HISTORIC CLASH IN OMAHA: Razorbacks Set to Battle LSU in College World Series – A National Championship Within Reach

The Diamond Hogs are set to face a familiar SEC rival, the LSU Tigers, under the bright lights of Charles Schwab Field in the College World Series. The stakes couldn’t be higher: with a victory, Arkansas would place one foot firmly on the road to its elusive first national championship in baseball – a title that has haunted the program’s dreams for decades.

Arkansas and LSU are no strangers to high-stakes matchups. As perennial SEC powerhouses, the two programs have clashed countless times during regular seasons and SEC tournaments. But this one is different. This is Omaha. This is the College World Series. And this time, the season is on the line.

Arkansas arrives in Omaha with an unmistakable swagger, having bulldozed through their Super Regional with dominant pitching and clutch hitting. Led by head coach Dave Van Horn, the Razorbacks have built a roster that blends veteran leadership with youthful fearlessness — a perfect formula for postseason success.

This is what we’ve been working for all year,” said Van Horn during Monday’s press conference. “Every rep in the fall, every game in the SEC grind — it was all to get here. Now we have to finish what we started.”

For Arkansas fans, the road to a national title has been paved with heartbreak. None sting more than the 2018 College World Series loss to Oregon State — a moment still etched into Razorback lore. A dropped foul ball away from the championship, Arkansas watched their dreams slip away in stunning fashion.

Senior pitcher Hagen Smith, one of the most dominant arms in the country, is expected to start for the Razorbacks. With a blazing fastball and devastating slider, Smith has emerged as a postseason ace, capable of shutting down even the most explosive lineups.

Opposing him will be LSU’s own pitching titan, junior Paul Skenes, a projected top-five pick in the upcoming MLB Draft. The duel between Smith and Skenes could go down as one of the most epic pitching battles in College World Series history.

While the pitching matchup is generating most of the pre-game buzz, both teams feature lineups that can break games wide open. Arkansas has relied on the red-hot bats of Caleb Cali, Peyton Stovall, and Tavian Josenberger — each of whom has come up big in the postseason.

Cali’s towering home run in the Super Regional final sent the crowd into a frenzy, while Josenberger has been the team’s spark plug, getting on base and causing chaos on the base paths.

LSU, on the other hand, counters with an offense that can slug with the best of them. Dylan Crews, last year’s Golden Spikes Award winner, leads a dangerous lineup that includes Tommy White and Tre’ Morgan. LSU scored a combined 27 runs in its last two CWS games — proving their bats are alive and dangerous.

Thousands of fans have made the pilgrimage to Omaha, painting the stands red and echoing “Calling the Hogs” chants that reverberate through the stadium. For those back home in Fayetteville and across the Natural State, all eyes will be glued to the screen.

For Coach Van Horn, a victory tonight would cement his legacy as one of the greatest coaches never to win a national title — finally removing the “never won the big one” tag that critics have unfairly clung to. Van Horn has taken Arkansas to Omaha numerous times, but this squad feels different — more balanced, more mature, more battle-tested.