FAYETTEVILLE — All four softball teams in the NCAA Fayetteville Regional practiced Thursday at Bogle Park ahead of Friday’s opening round of games.
For the three visiting teams — Arizona, Villanova and Southeast Missouri State — it was not their first time to visit the ballpark in recent history.
Arkansas (36-16) is hosting a home regional for the fourth consecutive year, while Arizona and Villanova are back in the NCAA Tournament after missing it last season. Southeast Missouri State won the Ohio Valley Conference and qualified for the 64-team field for the first time since 2019.
Arizona and Villanova are scheduled to play the regional’s first game Friday at 5 p.m. Following that game, the Razorbacks and Redhawks are scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. Both games will stream on ESPN+.
Arizona (34-16-1) is used to playing at Bogle Park.
The Wildcats have faced the Razorbacks seven times since 2021, when Arizona swept the NCAA Fayetteville Super Regional.
Arkansas hosted Arizona for three games during the 2023 season, then the teams split a pair of games — both by 3-2 scores — this year in Tucson, Ariz.
For fifth-year Arizona players like first baseman Carli Scupin, the opener against Villanova will mark her sixth game in Fayetteville.
“It’s a very familiar team and very familiar to be back on this field and be back in this environment,” Scupin said. “It's just bringing back flashbacks to our super regional, so I'm hoping for the same result.”
Arkansas has played SEC opponents Florida (7 games), Tennessee (7), Kentucky (6), Texas A&M (6) a comparable amount to Arizona over the past four years.
“It's awesome to come back here,” Arizona coach Caitlin Lowe said. “We love playing in this ballpark as far as the energy [goes]. It's a great softball town, and I think it's going to be a packed house all weekend.”
Last year Arizona missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1986.
“I actually went into the office for my exit meetings and I saw a ton of [players] coming into the weight room the day after we didn't get in, which is crazy,” Lowe said. “They didn't take any time off. They just went right to work, and you could kind of see the determination in their eyes throughout the entire fall.”
It will be a battle of two Wildcats teams when Arizona faces Villanova (31-22), which won the Big East for the third time in four seasons.
Villanova coach Bridget Orchard said coming to Bogle Park is a “full-circle moment” for her team, which has fifth-year players who played Arkansas at the Wooo Pig Classic in 2020 before the season was canceled.
"We played here, and we had some big-time, top 25 wins," Orchard said. "We beat Baylor, beat Florida State and we lost to Arkansas, but it was a great experience for them.
“They were freshmen, and now they're coming as fifth years, which is wild to think that it was that long ago. ... We played here, went to California and then the world shut down.”
Southeast Missouri State (28-24) has the most recent Bogle Park history. The Redhawks played in this year’s edition of the Wooo Pig Classic and lost to the Razorbacks twice — 5-0 and 6-5 in 8 innings.
SEMO coach Mark Redburn said his team has confidence knowing it took Arkansas to extra innings earlier this season and defeated Missouri 1-0.
“We set that schedule, and we ended up having the 16th [toughest] strength of schedule in the country,” Redburn said. “We did that for a reason. We beat Maryland early on, go to extras with Arkansas and beat Missouri. We feel like we put together a really tough schedule. That's why we did it — look where we're at.”
Redburn acknowledged it will be a tall task to knock off the Razorbacks. But he said his team, which has won 8 of its last 10 games, is up for the challenge.
“They’re an SEC team with a lot of experience and a lot of depth,” Redburn said. “We're going to have to play really, really well in all facets of the game, in our four phases of the game: base running, our defense, our pitching and our hitting.
“We’re going have to have all of that working and minimize any mistakes just to give ourselves a chance here, but we're going to come out there absolutely expecting to go fight and win.”
For the Razorbacks, the regional presents an opportunity to advance to a fourth super regional in six years. Arkansas was eliminated on its home field last year by Oregon, which marked the first time since 2019 the Razorbacks did not win a regional.
It also is a chance for Arkansas to get the taste of a 1-3 finish to season out of its mouth. The Razorbacks have not played since last Friday when they lost 3-1 to Missouri in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals.
“It's just always exciting to be in postseason, and it's on another level when you get to host,” Arkansas coach Courtney Deifel said. “Getting some extra games in Bogle, getting to play in front of our fans and getting to stay home and prepare, just it's exciting.
“It's felt like the longest week ever…a really long week waiting. We're just thrilled that tomorrow we finally get to play again.”
