. 8 overall)
4. San Jose State

2. Texas A&M
3. Cal State Fullerton

Tuscaloosa Regional

1. Alabama (No. 16 overall)
4. Nicholls

2. Boston College
3. Troy

Columbia Regional

1. South Carolina (No. 15 overall)
4. Central Connecticut State

2. Campbell
3. NC State

Terre Haute Regional

1. Indiana State (No. 14 overall)
4. Wright State

2. Iowa
3. North Carolina

Auburn Regional

1. Auburn (No. 13 overall)
4. Penn

2. Southern Miss
3. Samford

Lexington Regional

1. Kentucky (No. 12 overall)
4. Ball State

2. West Virginia
3. Indiana

Stillwater Regional

1. Oklahoma State (No. 11 overall)
4. Oral Roberts

2. Dallas Baptist
3. Washington

Conway Regional

1. Coastal Carolina (No. 10 overall)
4. Rider

2. Duke
3. UNC Wilmington

Coral Gables Regional

1. Miami (No. 9 overall)
4. Maine

2. Texas
3. Louisiana