Hogs head to South Florida

FAYETTEVILLE – The Arkansas Razorbacks (7-8) close out their pre-conference tournament season with the USF Under Armour Invitational in Tampa, Fla., where Arkansas will meet five opponents March 4-6.

Arkansas looks to flips its overall record as it faces the 6-3 Cardinals of Ball State on Friday morning. South Florida is second to meet the Razorbacks at the Bulls own tournament. USF is 8-8 on the season with its most recent win over Western Michigan on Wednesday, March 2.

"Ball State will be a formidable opponent for us," head coach Mike Larabee said. "We have some very good competition this weekend and right now I feel like we have shown that we can go out and compete against and beat some of the best teams in the country, but we can also take one on the chin."

East Tennessee is the first team on the ticket for day two of the USF Under Armour Invitational. Saturday marks the first meeting between the teams in program history. ETSU is 3-8 on the season after falling short to Tennessee Tech last Sunday.

The Razorbacks continue to meet ranked opponents and look for their first win over No. 8 Michigan. Arkansas first met Michigan during the inaugural season in 1997 when the Hogs fell 6-0.

Last on the bill for the Razorbacks is Loyola Marymount. The Lions go into the weekend with a 6-8 record and wrap up a 20-game road stretch with Arkansas.

The Razorbacks went 2-3 last weekend at the Holiday Inn Emerald Beach Islander Classic in Corpus Christi, Texas. Senior Becca Carden tallied 10 RBI and two home runs on the weekend. She boasts a .400 batting average and has brought in 12 runs this season. Senior Pitcher Layne McGuirt goes into the weekend with a 3.07 ERA and a 2-2 record in her 29.2 innings in the circle.

Arkansas begins the weekend on Friday morning with Ball State at 10:30 a.m. followed by South Florida at 3:30 p.m.