Missouri faces Wichita State in opening game at regional

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- The last time Arkansas played LeMoyne in an NCAA baseball tournament, the Razorbacks recovered from a regional tournament loss to the Dolphins, beat them in their second matchup, and advanced to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. That was in 1989.

The teams play again tonight in Fayetteville in the second game of a three-day, double-elimination series from which only one of four teams will survive. Big 12 Conference runner-up Missouri and Missouri Valley Conference champion Wichita State play in the day's first game.

"This is a strong regional with quality teams who are each capable of advancing," Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said.

Arkansas (39-21), eliminated in four games in the SEC tournament after entering the tournament as its top seed, will host an NCAA Super Regional next weekend if it survives against the Dolphins (36-19), the Tigers and the Shockers.

LeMoyne, located in Syracuse, N.Y., enters tonight's game with a better batting average (.317) than top-seeded Arkansas (.295). Eight LeMoyne regulars are batting better than .300.

Missouri (37-21-1) is led by right-handed pitcher Garrett Broshuis, who has a 2.57 ERA and 85 strikeouts in 105 innings. The graduate of Advance High School is 10-0 -- the first Tiger pitcher to win 10 games in a season since 1981.

Brandon Green, who has played second base, third base and shortstop, is hitting .395 for Wichita State (47-14), which has a team batting average of .325. The Shockers have won 13 of their last 14 games and had 10 or more hits in eight games during the run. They won two games from Southern Illinois last weekend to capture the MVC tournament and the conference's automatic NCAA berth.